The Deadlift Suit – How to Actually Use It for Strongman and Powerlifting

From the Depths: Pulling to Win

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The Deadlift Suit – How to Actually Use It for Strongman and Powerlifting

Why bother with a deadlift suit?

The scoreboard reality

In most strongman shows the deadlift is one of five events. That means roughly twenty percent of your total comes from how well you pull on the day. If suits are allowed and you refuse to learn one, you are choosing to compete with a handicap. You might still be competitive, but you are spotting the field kilos for free. At national level and above, almost everyone who is serious has a suit in the bag, knows how to wear it, and knows how to make it work under fatigue and time limits.

What about powerlifting?

In powerlifting you have three lanes.

1. Raw: no deadlift suit, end of story.

2. Equipped (Single or Multi): a suit is part of the uniform, and you are expected to know how to use it.

3. Deadlift-only or federation-specific exhibitions: policies vary, but if suits are legal your opponents will use them.

   
   

If you are a raw powerlifter, you do not need a suit for your platform attempts. If you plan to cross over into equipped, deadlift-only meets, or strongman, the skill of pulling in a suit is worth learning early. It is a different start position, a different timing, and a different feel. Treat it as a separate lift you are adding to your toolbox, not a cheat code for your raw training.

It is not cheating. It is competing like an adult

A suit is sports equipment. It rewards the lifter who can find the right position, breathe properly, keep the bar close, and time the push from the floor without giving away the back angle. It punishes the lifter who cranks the straps, loses position, and turns every pull into a stiff-leg. You still have to be strong. You still have to be technical. The suit makes the most of the strength you bring, if you earn it.

The right analogy: the bow and the archer

Forget the jeans example. Think about a recurve bow. You do not fire an arrow by standing there with slack string. You draw the limbs into tension. Energy is stored in the limbs and string. When you release, that stored energy helps propel the arrow.

A deadlift suit works the same way. When you sink your hips and bend your knees, you “draw” the fabric. The webbing wants to rebound and stand you up. If you learn exactly how low to sit, how far to keep your weight behind the bar, and how to keep the barpath tight, that stored energy helps you break the floor and hold your back angle while your legs push. If you miss the draw and start too tall, there is no stored energy to return. If you over-draw and lose your bar path, you waste the energy and fight the suit instead of using it.

Why it actually matters on game day

• It can add meaningful kilos, which in strongman shifts placings, not just totals.

• It reduces how much your low back has to “buy” off the floor when you get the start position right. That helps you survive rep events and medleys without your erectors turning to stone.

• It gives you another gear. There is raw pulling. There is suited pulling. There is also the ability to switch between them under time and fatigue. Athletes who can do that reliably beat athletes who cannot.

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How Does a Deadlift Suit Work?

At its core, a deadlift suit is nothing more than an extreme application of physics and fabric tension. The material is designed to be brutally tight, to the point where even getting into the suit feels like an event in itself. But once you’re locked in, that restrictive fabric is capable of doing something very useful: storing elastic energy every time your hips and knees bend.

Think of it like stretching a thick resistance band. The deeper you sit into the start position, the more tension the suit holds - and when you go to extend, that stored energy kicks back at you. Done correctly, the suit isn’t just an uncomfortable costume. It becomes an additional layer of musculature pulling you upright.

Loading the Suit

Most lifters stepping into a suit for the first time try to pull exactly as they would raw. They bend down, grab the bar, and attempt to go. Sometimes they feel nothing at all, sometimes they feel bound up and awkward, and occasionally they’ll even pop out of position entirely.

The secret is learning how to load the suit. Instead of starting with your hips high and pulling straight into tension like a raw deadlift, you deliberately sit slightly lower. This lower-hip start allows the fabric across your hips, quads, and torso to stretch tight, preloading the suit with stored energy.

