olympic equipment thread

[gobbles]

this thread is to discuss equipment for olympic lifting, discuss your opinions on whats the best for each piece of equipment for oly lifting. equipment to discuss: Shoes, knee wraps, wrist wraps, bars, and plates. add more equipment if you want other equipment to discuss.

[athenafootball]

some people claim that you shouldnt wear a belt and that it isnt raw if you do?

i feel that its necessary for protection.

discuss?

[gobbles]

some people claim that you shouldnt wear a belt and that it isnt raw if you do?

i feel that its necessary for protection.

discuss?

Thats what a forgot, belts.

I only wear a belt when I start to go heavier on these lifts, I'm not sure if its raw or not, I have seen some people wear belts at competitions and thier lifts count, although this was smaller stuff, not the olympics, seems like a good discussion

[athenafootball]

yeah i wear my belt as soon as i get heavy in squats, deads, and cleans.

provides a ton of support.

never used to wear one and finally i hurt my back.

best lifting investment yet!

but yeah i think in any powerlifting comp you can wear them. dont think so in olympics though

[gobbles]

yeah i wear my belt as soon as i get heavy in squats, deads, and cleans.

provides a ton of support.

never used to wear one and finally i hurt my back.

best lifting investment yet!

but yeah i think in any powerlifting comp you can wear them. dont think so in olympics though

yeah, only at a small olympic lifting comp did I ever see people wearing belts, I have also seen on TV this college oly lifting tournament(cant remember what its called) and I saw them wearing belts, maybe they just dont allow that in the olympics

P.S. what type of belt you got? I got an inzer forever belt(2 prong, no lever for me!) that has worked well for me on olympic lifts.

[athenafootball]

yeah maybe..

but another discussion. wraps. i agree with not allowing wraps because they do help a ton.

to me, wraps are crucial in training though; they allow me to deadlift or powerclean more than my grip would be able to handle without them, which is great for that last set or two.

[gobbles]

wraps help a ton, my knee wraps can give me 20-30 lbs. on my squat(thats after working with them for a while) knee wraps IMO are iffy when competing, but wrist wraps are a differant story, I believe wrist wraps are a must, keeps your wrists steady, and helps prevent wrist injury, the only wrist wraps I have used are titans THP(havent tried titaniums yet,):
http://www.titansupport.com/products/wraps/wraps.htm

and Inzers Z wraps:

http://www.inzernet.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=WRAPS_IRON_WRISTZ

I personally liked the Inzer wraps better, felt like they give more support

[athenafootball]

wrist wraps are good for presses, as i always experience wrist pain when doing heavy military press.

[SurfOnSilver]

I think if your a BB'er, wraps are a good idea because they help you work the back more. However, I think for oly/power lifting a strong grip is essential, so I would never use wraps, only time I would is if I fatigue my grip and want to carry on training, then when the girp has gone I guess you could start to use them.

As for belts, I've never used one, I just train smart. I deadlift basically 2.5x my bodyweight and I've never injured myself lifting. You just have to train with proper form and rest adequately. If you don't use a belt, your whole core gets stronger and does the job the belt would do anyway.

[Lavoisier]

I only wear a belt when doing heavy deads or squats. Wearing a belt minimizes how much you lower back is being worked, but sometimes it is important to prevent injury.

Edit: I just saw Surf on Silver's post. I have to agree with all of it. Grip is really important and if you are too dependent on straps, your grip will lag behind your lifts easily. What if you don't have straps one day...

[gobbles]

surfonsilver, I think youre thinking of wrist STRAPS, what I mean is wrist wraps, like the inzer and titan ones I posted.

[athenafootball]

I think if your a BB'er, wraps are a good idea because they help you work the back more. However, I think for oly/power lifting a strong grip is essential, so I would never use wraps, only time I would is if I fatigue my grip and want to carry on training, then when the girp has gone I guess you could start to use them.

As for belts, I've never used one, I just train smart. I deadlift basically 2.5x my bodyweight and I've never injured myself lifting. You just have to train with proper form and rest adequately. If you don't use a belt, your whole core gets stronger and does the job the belt would do anyway.

good point.

BB's use wraps so they can lift as much weight as possible to promote maximum growth.

i still use a belt when lifting heavy to prevent injury.

[athenafootball]

I only wear a belt when doing heavy deads or squats. Wearing a belt minimizes how much you lower back is being worked, but sometimes it is important to prevent injury.

Edit: I just saw Surf on Silver's post. I have to agree with all of it. Grip is really important and if you are too dependent on straps, your grip will lag behind your lifts easily. What if you don't have straps one day...

true. FOREARM strenth is crucial for powerlifting/oly. lifts

[raffiki]

Belts are legal in weightlifting, I think it is up to 4 inches or so. Knee wraps are not allowed, but knee sleeves are. You can also tape your wrists and thumbs.

I don't wear anything other than my suit and shoes in competition. In training I only use lifting straps for deadlifts (primarily snatch grip).

[gobbles]

Belts are legal in weightlifting, I think it is up to 4 inches or so. Knee wraps are not allowed, but knee sleeves are. You can also tape your wrists and thumbs.

I don't wear anything other than my suit and shoes in competition. In training I only use lifting straps for deadlifts (primarily snatch grip).

All right, finally someone who competes in Olympic lifting posted here! so belts are legal, I didnt know knee wraps were not allowed, I'll edit my first post to switch knee wraps with knee sleeves if necessary, now we that we have a real olympic lifter here(one who competes), since you dont where a belt often, what in your opinion are the best shoes for olympic lifting? and when you use a belt, which one do you believe is the best?

