Powerlifting Gear: Suits

Having been a competitor at nasa powerlifting I have a soft spot in my heart for lifters that choose not to use squat suits or bench press shirts when they compete. This gear however does have a place along side your belt in the gym bag. And here is why:

Bench Press Shirt:

Restriction of movement to proper angles. How many times in a meet or at the gym have you seen a lifter benching a near max lift slowly fade his arms more over his neck or face and the spotters have to grab it before serious injury might occur. TOO MANY times. Luckily most spotters catch this. The bench press shirt can prevent this. As far as the ability of the shirt to help your lift. You will have to be the judge. In my experience the stretch of the fabric did indeed aid in the lift some 15 to 20 lbs over what I could do without a shirt. Seems pretty cut and dry to me since that was on a borrowed shirt not even fitted to me.

Powerlifting suit, for squating and deadlifts.

Again the stretchy fabric, all brands are different and tout the fabrics they are using. This stuff does work if used properly. The real benefit to me that I see is the core support that could help prevent a hernia during a heavy lift. There is also a psychological motivational effect you get when putting a suit on. I never used a powerlifting suit in a competition but they were fun to try out at the gym on a Saturday afternoon. The looks you would get from the aerobics class were classic when you were walking out of the bathroom with a suit on and having a chalk dust cloud following you like pigpen from the Charlie Brown cartoons.

Depending on the organization that you lift under you may not be able to use these items but they do have their place. Like mentioned before moderation is the key since you do not want your regular workouts to depend on a powerlifting suit or bench press shirt. Now go get your lift on!