I am in the final preparations for my first powerlifting meet. The first thing that I bought was an Inzer Max Dl suit and due to a tight budget can’t afford much else. So I am going to compete in just the deadlift and help out in the other events for my first meet.
What I want to know is, how do get the most out of it? Its a size 30 and I am just in the right weight for that size (138-158) and plan on competing in the 148lb weight class.
Also will washing it in cold water with woolite and allowing it to air dry shrink it?
Wash it in warm water and then toss it in the dryer for about 5-10 min . That is how I shrink mine down a bit, maybe a half size and it fits great. The only thing is that it stretches back out after a few training sessions. Also I have heard of guys boiling there shirt & suits before but I think that was dealing with denim gear.
[quote]BlackLabel wrote:
Why not just compete raw?
Sorry I couldnt answer the question, was just curious.[/quote]
I was considering that but I had already bought the suit and didn’t want to spend $145 just so I have to wait till March or April for the state meet to use it.
[quote]NATOR wrote:
Wash it in warm water and then toss it in the dryer for about 5-10 min . That is how I shrink mine down a bit, maybe a half size and it fits great. The only thing is that it stretches back out after a few training sessions. Also I have heard of guys boiling there shirt & suits before but I think that was dealing with denim gear.[/quote]
Thanks for that little tid bit. What setting should the dryer be on and (this might be a dumb question) do you air dry the remaining amount of moisture? Also, is that warm water from the washer or by hand (I would assume by hand since Ive heard its bad to put lifting gear in the wash).
I set it on medium dry, and air dry the rest of the moisture out. I put mine in the washer and have not had any ill affects, but you can hand wash it if you like.
I have never got much out of washing/drying poly gear. It does tighten up (smells better too). But after a rep or two, it seeems like it’s back to where it was before you washed it. The Powerwash soap that Titan or Inzer sells didn’t really impress me either. Your results may vary- that’s just what my experience has been.
You can get the straps taken in. If you are a conventional puller, tight straps and moderately snug hips is the way to go. This is not a complicated alteration to communicate to a seemstress or dry cleaners that doesn’t understand our gear adn may not speak very good English. They should put heavy stitching in the new seam, but dense stitching and special thread isn’t nearly as important for this as it is for shit like taking in a bench shirt or the legs on a squat suit. Actually, I’ve done this myself by hand before. It took about $2 worth of supplies and maybe 45 minutes. Buy a thimble big enough for your pointer finger (I learned that one the hard way).
Of course, if you’re not accustomed to pulling in a tight suit, you may have a learning curve if the straps are taken in a lot. That’s something to consider in terms of timing of when you get the suit taken in versus when you have the meet.