OK, this pretty much made up my mind about the whole “power lifting gear” thing.
Taken from the Joe Average site:
“Deadlift weaknesses: If you can’t get the weight moving off the floor, tighten up your suit. The suit should be uncomfortable in the crotch and you should have a hard time getting to the bar. Dick Crane’s testicles are constantly bruised from his canvas suit and deadlift suit but he did squat 900.”
Are you f#$%ing kidding me!?
[quote]wtf wrote:
OK, this pretty much made up my mind about the whole “power lifting gear” thing.
Taken from the Joe Average site:
“Deadlift weaknesses: If you can’t get the weight moving off the floor, tighten up your suit. The suit should be uncomfortable in the crotch and you should have a hard time getting to the bar. Dick Crane’s testicles are constantly bruised from his canvas suit and deadlift suit but he did squat 900.”
Are you f#$%ing kidding me!?
[/quote]
That is the way the sport is. If you want to be competitive, you have to use the best gear. If you want to lift raw, just for your own benefit, thats cool, but don’t expect to run with the pro’s.
Joe Average guys are really very crazy about gear though, they use suits so tight that they sometimes have to be cut off. Some people rely on no strength and all gear.
BTW, Dirty Dick Crane is freakin’ nuts.
Yeah some of the Joe Average annoys me… I read a bench article looking for some training tips and EVERY tip was on tightening your shirt… Thats nothing against gear though… just Joe Averages obsession with it…
So, I guess some power lifting meets are determined by who has the best tailor or seamstress. 
not really, past a certain point tightness of a suit or shirt can hurt your performance. The DD shirt i just got was way too tight in the arms and it took 3 people and 15 minutes just to get the sleeves on while pinching and bruising my arms, and when i used it, it was almost impossible to control. The bar would swing forward or back too far. So needless too say I’m not even that advanced to need it that tight so i got and inch out of the arms. And with a canvas squat suit i tried a week or two back it was pretty loose in the crotch and hips. It was a leviathan that i borrowed and didnt fit right but it didnt matter because i got 150+ lbs out of it. So tightness will add some poundage to your lifts but past a point its crazy.
Tom
[quote]wtf wrote:
So, I guess some power lifting meets are determined by who has the best tailor or seamstress.
[/quote]
No, its determined by who can use the equipment the best. If you really break it down, its the people who work the hardest and train the smartest. The same people who would win if there was no equipment.
I’m one of the best benchers in the world. In fact, I’m currently ranked 4th. The shirt I am using now is direct from Inzer, no modifications at all.
If you don’t like the equipment, go find a different sport.
armchair lifters seem to share one opinion, … at least you guys are all consistent.
If you don’t like powerlifting gear and think it is stupid, then don’t use it.
Are you concerned with your performance?
Have you lost competitions because others use it and you don’t?
This reminds me of people who don’t use steroids but say that they are stupid. Same rule applies.If you don’t like it don’t use it.
Realy, what is the basis for a statement like that?
I have to admit, the title was meant to be a little inflammatory.
I don’t really have a problem with gear per say. I even think it’s important for staying healthy when doing maximum effort singles. It’s just a shame when it becomes the focus, at least IMO.
Plus, I thought it was funny how some people would go as far as “constantly bruised testicles” to get that extra edge.
Ditto to Shawn and TT concerning gear. Although, the bruised yaros sounds pretty messed up.
TT, you said that you tried a loose leviathan. What was that like? How much did it take get to parallel? Is it a bitch to get on (let’s say compared to a poly- I’ve never squated in canvas)?
It is true that you need a tight seam on the crotch of a deadlift suit for the pop off the floor and it’s true that you get maximum performance out of tight gear but,It is true that even the general public puts way too much emphasis on gear. sorry but I train for the carryover, so when someone asks me what kind of carryover I get from a suit or shirt and I tell them then the first thing going through their head is “man, that’s a strong suit” but if you don’t train in a certain way you won’t get shit for a carryover and most people who don’t train in gear will never understand that.
Tom
wtf:
you are right, this sport is nuts. Wearing gear is nuts as well. I’m 40 years old and I wonder why I continue to do what I do. Yes, I wear good gear and I wear it tight. I’ve learned to get the absolute most out of myself and my gear.