Visually, this is where a lot of beginners panic. On video, the setup looks “wrong” by raw standards: the hips are lower, the knees are further forward, and the torso appears more upright. But in a suit, this is exactly what allows you to take advantage of the rebound effect. When you drive your legs into the floor and keep your chest locked in position, the suit snaps you upward out of the hole.

No Hitching in Powerlifting

It’s worth remembering that powerlifting federations do not allow hitching. You can’t rest the bar on your thighs and shuffle it up rep by rep. That means your torso rigidity has to be bulletproof, because if you collapse forward onto the bar, you can’t “grind” the way you might in a strongman deadlift.

This is the defining skill gap between a lifter who simply wears a suit and one who actually masters it. The suit is only effective if you can hold a locked, upright torso while the fabric does its job. Any give in the spine or chest, and the rebound disappears - you’re left fighting a bar that’s now stuck halfway up your thighs.

Strongman: Learn to Use Straps

In strongman, the rules are looser. Hitching is permitted, straps are allowed, and you don’t have to worry about referees demanding a picture-perfect lockout path. That makes the suit a different weapon entirely. Here, the suit plus straps combo allows you to take advantage of both the rebound out of the bottom and the sheer holding power in the lockout.

Straps keep you latched to the bar while your hands would normally start to peel. Combined with a suit, they allow you to drive harder without worrying about grip, but they also magnify the need for timing. If your hips shoot up before your chest, the suit will fold you, and no amount of straps can save the lift.

Bar Distance and Setup Tweaks

Another subtle adjustment when pulling suited is bar placement. A bar positioned too close can trap your knees or leave you jammed before you’ve even started. Many lifters find they actually need to set the bar 1–2 centimetres further away than they would raw. This extra clearance gives the suit space to stretch and load properly, while allowing your shins and knees to clear without fighting fabric and steel at the same time.

The first time you do this, it can feel counterintuitive. The bar seems “too far away,” and your raw instincts scream that you’ll be pulled forward. But once you learn to wedge yourself in with a braced torso, you’ll discover that small adjustment often makes the difference between the suit binding you up or giving you the rebound you paid for.

The Torso Rigidity Problem

The single biggest issue lifters encounter in a suit is maintaining torso rigidity. The fabric wants to pull you into position, but if you don’t resist it with equal force, your chest collapses, your hips rise early, and the suit is wasted. This is why upper back and midsection strength are such crucial accessories for suited lifters.

Movements like good mornings, front squats, heavy rows, and abdominal bracing work aren’t just “general assistance.” They are the foundations of keeping your torso locked while the suit rebounds you upward. Without them, the suit amplifies your flaws instead of your strengths.

Accessory Training Tie-Ins: Building the Body for the Suit

A deadlift suit won’t carry you if the muscles behind it aren’t strong enough to keep you in position. The fabric magnifies what you already have - if your torso collapses or your hamstrings gas out, the suit just makes those flaws louder. That’s why the right accessory work is non-negotiable.

Top 5 Accessories for Suited Deadlifts

1. Good Mornings (SSB, straight bar, or banded) – Nothing builds the hinge pattern and spinal rigidity like these. The SSB shifts load onto the upper back, while banded good mornings teach you to stay tight against an external pull - perfect for simulating the suit trying to fold you over.

2. Heavy Rows (barbell, chest-supported, T-bar) – Rows teach you to keep the bar glued to your body. A stronger upper back means less bar drift and more power transferred through the suit.

3. Glute-Ham Raises (bodyweight or loaded) – Build hamstrings that can actually hold the hip position the suit sets you into. Strong hamstrings also mean smoother transitions through the mid-range.

4. Front Squats or Zerchers – Both force an upright torso under load. If you fold forward here, you’ll fold forward in the suit. Zerchers add an extra bracing demand that transfers directly to keeping your chest up in a pull.

5. Ab Bracing (weighted planks, pulldown abs, standing band crunches) – A deadlift suit multiplies any slack in your midsection. Bracing drills condition you to resist collapse and maintain that “locked canister” from floor to lockout.

