First off, and I am sure you have heard this thousands of times, thank you for the time you take educating and advising the rest of us. It is much appreciated.
I have a couple of questions and if you can answer any of them it would be great. As the title suggests, I have just signed up for my first powerlifting meet on March 22. I am currently wrapping up the 3-Month BBB challenge and I plan on transitioning into the Strength Challenge next to prepare for the meet. My questions concern that template as well as a more general question concerning lifting.
First question concerns the main assistance exercises (I’ve read somewhere once that you get a few of these). I have been following 5/3/1 for a little over a year now, being extremely dogmatic in my approach and not deviating from the program. Picking that main assistant exercise has always been a pain in a$$ for me. Your suggestions of “pick one that targets your weak areas” is great, but I would say that all my areas are weak and still be scratching my head. In the end, my question is are any of the options and better or worse than each other? For example, after squats, are good mornings better to do than deficit deadlifts?
Second questions concerns “gear” for a raw lifter, and by “gear” I mean wrist wraps, belt, and/or knee wraps. I am by no way a member of the anti-belt brigade, I just have never purchased one or worn one. The same can be said for all the aforementioned “gear”. Would it be wise to start using these things or to compete in them? If so, any suggestions on how to incorporate them into my training for the first time?