RAW vs. Equipped Powerlifting

[jute]

IMHO if your equipped your not lifting the weight your cheating!!

So lifting chemically induced isnt cheating?.. Its alot harder lifting equipped than RAW..

 

[cic]

I'm in favor of more raw lifting!!!

 

[MikeSki]

I started lifting in the 70's nothing but raw and competed in the late 70's. I tried shirts in the 80's did not like them and besides that had no crew to help or teach me, or internet, so with little help I went back to raw and belt. Then in the 2008 I got some real suits and shirt and tried it again, big difference but raw was still an option and I competed in raw comps for a couple of years.
Now I have a crew and these guys only did geared lifting in none the less multiply! So out to buy $300 shirt and $300 suit, $200 briefs and better wraps for knees and wrist. Been training in gear (multiply) for over 2 years and plan to have my FIRST multiply meet in a couple of weeks. It is hard in gear, and you just don't put it on and do 200lbs more in each lift. It is special form special technique and if you are not doing it that way it is over.
I continue to train raw and competed and I know my gear lifting has helped me in raw squats. Since I've used gear I have competed raw in a few meet. My raw squat has increased 120lbs in competition lifts and I'm over 50 at 240lbs and I'm not talking 300lb squat to 420lb squat more like over 500lb to over 600lbs.
So do I think there should be more raw comps? I don't think there is a federation out there that does not have a raw division so that is a mute question.
Shoud geared lifting (single and multiply) be forgotten? No, it has its place and this should still be a division for those who have crews and want to feel the heavy weight.
Geared lifting is special, you need a crew, good squat racks or a mono lift, competition bench, power racks to name a few of the special equipment to lift on.
Lifting raw you can do at almost any commercial and you can pretty much train by yourself. I am not saying you should just that you can.

Geared/Raw, you will always have a debate but each has its place in powerlifting but I feel that each helps the other.

 

[Like_a_Weed]

I hope to try a comp someday, but have absolutely no intention of ever trying or competing in gear. I don't really see the point in it. What is the benefit of using it, besides bigger numbers? Ive seen people actually laughing at the guys in the bench shirts. That can't be good for the sport.

 

[schultz1]

I think raw would bring more attention to it and, get the number of participants up. When joe public asks a guy what he benches and lifter replies " with or without a shirt ". Joe public becomes confused. I also agree with you about the training aspect. I know a lot of strong guys who lift for the fun of it. These guys wont do meets because of shirts or suits etc. It would bring these guys out in droves imo. Great topic.

This is NOT a thread to debate which one is more impressive, or takes more work etc.

With Ryan attempting to break Mendys 715 raw bench and Benni getting a new WR of 973.5 raw dead it seems like there is a bit more emphasis on raw lifting these days.

Would "most" people like to see more raw meets every year? It just seems that raw meets would bring more "recognition" to the sport as well as more competitors in general. Lets face it, it would be much easier to get the average gym guys to pause a bench and keep their ass down than it would be to get them into the latest shirt (and all the technique, form, time etc. that goes with it).

I am working with a couple guys at my gym right now that are doing the meet with me in Novemeber. I KNOW that if the meet were more about equipped (it has both divisions but a lot of raw guys), they would NOT have considered entering.

Raw seems "easier" to train for, not in regards to the effort you put in, but in the sense that you don't have to make such a production out of training. You don't need 2-4 guys to get you in your shirt/suit etc.

What do you guys think??
Should PL head back to more emphasis on RAW lifts?
Are things fine the way they are?
Would more RAW meets help build the sport more?

 

[porky little keg]

There's merit to both.... I compete equipped most of the time, but have competed raw.

Raw lifting is nice because it is hassle free, but there is a lot more technique involved in geared competition. Gear is a whole new set of challenges to work through, that's fun for me.

That's why there are so many federations. If Joe Rawballs wants to lift with no belt, knee wraps, or clothes then there's a fed for it. If you want no squat suits but you do want knee wraps there's a fed for that. If you want single ply, multi-ply, 40-ply with pneumatic robot arms.... there's a fed for that. Go lift where you want.

 

[BlueDevil]

BUMP...

I think the OP nailed it on the head for me. I've only competed a few times and would like to do so more in the future but the equipped lifting is just too complicated in many ways for me. I do appreciate it and understand that in some ways the gear offers some added safety but learning proper form and technique with a bench shirt/squat suit takes time and a partner. One of my best friends started training for equipped PLing and because he had no one to help him most of the time I would drive to the gym just to help him put his bench shirt on and then peel it off of him when he was done (we trained at different times of the day). That's annoying and makes it hard for someone new to get into. Plus all that gear costs money. Bench shirts aren't cheap and then when you go to get one you then find out that all shirts aren't the same, that makes it more confusing.

It's awesome to see guys like Mendy and Kennelly pushing 1000lbs in a shirt, but for the average PLer I don't really see the point, especially with the new/younger guys. I've been to meets where you have 165lbs guys in a shirt struggling to push 300lbs and that just seems silly to me. I guess in a way it's like AAS. Build a base first, then add the gear.


I would love to see a shift towards more raw lifting.

 

[SFGiants]

Don't be a pussy do both!

 

[porky little keg]

Don't be a pussy do both!

exactly

I don't get how people can be so polarized on this topic.... it's all about moving heavy weight. Most people who would call equipped lifting cheating have never seen, let alone tried to use a squat suit or bench shirt. Everyone wants to believe that their way is the right way, but in the end it's all about moving heavy-ass weight.

 

[deadweight]

I hope to try a comp someday, but have absolutely no intention of ever trying or competing in gear. I don't really see the point in it. What is the benefit of using it, besides bigger numbers? Ive seen people actually laughing at the guys in the bench shirts. That can't be good for the sport.

The main reason why someone would laugh at someone wearing a bench shirt is because they are on the side lines wishing they could atleast break a 300 lbs bench ...Maybe really there are laughing at there little bench....dw

 

[deadweight]

Poky above siad it right..It all about big ass lifts.... Raw or not...Its all about the weights...dw

 

[SHINE]

The main reason why someone would laugh at someone wearing a bench shirt is because they are on the side lines wishing they could atleast break a 300 lbs bench ...Maybe really there are laughing at there little bench....dw

True, the guys doing 1000lbs with the bench shirt are hitting over 800lbs raw.