These aren’t optional fluff - they’re the muscles and patterns that make the difference between a suit that adds 5kg and one that adds 40kg. Program them consistently, rotate variations, and train them as seriously as your main pulls.

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How to Put On and Set Up a Deadlift Suit

Most lifters fail with the deadlift suit long before they ever touch a bar. They either crank it on so tight that they can’t reach the bar, or they don’t set the layers up in a way that lets the suit actually function. Learning how to wear the suit is just as important as learning how to pull in it.

What Goes Underneath

The base layer you wear under a suit changes how it fits, how it rides, and how much tension you can generate.

• Shorts – Neoprene shorts are popular in strongman (e.g. Rehband, Cerberus etc). They bulk the thighs, make the suit tighter, and give a little rebound. The trade-off is more heat and more compression, which can feel unbearable for a beginner.

• Leggings – Slippery leggings or compression tights reduce friction. This helps when you’re pulling the suit into place and makes it easier to get to the bar without the fabric digging into your thighs.

• Underbelts – Thin neoprene belts worn under the main lifting belt can help “fill out” the waist, adding tightness where the suit is loose. They’re also a buffer against the straps biting into your torso.

• Briefs – In strongman and powerlifting, some lifters wear supportive briefs (Spud Inc, single-ply, or even multi-ply). This doubles the rebound from the hips. Be careful: briefs + suit is far tighter than a suit alone, and unless you’re very experienced, it will wreck your start position.

• Powerlifting context – In federations that allow suits, briefs might be allowed under a deadlift suit. But everything else isn’t.. Don’t show up to a powerlifting meet layered up like a strongman; you’ll be disqualified.

The Straps: Start Loose, Tighten Later

Deadlift suits come in different cuts: some have fixed straps, some adjustable Velcro, and some no straps at all (single-ply suits used in powerlifting are often strapless). If you do have straps:

• Start long. A beginner should set them loose enough that they feel almost like a singlet when standing. If you cannot get to the bar without straining or if the suit crushes your breathing, it’s too tight to learn.

• Progressively shorten. Once you can consistently reach a good start position and feel the rebound, then shorten the straps session by session until you find the sweet spot.

• Competition use. For max pulls, straps will be shorter/tighter. For rep events or long medleys, keep them longer so you can breathe and stay in position for multiple pulls.

Marking Velcro for Consistent Tightness

Elite lifters use a simple but brilliant hack: drawing marker lines on the suit to indicate where the velcro should sit when properly tight. This ensures you hit the same tension every session without guessing - and prevents over-tightening or under-tightening on event day. It's a subtle trick, but one that saves countless practice reps and keeps form sharp under pressure.

The Belt Lock Trick

One of the most important skills: preventing the suit from riding up. If the crotch creeps up, the straps lose leverage, and all the tension disappears.

• Put the suit on.

• Pull the straps over your shoulders loosely.

• Now use your lifting belt as an anchor. Tighten your belt to around 70–80% and set it across the waist so it “locks” the hips in place. This stops the fabric sliding up as you sit down or walk around.

• Once the suit is locked in, you can tighten the straps further.

• Finally, adjust the belt again - often one notch tighter now that the suit is settled.

Think of the belt as a braking system. It freezes the suit in position, so you get the most out of the tension instead of chasing it upwards into your stomach.

The Invisible Lift Method (Straps Set Solo)

Many lifters think they need a training partner to pull their straps over. That’s not true if you learn the invisible lift method:

1. Straps long. Start with the straps loose and hanging.

2. Right hand over right shoulder. Reach back with your right hand and grab the rear right strap. Pull it down as if you’re locking out a deadlift.

3. Left hand forward. With your left hand, grab the front strap and pull it up and over the right shoulder, sticking it into place (Velcro, buckle, or hook).

4. Repeat on the other side. This time left rear strap with left hand, right hand pulls the front up and locks it.

5. Stand and reset. At this point, straps are set without anyone helping you, and you can tighten your belt a final time.

