Powerlifting gear guide

[Rhinobolt10]

I'm by no means an expert on gear quite yet, tho I've used something from just about every company at this point.

The biggest things about gear is that they either give "stopping" power or "popping/rebound" power.

I still don't really understand this sorta stuff as I generally get more pop from the stuff made for stopping power, but I think it has a lot to do with my particular style. Nobody can tell you how you're going to respond to gear, you just kind of have to figure it out for yourself, and it generally takes some time.


SINGLE PLY

Titan: this is the company I've had the most experience with mainly because the guys on my powerlifting team mostly used their stuff. Titan is a stopping power gear, meaning when you get to hole or your chest it just kinda stops...

Bench shirts:
Fury- not really a lot of experience with this one, but a good beginner shirt for sure.

F6-my first shirt, and probably still my favorite so far. benched my first 365 in this shirt when my max was around 315, and later managed 385. The biggest thing I found was to bench bodybuilder style with flared elbows to really stretch the chest panel and get the most pop off the chest.

Katana - probably the most used single ply shirt, when you get the hang of it it's great, and when you struggle... it's brutal. Biggest thing I've seen is this shirt really forces your elbows in, making it really tough when you get towards your chest. IE, you touch a bit lower than what is ideal, in my personal opinion. I benched my first 405 in this shirt.

Super Katana - same as the katana, but with a jacked up lower collar that you can pull way further down. Most people recommend getting this one a size bigger than a regular katana.

Squat suits:
Centurian - the only suit I've ever really used in single ply. Really stops you right at the hole, and you need to be working close to your max to be able to get depth I find. Squatted my first 600 in this suit, when my max was probably under 450 in a belt.
-I also use this suit to do most of my pulling.

Super centurian: just made with thicker material, no experience in this suit.

Velocity: deadlift suit - some guys swear by it, but I've also seen a lot of guys just pull in a centurian.

Knee wraps- there are a few different kinds, I use the stiffest ones, that hurt like hell, but give me the most of all knee wraps I've used so far.

[Rhinobolt10]

I'll get to metal and inzer later... if anyone else wants to chime in feel free, as I'm just putting mostly my personal experience and what I've seen from teammates.

Biggest thing to remember is that everyone is different. I've always gotten a lot of carryover from suits as I'm super weak in the hole, and that's where they do most of the work.

[shawn]

Hey Rhino, what's your opinion for wraps and sleeves - wrist, elbows, knees. Any favourites? Brands to avoid?
I was looking at the APT Strangulators.

thanks
S.

[Talo]

The shirt that I have is from APT , single ply. I haven't been able to use it in a meet yet and I've only trained with it 4 times.

It's a great fit with room to move because the backing is a special flex material. Best lift with it was 405.

[Rhinobolt10]

Hey Rhino, what's your opinion for wraps and sleeves - wrist, elbows, knees. Any favourites? Brands to avoid?
I was looking at the APT Strangulators.

thanks
S.

Hey man,

For sleeves, I'd go with anything Rehband, they're elbow and knee sleeves are amazing. If you've ever had knee pain from squatting these can fix you right up, but you'll eventually have to address the problem.

For wraps, the all around best if you've never used any before are inzer... they're just the best of both worlds I find, especially when you don't know what you're looking for.

I use a pair of inzer 24cm wrist wraps for general pressing, and a pair of metal all blacks for competition pressing that are 36cm.

APT is great stuff too though, I just got a pair of 3m knee wraps I've gotta still try out. And, there's actually a Canadian dealer for APT now, and he can get rehband stuff too.

I don't know his email, but just add Barry Antoniow on facebook and ask him about his APT stuff, he'll hook you up, and best of all, no duty, tho it may be a bit more than what some websites say, mostly just cause it's generally in American.