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How much will a deadlift suit add to your dead lift?

D

deadweight

MuscleHead
Sep 20, 2010
2,293
498
I really couldnt give u a complete answer to this question....The true factor about wearing gear is the more u work with it the more u will get results....U cant expect to put something on and expect that much...All i can say the more u wear the suit and lift with it the more your lift will increase.dw
 
SFGiants

SFGiants

MuscleHead
Apr 20, 2011
1,091
129
3 big questions that will determine your answer...

1) do you pull conventional or sumo? I pull conventional and my suit ( which is a top of the line 2-ply overkill) gives me 50-75lbs on top of a 705 raw pull. Sumo pullers can wear the suits tighter and load the suit more when pulling so they get a higher % out of theirs.

2) What kind of suit are you getting? A single-ply Z-suit won't give you as much carryover as a top end single ply suit, neither will give you as much as a multi ply suit ***

3) and that's the big *** to the above question.... is how good you are at working gear. My wife and I both wear all Overkill gear, which is notorious for being the most extreme gear out there... she can work a super tight 2-ply shirt hard enough to be able to touch with 185#.... but there are lots of guys who can't deal with the pressure from the same shirt and can't get 600 to touch.... it's the same for suits. Some people just don't have the stones to work a suit that is really tight. The suits don't magically add weight to your lifts. Some guys get as much out of a single ply suit as a double because the double is just too much for them to work, their form goes to shit and they start missing lifts......

Most guys, once they learn the gear, can get 50-100 out of a deadlift suit depending on these three things......


I get 50 maybe 60 conventional in a Metal Pro King

I know some that sumo that get 100 plus

I hate sumo!
 
Last edited:
UncleAl

UncleAl

MuscleHead
Jun 20, 2012
1,376
600
I have the Metal Pro King, too, but am still breaking it in (can barely reach the bar). Just love the way it shoves my nuts behind my belly button. Do you wear briefs under yours?
 
blubbard

blubbard

TID Lady Member
May 31, 2012
78
11
I have the Metal Pro King, too, but am still breaking it in (can barely reach the bar). Just love the way it shoves my nuts behind my belly button. Do you wear briefs under yours?

To avoid this issue, pull the legs down an inch or so from your crotch before you reach for the bar. That way the suit will set when you get down to the bar and you will avoid the ball crushing to an extent. I wouldn't wear briefs under this suit unless it was too big in the legs and hips.
 
blubbard

blubbard

TID Lady Member
May 31, 2012
78
11
Im a weak squatter...I'm 6 ft 3 and its just dam awkward for me...My max is only 385

my squat rack at the gym is not made for dead lifting in. it has the adjustable safety bars and on the very bottom its still about 3 inches too high to deadlift...more like rack pulls.


maybe the squat suit is what I need to get to be a better squatter and dead lifter

3 inch rack pull is still pretty close to a DL. I'd work in a shitload of pulls againts quaded minis in that rack. I don't pull heavy from the floor that often and have been working in a lot of banded rack pulls lately and have been hitting some nice PRs. I was like you when I started out, 6'4", skinny and a piss weak bench and squat compared to my pull. Keep working at it and gaining weight. I was around 235 when I started and now stand around 300 lbs, 5 years later. My squat was around high 300's too and I just smashed an easy 605 lb raw box squat. Just keep chipping away.
 
UncleAl

UncleAl

MuscleHead
Jun 20, 2012
1,376
600
To avoid this issue, pull the legs down an inch or so from your crotch before you reach for the bar. That way the suit will set when you get down to the bar and you will avoid the ball crushing to an extent. I wouldn't wear briefs under this suit unless it was too big in the legs and hips.
Thanks, buddy. The legs are real tight; the hips not so much.

Your posts are very informative. The suggestion about pulling against quaded minis is spot on.
 
blubbard

blubbard

TID Lady Member
May 31, 2012
78
11
Thanks, buddy. The legs are real tight; the hips not so much.

Your posts are very informative. The suggestion about pulling against quaded minis is spot on.

No problem, I hope it helps. I wouldn't use the pulls against bands much if one were weak ff the floor. For that issue I would just smack them upside the head before they pull :).
 
uphillclimb

uphillclimb

VIP Member
Dec 9, 2011
5,903
1,625
3 big questions that will determine your answer...

1) do you pull conventional or sumo? I pull conventional and my suit ( which is a top of the line 2-ply overkill) gives me 50-75lbs on top of a 705 raw pull. Sumo pullers can wear the suits tighter and load the suit more when pulling so they get a higher % out of theirs.