This method works because you use your bodyweight to “lift” against the strap, not just your arms pulling awkwardly. Once you’ve done it a few times, you’ll never need someone else to strap you in.

Hanging to Sit In

In the old days lifters would literally hang from a pull-up bar or mono to pull their suit into place. That’s still an option if you want the straps brutally tight, but for most strongman and newer powerlifters it’s overkill. Hanging tightens the suit beyond what you can manage alone and almost guarantees you’ll lose position if you’re still learning.

Use it sparingly:

• For max singles where you want the straps pulled down as far as possible.

• For multi-ply suits that are impossible to set solo.

• Not for beginner practice or rep events.

Most lifters are better served learning how to set it with the invisible lift + belt lock method, then only hanging when they’ve mastered suited technique and want the last 2–5% out of it.

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Finding Your Position in the Suit

Wearing the suit is one thing. Owning your position inside it is another. Every single successful suited pull comes down to whether you can consistently find and hold the spot where the fabric is tight, the torso is rigid, and the bar path stays clean. Without that, the suit feels like a straitjacket that actively fights you. With it, the suit becomes an extra layer of muscle.

The “Loading the Suit” Drill

The most effective way to build this awareness is what I call the loading drill. Take a light bar - no more than 50–60% of your raw max - and treat it as practice, not as strength work. Instead of ripping the bar up, you’ll perform lots of singles or doubles with one focus: lowering your hips a little more each rep until you feel the suit lock tight across your hips and thighs.

You’ll know you’ve found the position because the bar suddenly feels like it wants to “pop” off the floor, even though the weight is light. If you go too low, the bar will stall because your knees are too far forward and the leverages are gone. Too high, and the suit won’t load. The sweet spot is where the tension across the suit feels almost unbearable to sit in, but as soon as you initiate the pull, you get a rebound that carries you through the hardest first inch.

This drill should make up dozens of reps in your early weeks with the suit. The goal is repetition until your body learns exactly what “loaded” feels like.

Using Eccentric Reps for Feedback

Another overlooked tactic is eccentric work. Most lifters only think of deadlifts concentrically - bar up, drop it or control it down, done. But with a suit, lowering the bar under control gives you instant feedback on whether you’re in the right groove.

If you’re braced correctly and the suit is properly loaded, the descent will feel like controlled resistance. You’ll notice the fabric pushing against you, almost wanting to stand you back up. If you’re out of position, the bar path will wander, your chest will collapse, or you’ll feel slack instead of pressure.

A great learning progression is to perform “stop–start” eccentrics: lower the bar slowly to mid-shin, pause while holding tension, then finish the descent. Reset and pull again. This teaches you to feel the suit at every stage of the range, not just at the bottom.

Short Pulls vs. Long Pulls

Competition setups vary wildly. In powerlifting, you may have to pull from the floor under strict standards. In strongman, you could be pulling a bar from slightly lower (axle) or higher (blocks), often with straps, and hitching is allowed. That’s where the concept of short pulls versus long pulls matters.

• Short pulls (block pulls, rack pulls) are invaluable for strongman lifters using a suit. They let you practice locking out without the full range of motion, and they mimic the conditions of a frame or axle deadlift. The suit helps you stay upright, and you can overload the top end without frying your lower back.

• Long pulls (deficit pulls, deep floor pulls) are essential for powerlifters. They force you to exaggerate the hip drop and torso position, teaching you to fully load the suit and drive from the floor without breaking form.

A smart training cycle alternates between both. The long pull builds your ability to find tension at the start, while the short pull sharpens your timing and lockout power.

Adjusting Stance and Bar Distance

The stance that works raw won’t always work in a suit. For many lifters, a slightly wider stance allows the hips to sit lower without crushing the knees forward. Others find a narrower stance gives them more clearance to load the suit. The point isn’t that one stance is “correct” - it’s that your raw stance is only a starting reference.

