Squat Suits vs. Deadlift Suits

I signed up for a powerlifting competition (IPF rules) after a 25 year layoff (no lie). I have about 4 weeks to go and am getting to don the gear. Back in my day we used 2 suits: one for squatting and deadlifting - usually a single ply singlet either borrowed from the club or ordered from one of the firms in the back of PL USA magazine; and a wrestling singlet for benching purchased from the local sporting goods store. You know, one of those red/blue reversible type deals.

I ordered an Inzer Z-suit which I was planning on using for both the DL and Squat, but I noticed that they also carry “Deadlift suits” and special suits for all 3 lifts.

Can I just get by with the one suit for DL and SQ? What’s the difference between today’s squat suits and deadlift suits?

Keep in mind, first meet after 25 years, so I am not going to be breaking any records, this is just going to be a “get back into the groove” meet.

Listen, I don’t even use gear, so you can take this with as many grains of salt as you like, but, unless you are really trying to squeeze out those 15 extra pounds as a very serious competitor, I would just go with the one suit and use it on both lifts.

Suits for all three lifts? I gotta see this.

I think you’d be much better off with an inzer champion over an inzer Z-suit. The Z-suit just isn’t a good suit (it’s old and painful to wear, all the support is in the seam around the leg), you get hardly any carryover. I think you would be much better off with either a centurion (titan) or a hardcore (inzer). But also 4 weeks out is not really enough time to feel comfortable in gear.

You can use a separate DL suit, but I think you would be better off saving the money and pulling in your singlet that you used for bench. The difference between the conventional DL suits and the squat suits is that DL suits will make it so it’s still possible to get down to the bar and the support is different (think all junk, your nuts will feel like they got crushed every time you go to pull).

My advice for somebody 4 weeks out is really just go raw and use good knee wraps. I don’t think you can learn today’s suits or shirts in 4 weeks, chances are you’d set yourself back trying actually.

If you want to try, get a LOOSE suit and try to make it work. But loose suits for a meet 4 weeks from now won’t really help you once you learn the suit and need something tighter for future meets.

BUT, since you’ve already ordered the Z suit, you might just want to try it and see if you can make that work. If trying to learn it doesn’t hold you back, just use that for your first meet and worry about things later. Otherwise, I say just go raw for this and take time to learn a suit.

Thanks for all the replies…good stuff. I think I’ll go semi-raw, meaning I’ll go with a loose-fitting suit for all three lifts, then learn more substanial gear for future meets. This meet came up suddenly, so there will be more.

Thanks again for the info, it really helped.

btw…I tried on the Z-suit and it was terrible. The fit was weay too small even though I ordered the right size per their fitting scale. It wouldn’t fit over my thighs and the straps would not go over my shoulders now matter how much assistance I got from someone. The stichting was started to tear. Terrible suit. At least I got good wraps and belt.