2) What kind of suit are you getting? A single-ply Z-suit won't give you as much carryover as a top end single ply suit, neither will give you as much as a multi ply suit ***

3) and that's the big *** to the above question.... is how good you are at working gear. My wife and I both wear all Overkill gear, which is notorious for being the most extreme gear out there... she can work a super tight 2-ply shirt hard enough to be able to touch with 185#.... but there are lots of guys who can't deal with the pressure from the same shirt and can't get 600 to touch.... it's the same for suits. Some people just don't have the stones to work a suit that is really tight. The suits don't magically add weight to your lifts. Some guys get as much out of a single ply suit as a double because the double is just too much for them to work, their form goes to shit and they start missing lifts......

Most guys, once they learn the gear, can get 50-100 out of a deadlift suit depending on these three things......

If you aren't going to compete I'd look for something with velcro straps as they are really easy to adjust ( way easier than sewing a fixed strap), and definitely get on a few powerlifting-specific boards to look for something used.... maybe PLWatch's classifieds' section. That and if you are just buying one suit, why not get something that you can also squat in? The gear I use would be too extreme, but a metal pro ( not ACE or Jack) would be a good start, so would a super centurion from Titan.

You could also try just doing reverse band deadlifts in a power rack to lighten the load at the bottom and help you build momentum off of the floor. No suit needed, no learning curve, and since it doesn't sound like you train in a powerlifting specific gym you also won't be walking around a commercial gym in a squat suit..... the only bright side to that is if you wear it under clothes like the strongman guys do, then you will blow peoples' minds. I had to get a training session in on the road and ended up wearing my squat briefs under sweatpants and a sweatshirt ( for modesty and so I don't get 100 questions from everyone while I'm trying to work out).... I walked out and squatted 765 ( all that would fit on the bar) for a few sets of 3.... you would have thought that I was on fire from the looks people gave me...

That suit would work.... I'd go for the squat suit version as it will work better for squatting and about the same for deadlift, but at $100 more it might not be worth it to you.

As for the bands, you can get them from iron woody or EliteFTS and just choke them off on the top of any power rack.... You could get 3 or 4 different sets of bands ( different tensions) for 1/3 the cost of a suit and they will be more useful to you..... don't get me wrong, if you are set on getting in to a suit then go for it. I'd just hate to see someone spend $150 for something that they only want to use as a training tool when $50 of bands will do the trick.

As for briefs, they are worn under a squat suit and basically are just a suit without straps..... they just add even more support for the hips without restricting the torso. That and when I squat in a canvas suit, the suit stops me cold in the bottom but doesn't offer much rebound, so you pair that suit with a stretchier brief that gives carryover throughout the lift but has no stopping power.
Most guys train a lot in them ( or the single ply guys do similar work with just the suit bottoms) because in gear most guys squat using different form than raw.

My raw squat ( and I never max out on this) is well over 650... as in, I have hit 650 in training just for fun, didn't struggle and then just got my briefs on... I'm probably somewhere in the mid-700's.

But the raw squat is rarely worked in my training cycle because to squat raw you need a narrower stance so you can use more quad drive. My competition stance is wider than most power racks, about 2" away from the base of the monolift. If I tried this raw I'd rip my groin or just miss the weight badly.... so in training I do most of my squatting in briefs. This allows me to still do more work with lighter weights than I'd use in my suit, while still using my competition stance. In just the briefs I've gone over 900, then up to 1100 with reverse medium bands. My full squat in a suit has gone as high as 1060 in the gym, and just under 1000 in a full meet. Not tryng to brag, just giving you an idea of what sort of carryover every bit of gear provides and how we train in it.

Some fantastic info PLK!!! Nicely done!!!
 
O

OldPLer

Senior Member
Nov 29, 2010
173
35
some really great knowledgeable posts in here. straight and to the point
 
Mini Forklift Ⓥ

Mini Forklift Ⓥ

The Veganator
Dec 23, 2012
4,313
730
No place for bands at my gym and I'm the only one that does dead lifts there
Might be time to change gyms.

I have only ever pulled raw, but I have heard many lifters say that a good suit can give you around an extra 10% or so. PLK seems to have the answers though MF.
 
BackAtIt

BackAtIt

MuscleHead
Oct 3, 2016
2,185
668
I ran across this thread while researching...Sorry for it being outdated, hope that doesn't matter...

Would a deadlifting/squat suit help with my back pain?...Would it drop the pain level during a session of squats/deads?....

.
 
BrotherIron

BrotherIron

VIP Member
Mar 6, 2011
10,717
2,808
I ran across this thread while researching...Sorry for it being outdated, hope that doesn't matter...

Would a deadlifting/squat suit help with my back pain?...Would it drop the pain level during a session of squats/deads?....

A suit it nothing more than compression.

Where is your pain and what is causing it?
 
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