Bar distance is equally crucial. In raw lifting, the bar is often brushed against the shins, as close as possible. In a suit, too close is a disaster. You’ll jam your knees under the bar, the fabric won’t load properly, and you’ll feel stuck. Moving the bar even 1–2cm further away gives you the room to wedge into the suit and set the torso without collision.

The adjustment is tiny, but the payoff is massive. Many lifters who swear their suit “does nothing” find that this micro-tweak suddenly unlocks 20–30kg of carryover.

Pulling Against Bands Without Hitching

One of the best training tools for suited lifters - especially powerlifters - is pulling against bands. Bands add ascending resistance, which punishes hitching. If you try to rest the bar on your thighs, the bands keep pulling it back down, and the lift dies.

This forces you to stay smooth and upright through the entire range. It also teaches you to accelerate - if you let the bands “catch” you halfway up, you’re done. In a suit, that lesson is invaluable. It makes you keep pressure in the fabric from the floor to lockout, rather than relying on an ugly grind.

For strongman lifters, this is even more relevant. Yes, you’re allowed to hitch in competition, but training against bands ensures your baseline technique is efficient. Come contest day, you can fall back on hitching if absolutely necessary - but your default is already strong, clean, and explosive.

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 Programming the Suit Into Training

The deadlift suit is a tool, not a costume. If you only dust it off on competition day, you’ll almost guarantee you lose kilos rather than gain them. At the same time, if you live in the thing year-round, you’ll compromise raw strength, bar path awareness, and technical resilience. The art lies in programming it intelligently.

Why You Shouldn’t Save It for Comp Day

One of the most common mistakes I see: lifters pulling raw all year, then strapping into a suit for the very first time on meet or comp day. What happens? They panic when they can’t reach the bar, feel like they’re suffocating, or shoot their hips up because they’ve never learned how to “sit into” the material. The end result is often a worse pull than their raw training max.

On the flip side, wearing it every single week, year-round, is a fast way to blunt raw development and over-stress hips and low back with the constant compression. It becomes a crutch, rather than a performance tool.

The sweet spot is learning to cycle the suit: enough exposure to develop skill and confidence, but not so much that you become reliant on it.

The 10% Rule – A Programming Compass

My simple guideline is this:

• If you’re not yet getting ~10% more in the suit compared to raw, you need to keep it in your rotation more frequently. That extra exposure builds the skill and positional awareness needed to actually “find” the suit’s rebound.

• Once you’re consistently 10% or more over your raw pull, you can taper suit work down to maintain sharpness without constantly beating yourself up in it.

This keeps training practical: not just chasing numbers in gear, but making sure the tool is working as intended.

Powerlifting vs Strongman – Different Demands

Powerlifters

• The deadlift is one-and-done. No medleys, no 60-second reps for max points. You just need to master the single at comp.

• That’s why most powerlifters will pull suited 1–2 times per month, rotating between:

  • Straps down – essentially a “half suit” pull. Useful for deficits, stiff-legs, or technique sessions. Keeps some compression but still lets you sit in position.

  • Straps up – reserved for max singles or heavy block pulls, where you want to feel the full rebound.

• The rest of the month is still raw work, building the strength base that the suit multiplies on competition day.

Strongmen

• The deadlift is not just about one clean max; it’s often reps for time or medley style with different bar heights, axle, or frame pulls.

• Because of this, most strongmen will pull suited almost every week during comp prep. You can’t wait until game day to discover how your breathing, grip, and back fatigue feel after rep five in a suit.

• The trick is balancing event-specific work:

  • Use the suit for speed pulls (to dial in fast setups and explosive break off the floor).

  • Keep it on for block pulls (to overload lockout and get used to straps tightness at heavier ranges).

  • Absolutely train deadlift medleys in the suit - because nothing replicates the fatigue and strap adjustment issues like actually practising them.

• Out of season, you can scale back to raw pulls + occasional suit exposure, focusing on building muscle and positions.

