I’m a little new to powerlifting (been lifting for a year, Westside for about six months), but I’ve been looking to enter a meet a few months from now. Can anyone recommend some USAPL legal gear for a newbie?
Well, I’m biased and would say go METAL (I use it and love it).
That being said, you’ll need to get single ply gear regardless of manufacturer.
If it’s your first meet, I would say go with something from Inzer for a squat suit and bench shirt. They’re cheap and if you don’t end up liking competing, then your not out alot of money. If you find that you like competing, then consider stepping up to the best, METAL.
As for wraps, they are all legal so it’s personal preference.
Belts are also pretty much the same. I have Inzer’s economy belt and it works just fine.
Finally, buy some Chuck Taylors. The only shoe for powerlifting. WWW.zappos.com has great prices on shoes with no shipping.
Metal thru Elite Fitness Systems.
Titan makes great USAPL legal gear.
beef
IPF Gear:
I would say you have to play around and find what works for you. Gear is very individual and what I like you may not.
Squat suit:
Metal IPF-Squatter
Titan Centurion
I find the Metal the easiest to use, while still giving great spring. The Centurion is, I find, a little more supportive, but much stoppier (Is that a word?), and makes depth more difficult.
Bench Shirt:
Single ply Titan F6 or Inzer RageX. The Fury or the Rage are good shirts, but everyone I’ve seen switch to the 6 or X has found them easier to use. I haven’t seen a Metal IPF X-type but it should be good. The old Metal IPF-benchers are not worth the money, Nor are the older Inzers (I can hardly believe they still sell EHPHDs).
Belt:
For belts I’m partial to the Inzer Forever in a double prong or lever.
Wraps:
For wraps I like the Metal All-blacks, though Titan THPs/ Inzer IronwrapsZ are the choice of most of the guys I lift with, and are probably better for most people
As well I find wrist wraps help a lot on the bench, and are fairly inexpensive.
Shoes:
Chucks…
If you have the cash, Adidas Olympic shoes are great (I use the IronWork) but they are a bit of a luxury.
Don’t forget a singlet.
For all of this gear I would stress get it LOOSE if you are not used to gear! IMHO It is far better to get a solid 50 pounds out of your gear, and white lights, than a shakey 100 and red lights.
Last but not least, don’t be afraid to do a meet in whatever you have and are comfortable with. There are more raw/paritally equipped lifters out there than you might realize.
It depends on a lot of factors.
- Current strength levels.
- Budget.
- Timing of the meet.
- Presence of training partners who can help you learn the gear and assess fit.
The only Inzer bench shirt I would even consider purchasing is either a Phenom or Rage. Don’t waste the money on the EH blahblahblah with the kung foo grip bench shirts.
However, the caveat is that a Fury or higher end Inzer shirt is gonna cost some money and take some time to learn. I can’t count on both hands and feet the number of times I have watched a newb bomb or almost bomb in the bench b/c of one of these shirts. What tends to kill them is not necessarily the strength to press the weight, but the ability to do it without technical problems.
Having said that, for a low budget, the bargain rack at Inzer can be great. A z-suit is a great starter suit and you just may be able to get one for under $30. IMHO, the next option would be a Centurian.
We recently did a training cycle with a Metal deadlifter, and overall, we liked it. The key difference is the absence of additional seams to alter (as opposed to a Centurian) and the fact that, relative to NXG+, it stretches alot side to side, and not much at all top to bottom.
IMHO, this makes it a good DL suit, but not as effective of a squat suit. NXG is pretty stout and doesn’t give much in either plane making it an effective material for both squat and pulls. Plus, we have basically decided that a suit with a harness system is intrinsically more effective than a suit without.
In terms of wraps, you need to decide if you like a cast type of wrap or a rebound type wrap. For cast type, Titan THP is tough to beat. For rebound, Inzer z-wraps are an old standby and very durable. Titan also has the new Titanium wraps which are similar to z’s.
I train in z’s and compete in THP’s. However, I want a wrap excruciatingly tight. I could give a rat’s ass about comfort.
I have a pair of Metal triple black knee wraps and would honestly state they suck. I would probably take an old pair of Marathon Superwrap 10’s over them any day. Plus, they are painfully expensive.
Bottom line is I would give serious consideration, relative to your first meet, to finding a z-suit off the bargain rack, wear it to squat and pull in, and consider benching raw. You can always use the z-suit bottoms for speed work later if you decide to move up.
Oh yeah, for belts, American Belt Company makes the best belts out there. You can google them.
[quote]cap’nsalty wrote:
I’m a little new to powerlifting (been lifting for a year, Westside for about six months), but I’ve been looking to enter a meet a few months from now. Can anyone recommend some USAPL legal gear for a newbie?[/quote]
dude…if this is your first meet ever just get the cheapest gear you can get…
the stuff from titan is good but I doubt you’ll get it before your meet…
metal is good to but $$$…
get yourself a single layer blast shirt and a single layer champion suit from inzer…
if you’re still interested in powerlifting after you have a couple of meets under your belt then try out the heavier duty more expensive gear…
good luck!
What’s the difference between the champion suit and the z-suit?
For the record I bench about 260, squat around 300 (medium stance), and deadlift 425 (sumo).
The Z-suit has a different design at the leg opening that holds tighter around your thigh than the Champion. It helps keep the suit from slipping up your leg. Go with the Z. It costs the same as the Champion ($40).
Shirt…go for a HD Blast ($58) or a Rage ($75) from Inzer. Not too much trouble to learn and gives reasonable support from the bottom.
The Powerlifting Superstore can get the stuff out quick and are great at accurately sizing you. Talk to Kara at 800-268-2248
[quote]Antman517 wrote:
The Z-suit has a different design at the leg opening that holds tighter around your thigh than the Champion. It helps keep the suit from slipping up your leg. Go with the Z. It costs the same as the Champion ($40).
Shirt…go for a HD Blast ($58) or a Rage ($75) from Inzer. Not too much trouble to learn and gives reasonable support from the bottom.
The Powerlifting Superstore can get the stuff out quick and are great at accurately sizing you. Talk to Kara at 800-268-2248[/quote]
yes the z-suit could be a better option…especially if you have skinny legs…
I totally disagree on the rage shirt though…I bench 400 in a t-shirt on a good day…with a hd blast shirt the 400 is easy and I can still touch 225 in the shirt…my workout partner has a rage that I tried which slips on very easily and I could not get 495 to touch with the damn thing…
if it’s your first meet stick with the hd blast shirt…
good luck
I will stick with what I said originally. The HD shirts are basically obsolete.
I would rather see you bench raw at your first meet than spend $ on one of these shirts.
Additionally, the groove in these shirts is not even close to what you will have to work with in a Fury or Rage.
You need to make a decision relative to how far out the meet is, and if you can find someone to work with you in the shirt a little before the meet.
Alot of times a persons inability to touch weight in the shirt is not so much due to the power of the shirt, but how it is set up and their familiarity with the pathway and body position needed to get lighter weights to touch. It just take practice.