— ...gear used in powerlifting meets (though it can for some lifters, especially the
sumo style).. You should always train without support gear—other than perhaps a belt
for squatting, deadlifting and overhead pressing, and possibly very prudent
use of wrist straps if you are performing very heavy partial pulling exercises.
e exception is if you are a powerlifter getting ready for a contest, when
you must get used to using support gear.. With no support gear other than a belt, most people who train the deadlift
and squat seriously will deadlift more than they squat. But in meet condi-
tions and using squat support gear, some of them will squat about the same
as they deadlift, or even squat more. A contributing factor here is that the
squat is done first and the deadlift last. is favors the squat performance.. Different lifters benefit to varying degrees from support gear, according to
the size of lifters, quality of paraphernalia, and how well it is used. Typically,
– pounds on the bench press and – on the squat is the sort of
help the gear can provide. e figures that follow assume no support gear
other than a belt, and have been adjusted to a multiple of pounds.. ese figures are totals that do not specify the three individual component
lifts. Breaking the totals into individual lifts is something you can do your-
self. Consider the –– threesome. e total is , pounds and
the proportion for the bench press is . For the squat, it comes to .,
and the deadlift gets the balance of .. Make it a threesome of ,
and for round figures.. is composition breakdown may or may not tally with your relative
strength levels. Assuming you have trained each exercise equally seriously,
consistently and intensively (which very few people do, usually because
they prefer the bench press to the other two movements) you can calculate
your own relative strength proportions. If you have not trained each of the
exercises with equal seriousness and application for a number of years, then
you must do this before you can accurately work out your relative strength
levels.. Taking the proportions that reflect your actual relative strengths for each
lift, or using the –– estimation if you have no precise figures
for yourself, you can calculate the breakdown of the three lifts for whichever
bodyweight and age category you are considering, or targeting.