Where to Place It in Training Waves

• Max Effort (ME) rotations: If you’re peaking, one ME lower slot each month should be a suited deadlift - floor, small block, or banded. In strongman prep, it may be weekly.

• Dynamic Effort (DE) pulls: Usually raw, but occasionally useful suited if you need practice at competition bar speed while locked into the material.

• Repetition Effort (RE): This is where strongmen differ most - you may need straps up for 8–12 reps or 60-second sets, which requires practising breathing and bracing under pressure. Powerlifters rarely need this.

A Practical Example

Purely exemplary and not what I do or would do.

Powerlifter (12-week cycle)

• Week 1: ME raw pull variation (deficit, block, stiff-leg).

• Week 2: ME suited pull, straps down (small block or floor).

• Week 3: ME squat or good morning (no suit).

• Week 4: ME suited pull, straps up (competition stance).

• Repeat.

Strongman (8-week comp prep)

• Week 1: Suited block pulls, straps up.

• Week 2: Suited floor pulls for speed (5–8x2).

• Week 3: Raw variation (good morning or axle pull).

• Week 4: Suited deadlift medley (competition style).

• Repeat, straps progressively shorter as comp approaches.

Key Point: The suit is not a “once in a blue moon” thing. It’s a skill. Program it like you would any other skill: rotate it in, scale the difficulty, and train for the actual demands of your sport.

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Mistakes That Kill Carryover

Deadlift suits can be the difference between finishing middle of the pack and picking up maximum points. But if you treat it like a magic costume, or ignore the technical realities, the suit will do absolutely nothing for you. These are the most common errors that strip away any potential carryover.

1. Going Too Tight Too Soon

The biggest rookie mistake. Lifters order their first suit, crank the straps down, and then wonder why they can’t even reach the bar.

• A suit that’s too tight doesn’t just make setup uncomfortable - it destroys position.

• If you can’t wedge yourself into a low enough hip start to load the fabric, the suit isn’t working for you. Instead, you’re fighting it like a straightjacket.

• Think of it this way: the suit should give you rebound, not rob you of bar access. Starting looser (or with straps down) builds skill and confidence. Once you’ve mastered that, then crank it tighter.

2. Sacrificing Bar Path for “Pop”

A little extra rebound off the floor is worthless if the bar drifts forward or your hips shoot up.

• Too many lifters chase the feeling of the suit “snapping” them up, but end up losing the tight bar path that actually transfers force into the lift.

• A strong lockout requires the bar to stay close. If you let the straps pull you vertical but the bar floats away from your shins, you’ve already lost the lift.

• Key rule: carryover comes from leveraging the suit into your natural mechanics, not throwing mechanics out the window.

3. Not Locking the Hips In With the Belt

The “belt lock trick” is essential. Without it, the suit rides up, crotch gets crushed, and all that strap tension disappears.

• When the suit rides up, the straps are effectively slack. No tension = no carryover.

• Anchoring the hips in place with the belt keeps the material loaded, consistent, and ready to rebound as soon as you drive.

• Many lifters miss this detail, then complain the suit “does nothing.” In reality, they’ve been losing 50% of the suit’s power before they even start the pull.

4. Expecting It to Replace Technique

A deadlift suit won’t fix a bad pull.

• Rounded backs, sloppy grip, inconsistent bracing - the suit won’t cover these sins. In fact, it makes them worse.

• If you can’t pull consistently raw, you’ll be inconsistent in a suit.

• The best carryover comes when you already have a solid technical base, then adapt your raw setup slightly to load the suit.

The suit amplifies leverage. If your raw leverages are garbage, it amplifies garbage.

5. Failing to Finish the Lockout (Especially in Powerlifting)

The suit gives its biggest help off the floor. Past the knees, you’re mostly on your own.

• Powerlifters who don’t train their lockout often find themselves stapled just below the finish.

• In strongman, you might be able to “hitch” and muscle through - but in powerlifting, that’s red lights every time.