[SurfOnSilver]

All right, finally someone who competes in Olympic lifting posted here! so belts are legal, I didnt know knee wraps were not allowed, I'll edit my first post to switch knee wraps with knee sleeves if necessary, now we that we have a real olympic lifter here(one who competes), since you dont where a belt often, what in your opinion are the best shoes for olympic lifting? and when you use a belt, which one do you believe is the best?

i would just double check he IS a competative lifter before putting all that pressure on him :P

[gobbles]

i would just double check he IS a competative lifter before putting all that pressure on him :P

Well, he did say all he wears is his suit and shoes in competition, I sure hope he competes,

[PrivateBaldrick]

I would consider weightlifting shoes pretty essential, especially for someone of my height. The raised heel allows you to have a better, more stable, center of gravity in the low squat position, and the hard sole, allows you to transfer energy better; no squishy rubber sole to roll around in.

[gobbles]

Before I head off to gym, I added new things to discuss, they are bars and weights, some people like certain bars, and some like differant plates like bumpers, discuss your favorites and why.

[PrivateBaldrick]

Most major manufacturer's plates work just fine for everybody. My gym uses equipment from a Chinese manufacturer named Zhangkong.

[raffiki]

All right, finally someone who competes in Olympic lifting posted here! so belts are legal, I didnt know knee wraps were not allowed, I'll edit my first post to switch knee wraps with knee sleeves if necessary, now we that we have a real olympic lifter here(one who competes), since you dont where a belt often, what in your opinion are the best shoes for olympic lifting? and when you use a belt, which one do you believe is the best?

Haha, yes I do compete. I don't even own a belt, so I'm not sure. Some like leather, some like synthetic with velcro. Though at top (world level) competitions you will typically see leather.

Shoes are expensive, but you need them to be all you can be. A cheap intro option is dress shoes from Walmart or something. They have a good 1/2 inch heel and are ussually hard soles. For real ones you will have to shop online and pay at least $80.

[rogan181]

Haha, yes I do compete. I don't even own a belt, so I'm not sure. Some like leather, some like synthetic with velcro. Though at top (world level) competitions you will typically see leather.

Shoes are expensive, but you need them to be all you can be. A cheap intro option is dress shoes from Walmart or something. They have a good 1/2 inch heel and are ussually hard soles. For real ones you will have to shop online and pay at least $80.

go do a snatch shoeless, then do one with shoes...come back tell us the percentage difference it makes and what brand shoe you have...

EdIT: okay so i want to get a kettlebell for one handed nsatches, i was thinign the 24kg one, around 53lbs i believe... so i looked htem up, holy ****! theyre liek $90 each

[srb5046th]

Do most of you Oly guys use rubber weights. I really want to start getting into the olympic lifting. I see that in alot of the lifts the weights are dropped on the floor. Thanks for any advise.

[gobbles]

Do most of you Oly guys use rubber weights. I really want to start getting into the olympic lifting. I see that in alot of the lifts the weights are dropped on the floor. Thanks for any advise.

thanks for the thread bump:)

My bud who does olifting lifts with rubber plates, except he goes to a place where they have all that

[partymonster975]

I wear belts when lifting heavy DL's or squats but so far not for olympic lifting. I think it would feel weird on me. The shoes however are great, rly help u squat deeper imo.

[scott_donald]

i bought some adidas adistar shoes... got them for my bday which is this thursday...

[HitItHard]

ive got some vs. olympic shoes, seem to work just fine

[microrahsheen]

thanks for the thread bump:)

My bud who does olifting lifts with rubber plates, except he goes to a place where they have all that

I am very interested in this subject, actually. I really want to get into olympic lifting to increase my speed and explosiveness in general, plus it looks fun, but if I drop the weights it's a wrap for the floor.

I priced some bumper plates and they might as well cost a million bucks.

Any recommendations as to what other equiptment I can get or what I can do to at least get started? I don't want have to worry too much about missing a lift.

I thought about taking the weights outside, but that would still probably destroy the lawn...LOL

[raffiki]

There isn't much you can do. You can build a platform that has a lot of padding where the weight falls, but it would still cost you about the same as a pair of 55lb (25kg) bumper plates.

This is the best you'll find: http://store.wfwclub.com/paof25or55bu.html

I've clean and jerked up to 220lbs with metal plates. It's hard to lower down of course. If you do 3 reps, it wouldn't be too heavy. But yeah, you will have to worry about missing.

[ehlpitel]

Maybe find a gym in your area?

http://www.msbn.tv/usavision/displayPage.aspx?id=730

[Big_fuzzy]

I havent worn a belt in ages.

I think they should only be worn during a lift were technique is likely to break down, like a max dead, but for squats and cleans, Ill let my core and technique keep me safe.

I dont see the need for the in any lift besides dead... you can keep a squat ad clean tight under maximal weights but its easy (and even beneficial as far as weight is concerned) to lose alot of tightness in the dead.

[Marc27Default]

Knee wraps (like in powerlifting) would not be helpfull for an advanced lifter as they restrict movement of the knee and limit the depth that you can drop to. I don't think a serious Olifter would have a need to ever use them.

Belts are definatively legal and there is no issue of raw or not raw in olympic lifting. A belt is personal choice some people use them some don't. I use a belt for heavy clean and jerk lifts but never for lighter lifts, any snatches or back squats. There is a size limit to the belt, I think it is 12 cm which is a little over 4.5 inches.

Shoes are a necessity. They provide stabiliy, and power transfer through the floor as they are rigid. They also have a large heel that allows you to squat deeper while keeping an upright torso. Do-wins are an inexpensive durable brand that run about $90 online so they are not super expensive.