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Fitness

How Exactly Do Squat Suits Improve Squat Performance?

We know that squat suits help powerlifters lift more, but how exactly do they accomplish this? Science looks at elite level powerlifters and tries to break down how the squat suits work.

Written by Jeff Barnett Last updated on December 18, 2012

Professional powerlifters often compete using supportive equipment. Supportive equipment, such as a squat suit, is generally known to improve the performance of lifters trained to use them. But science has no real data on how supportive equipment improves performance – until now.

Today’s article from the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research examined eight elite male powerlifters. Each man had squatted over 700 lbs in a squat suit before. Yeah, these dudes were strong.

First, each man’s 1RM squat was measured raw, without the use of supportive equipment. Then they all returned for two more sessions to perform squats at 80, 90, and 100% of 1RM both with and without the squat suit. Each man was given a fitted double-layered squat suit from Inzer.

The results are very interesting. Maximal force applied to the ground was not significantly different with or without the squat suit. But speed and power were both significantly greater with the squat suit. The authors theorize this is due to stored elastic energy in the squat suit being released on the drive upward. But the fact that maximal force wasn’t significantly different is still surprising. The authors go on to theorize that the squat suit allows the lifter to keep a more upright torso. This more evenly balances loads across the knee and hip joints. I reviewed another study that indicated weightlifting shoes can also help maintain an upright torso, even among powerlifters.

My conclusion: This is a great start in understanding supportive equipment, but the authors readily admit that more research is necessary. One data point I’m surprised was not taken was each lifter’s 1RM using the squat suit. Hey, we’ve got their raw 1RM. Why not take the geared 1RM for comparison and measure force and velocity during that lift, too? Nobody disputes that squat suits increase squatting performance, but we’ll need more research to understand exactly why and by how much.

References:

1. Blatnik, Justin, Skinner, Jared, and McBride, Jeffrey. Effect of Supportive Equipment on Force, Velocity, and Power in the Squat. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 26:12, 3204-3208, Dec 2012.

About Jeff Barnett

Jeff Barnett is a CrossFit affiliate owner, mechanical engineer, and former Marine. He is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. He holds specialty certifications as a CrossFit Mobility Trainer, CrossFit Olympic Lifting Trainer, CrossFit Gymnastics Trainer and is a USA Weightlifting Sports and Performance Coach. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA.

Jeff served as a Marine officer from 2003-2007 and deployed to Fallujah in 2006. After leaving the Marine Corps he co-founded CrossFit Impulse in 2009. His writing focuses on fitness, nutrition, and leadership. Jeff’s writing has appeared in publications as diverse as The New York Times and CrossFit Journal.

Jeff competed in the CrossFit Games Southeast Regionals in 2010 as an individual competitor and 2012 as a team competitor. If you don’t find him training hard or coaching athletes to PRs at CrossFit Impulse, then he’s probably wakeboarding, snowboarding, or eating meat off the bone.

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