Deadlift suit fitting/training question

[Matt Schumann]

Just got my Inzer Fusion Deadlift Suit w/ velcro straps. Tried it on, and the velcro definitely makes it alot easier to put it on.. ( even though this is the 1st time i have ever wore a suit ) However I dont know how I should wear it? I can get the straps up over my shoulders so they are tight, but i dont know if I will be able to get down low enough to grab the bar... and, if I can manage to get myself low enough to grab the bar, I think I will not be able to get into my normal form. WHo knoes how hard everything will be with wearing a belt.

If I loosen the straps up, I know it will be a little easier to get down to grab the bar but when I stand upright, the straps are loose.

What do you guys normally do?


As far as training... Do you guys think training all heavy sets exclusively using a DL suit will help or hurt my raw deadlift? For example, lets say wednesday, I use the suit for the first time and I DL 650 w. it. THen every week after it, i use the deadlift suit and eventually get up to 700 with in 6 months (guessing)... WOuldnt that gain, in theory translate to sometype of increase in my raw DL?

Just wondering. thanks for the input

[Aaron West]

The higher the effort to get to the bar, the greater the "pop" off the floor. It doesn't matter if it's a bench shirt, squat suit or DL suit, the energy is created by the eccentric phase of the lift. With the DL, the only eccentric is you pulling yourself down. It takes time to learn the groove. Basics:

• Make sure the suit legs are seated: there should be no gap in the crotch.
• With the adj. straps, start with them moderatley tight, and crank them down a little at a time as your confidence/technique improve. Also your "sweet spot" will change as the suit stretches.
• Pay attention to your shin angle at the start of the lift. The suit is going to fight you down, and it's easy to shoot the knees over the toes to hit depth instead of forcing yourself to sit back into the suit. You'll get a good tug in the hamstrings if you are in the correct posistion.

Good luck!

[Matt Schumann]

thanks arron, The first thing I noticed when i tried the suit on and tried to see how far down i could go, is that my knees were shooting way out in front of my toes.. Which made me very concerned about getting into my usual form. Hopefully, holding on to the bar, will help me get into postiion..

Any training advice using it?

Originally Posted by Aaron West

The higher the effort to get to the bar, the greater the "pop" off the floor. It doesn't matter if it's a bench shirt, squat suit or DL suit, the energy is created by the eccentric phase of the lift. With the DL, the only eccentric is you pulling yourself down. It takes time to learn the groove. Basics:

• Make sure the suit legs are seated: there should be no gap in the crotch.
• With the adj. straps, start with them moderatley tight, and crank them down a little at a time as your confidence/technique improve. Also your "sweet spot" will change as the suit stretches.
• Pay attention to your shin angle at the start of the lift. The suit is going to fight you down, and it's easy to shoot the knees over the toes to hit depth instead of forcing yourself to sit back into the suit. You'll get a good tug in the hamstrings if you are in the correct posistion.

Good luck!

[Terry_hollands]

It will take a bit of getting used to! I think I lost about 15-20kg off my deadlift the first time I used mine! I keep mine reasonbably loose on my shoulders! It all tightens when I put my belt on! If I was gonna go for a max in contest I would probably tighten them up a bit! I found I have to grip the bar with it way infront of me and sink my hips as I roll the bar toward me! I know I am using straps in this but you will get what I mean.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=iA3_Twv866o

I take a big breath just before I roll the bar in!

[Jonathan Creason]

Sorry to hijack your thread, Matt, but I've got a question myself. I recently got an Inzer Max DL. The first time I tried it I struggled to even match my raw PR. I made several pulls with the straps down and then just pulled them up for the top attempts. Should I make more pulls with the straps up to get used to the technique? It's a bit of a pain to get them up since I train by myself, but if it's what I need to do I'll just get over it.

[rob meulenberg]

Originally Posted by Matt Schumann

As far as training... Do you guys think training all heavy sets exclusively using a DL suit will help or hurt my raw deadlift? For example, lets say wednesday, I use the suit for the first time and I DL 650 w. it. THen every week after it, i use the deadlift suit and eventually get up to 700 with in 6 months (guessing)... WOuldnt that gain, in theory translate to sometype of increase in my raw DL?

Just wondering. thanks for the input

It really depends on where your DL weakness is at. If you are weak off the floor, then a suit will help you pull more weight because the initial pull will be easier off the floor. IMO, your raw pull will not get any better since all a suit is doing is hiding that weakness, not making it stronger.

If your lockout is your weak point, then a suit may not help you as much, at least from my experiences.

But I at least believe if your lockout is your weak point, then suit training will not affect your raw DL lockout as much as your strength off the floor.

If you are weak off the floor, I would be rotating suit work with raw work like pulls standing off blocks and good mornings if you are indeed worried about keeping that raw DL up.

[Ryan Largay]

It will be hard and painful to get down in your proper form with tight straps. I agree with Aaron, use the bar to pull yourself down into correct starting form. It will be painful but fight through it and remember to sit your ass back.

In your warm up sets start with your belt on and straps down. Once it starts to get heavy, put a loose strap on. Then tighten it up from there. When I do 3-5 reps in the suit, I keep the straps looser. Your first day you pull in your suit, you may not see much of a gain. The more you get comfortable and get a feel for the suit the more weight you will move.

[Matt Schumann]

I used the suit for the first time yesterday after my pulling sessio nwithout the suit. I hit a PR with 610 ( not using the suit ).. then I put the suit on, dropped the weight to 495 and gave it a shot. I could not get down enough to grab the bar. I think I fought to get one foot into postion but my other foot was stuck behind me.... I loosened the straps up and managed to get a pull in with 495 but I felt no benefit from the suit at all... It may have been harder. Plus I cannot seem to breath properly when I am grabbing the bar... or atleast trying to grab the bar.

Should I put the suit on atleast once every day to try and stretch it out??

Originally Posted by Ryan Largay

It will be hard and painful to get down in your proper form with tight straps. I agree with Aaron, use the bar to pull yourself down into correct starting form. It will be painful but fight through it and remember to sit your ass back.

In your warm up sets start with your belt on and straps down. Once it starts to get heavy, put a loose strap on. Then tighten it up from there. When I do 3-5 reps in the suit, I keep the straps looser. Your first day you pull in your suit, you may not see much of a gain. The more you get comfortable and get a feel for the suit the more weight you will move.

[Ryan Largay]

by pulling more and more in the suit, it will get a little looser over time. maybe start using it with heavy rack pulls, lower the racks untill you hit the floor. i would start with the bar a few inches below the knee or an 18 inch DL. you may have to move the straps around til is right for you. also try overlaping your straps at different angles, like Charles Bailey in this pic http://www.gometal.com/pImg/team_Charles_Bailey.jpg. it will alow more contact area on shoulders.

nice job on the 610