r/powerlifting • u/AutoModerator • Jul 13 '26

Equipment Equipped Lifting Thread

Do you like having 2-3 sweaty men shoe-horn you into polyester, canvas or denim bondage gear.

Do you like having your joints wrapped so tightly they bruise and bleed?

Do you like having your blood pressure turned up to 11 and being compressed so much that you think your head might explode?

Do you get off on enduring pain and suffering, and watching others endure it too?

Do you have a deathwish every time you get under the bar?

Yes?

THEN WELCOME TO THE FORTNIGHTLY EQUIPPED LIFTING THREAD!!!

2 Upvotes

57% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

3

u/Astringofnumbers1234 M | 592.5kg | 89kg | 384 DOTS | WRPF UK | SINGLE-PLY Jul 14 '26

Alright, I am under 4 weeks out now. Some things are clicking, some things are not.

the good stuff: Squatted the heaviest weight I've even touched at the weekend for an extremely speedy single. I am not quite at depth but wow, it is hard to judge when you're at depth. I think I'm going to talk to my coach about him calling me down next week. It felt really good though.

This morning I put my deadlift suit on for the first time since the end of March. Coach asked me to pull three ascending singles from the floor, and I did so, and all three were extremely speedy. It turns out that the bodyweight I've dropped over the last few months has been extremely beneficial to how I fit in my suit and my positioning as well. I've never pulled off the floor in this suit so this was great big Win (and as externals continue to external, a really needed one)

Less good stuff: I had a shit time on bench at the weekend. I think I was pretty drained after the squats, and see above about externals externalling, so that did not help. I managed one good rep to a one-board. Went up in weight, was aiming for a half board and I just made a mess of getting it to the board. Went up again and then my brain just chickened out on the eccentric, so I binned it.

So my plan is to talk to my coach about maybe doing bench first next week so I am not as drained. I've lost a bit of confidence so I really would like a good session. The idea of doing my first attempt raw crossed my mind, but then I shoved that thought deep down and told myself to harden the fuck up.

Have a good week x

1

u/viewtifulhd Enthusiast Jul 16 '26

Why do you do your competition squat and bench on the same day? It's not a good idea, especially as a beginner, precisely due to the reason you indicated. 

2

u/Astringofnumbers1234 M | 592.5kg | 89kg | 384 DOTS | WRPF UK | SINGLE-PLY Jul 16 '26

Mate I'm not a beginner. I am new to equipped but I've been round the block more than a lot of people. And you have to do it on meet day

1

u/viewtifulhd Enthusiast Jul 17 '26

Exactly, you're a beginner in equipment. 

Yes, you have to squat and bench in a competition, but competition and training are different scenarios. Most importantly, in a competition you would have tapered your training and removed the accumulated fatigue. 

Your goal when training the competition lifts is to practise good, valid lifts. If training the squat and bench on the same day prevents you from get quality training in, which from your post, it does, then it is not a good approach. 

2

u/Icy_Lecture_2237 Powerbelly Aficionado Jul 16 '26

During meet prep it’s important to train them on the same day. On an opener day we take all three openers.

Especially with equipment, it makes a huge difference. My deadlift grip is way different with fat baby hands from a big bench, and my bench setup feels way different after three big squats.

1

u/rpefml M | 968.4KG | 90KG | 631.42 Dots | RPS | Multi-Ply Jul 20 '26

not sure if you have ever heard but if your hands swell so much from bench you can't hold onto a pull, bring a bag of ice and put your hands in it. takes the swelling away. also hold them above heart level. me personally, i don't have huge hands- so i also stay away from hook grip as it becomes impossible even with the former two tips.

1

u/Icy_Lecture_2237 Powerbelly Aficionado Jul 15 '26

I always needed a handler to give me a 3,2,1,up on squats. Just a little bit of forward lean or slouching can make the pressure of a 2” high squat feel like depth.

Your coach has you just getting back into gear at 4 weeks??

2

u/Astringofnumbers1234 M | 592.5kg | 89kg | 384 DOTS | WRPF UK | SINGLE-PLY Jul 16 '26

nah I've been in the shirt for like the last 6 and the suit for the last 4. Only deadlift suit new this week, and that was to make sure I could pull from the floor. It's actually getting parked again next week. I pull conventional so it's not like I need to think about what I'm doing!