What I think is nuts is what other lifter’s will put in themselves just to lift more weight. There is only so much that I will do. I train hard, I train with alot of tension and I’ve learned to get the most out of my equipment. That’s where I draw the line.
I get criticized for training with a shit load of tension and wearing tight gear, but no one says a thing about me being drug free! Everyone has to go down the path they choose. I don’t knock anyone for the choices they make. You want to lift more weight than you ever thought possible and do it drug free, then you better invest in some bands and good gear and learn how to use both. It’s your choice!
And slattimer is correct, it’s just not as simple as slapping on some gear and all of a sudden you can lift 200 more pounds. You have to develop the strength to handle the weight your gear allows you to or you will get crushed.
Just because a guy chooses to wear gear doesn’t mean his training is any less intense.
Some guys sit in a bar a drink away there paychecks, other guys hunt,fish, work on cars whatever. I lift weights using bands and tight gear, what can I say. To each his own!
wtf: how someone decides to lift or what they wear, no one is right or wrong, it’s just there own personal choice. I’m always respectful of the choices that other’s make!
If tight gear isn’t for you, no problem!
Jim
Jim
I think we agree on more points than disagree.
You’d be foolish not to take advantage of the gear allowed by your respective federation. That’s not what I mean at all.
And this wasn’t targeted at you and your guys specifically; it’s just that the bruised sack thing was a humorous example of what goes on in the sport.
As crazy as the gear thing has become, guys eating themselves into a shorter range of motion is even less impressive. I almost think the bench event needs to be redefined or replaced by something else.
It seems like the deadlift still remains the king of lifts though. Not nearly as much carry over from gear, and you can’t “fat” the weight up.
BTW, drug and injury free at 40 with your numbers is an impressive feat. I think that says more about your methods than anything else.
wtf:
i didn’t take your post personally at all. Alot of the stuff that I’ve posted I never thought would get read by so many especially the nut sack bruising post. It is pretty comical and usually doesn’t occur to most lifter’s.
The whole gear thing just kind of evolved. The whole alterations thing took on a life of it’s own. Ron Zavacky who managed a mill his entire life has done all of our alterations for years. Altering gear became like a steroid. If I can bench this much with it this tight, how much more can I bench if it’s even tighter? So, we just kept altering and tweaking our stuff until it was perfect. Before long we were getting 150 pounds minimum out of our shirts.
Same argument can be made about NASCAR. Why don’t they just buy a car off the lot and race that? Instead they spend millions on developing, building and testing every aspect of the car and hundred’s of thousands go and watch each weekend. Who wants to watch a bunch of racer’s race with car’s off a lot?
Learning to wear gear and learning to get the most out of it is a science and is not as easy as it seems. Keep in mind, I wear a Ginny Phillips canvas squat suit, an Inzer double denim bench shirt and a Titan Dual Quad for the deadlift. I’ve worn this same stuff for years now, I’ve developed alot of strength wearing the same gear. Alot of guys will continue to upgrade there gear or get the latest and greatest, I stick with the same stuff and just train hard and continue to make solid gains with the same old stuff.
Keeping an open mind and your willingness to try new stuff is the best way to make gains long term!
Joe,
Thanks for your input on this.I have been wondering about the use of lifting gear for a while.A couple of the guys I lift with have been using briefs for the dl for a while and the one shirt I used for bench cut into my pects badly enough to have me reconsider using it at all.
Any suggestions on brands, quality, etc, that a beginner should know or expect? The shirt I wore was an Inzer and was actualy designed for a guy bigger than me, but they got something screwed up when they manufactured it.
mindeffer01:
any shirt that is properly altered will leave marks, some more so than other’s. Poly shirts will actually cut into the skin if tight enough. After a while your skin gets used to it.
I recommend that any new person starting out go right into an Inzer double denim for the bench and a Titan Centurion for the squat and dl.
Where in Pa. are you from? If you can get to Nazareth Barbell I can help you get the stuff and get it dialed in.
Sorry I haven’t looked up this thread in a few days. I’m in South Park, just to the south of Pittsburgh.(no kidding about living in south park!). I don’t ever make it over to Nazereth, but there is a woman who runs a great supp and nutrition store nearby. She was a competitive power lifter for a while and is in the know about gear.In fact she uses Inzer. I may go talk to her and see what she has to say about it, where and how to order ect.