• The solution: pair suited pulls with serious posterior chain work (rows, block pulls, reverse hypers, glute-hams). Build a lockout that stands alone, so the suit is only a launchpad, not a crutch.

The suit is a tool, not a shortcut. It only adds kilos if:

• You can get into position.

• You maintain your bar path.

• You keep the hips locked in.

• You already have the raw technical base to pull efficiently.

• You train your lockout to stand independent of the suit.

Ignore those, and you’ll be the lifter who spends £200 for a suit and barely gets 5kg out of it. Nail them, and you’ll be the one walking off with 10–15% more on the bar when it counts.

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 FAQs (Rapid Fire)

When it comes to the deadlift suit, everyone has the same handful of questions. Let’s hit them head-on.

How much can it add? The classic rule of thumb is around 10% carryover once you actually learn to use the suit. That number can look small on paper, but the absolute differences are huge at heavy weights:

• A 200kg puller could see ~20kg added (so 220kg).

• A 300kg puller might add ~30kg.

• A 400kg puller could push closer to 40–45kg.

• At the super-elite level - 500kg+ deadlifters - that extra 50kg can be the gap between finishing mid-pack or winning an entire contest.

Keep in mind: beginners often get nothing at first, because they haven’t learned how to load the suit. Once the skill is there, the 10% rule holds surprisingly true.

Does it hurt raw pulling? No. In fact, many lifters report the opposite: raw pulling improves once they’ve trained in a suit for a cycle or two. Why? Because the suit forces you to use your legs, brace harder, and keep your torso locked. Those are habits that transfer directly back to your raw pull.

If anything, the risk is psychological - some lifters lean on the suit too much and stop training raw. But if you run a balanced approach (suit work plus raw work), it’s only going to help.

Should novices use it? Yes, with some caveats. If you’re a strongman competitor and you know deadlifts will decide points at your shows, start early. The longer you leave it, the harder it is to break old raw habits that don’t carry over.

The caveat is that beginners need structure: light weights, lots of singles, and feedback drills. Jumping straight into max attempts in a suit is a fast track to frustration (and bad positions). Treat it as a skill to develop - like log clean technique or yoke pick-up posture.

Custom vs off-the-shelf? Personal experience: most lifters are fine starting with an off-the-shelf suit. They’re cheaper, easier to get hold of, and with small tweaks (tightening straps, minor alterations) they work very well.

Custom suits can be worth it once you’re pulling very big numbers and already understand how the suit works. Before that, you’ll waste more time trying to perfect sizing than just training in something available and functional.

What’s the best measurement to size? Go by legs first, waist second. If the legs aren’t locked in tight, the suit won’t load properly, no matter how good the waist fit is. The waist can usually be adjusted with the straps or small tailoring tweaks - but loose legs mean the whole suit is useless.

Brand matters here too. For example:

• Kaos and Cerberus suits are common in strongman but aren’t allowed in powerlifting federations.

• Powerlifting-approved suits (Inzer, Titan, Metal, etc.) often size slightly differently - always check the brand’s chart.

If in doubt, size down slightly. It’s better to wrestle into a too-tight suit than to have one that gives you nothing because it’s too loose.

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Practical Drills and Progressions

A deadlift suit doesn’t reward brute force alone. It rewards time in position. The biggest mistake lifters make is throwing the suit on once a month, missing their groove, and then blaming the gear. To actually get carryover, you need structured drills that let you explore positions, test strap settings, and build consistency without beating up recovery.

1. The Block Pull Descent Method

One of the simplest but most effective ways to learn the suit.

• Start high. Set the bar on blocks or mats (6–8"). This reduces the range of motion and lets you actually sit into the suit without fighting it for five minutes just to get your hands on the bar.

• Master the feel. At this height you can focus purely on wedging the hips lower, bracing, and feeling the suit load instead of panicking about bar speed or lockout.

• Lower gradually. Every 1–2 weeks, drop the height (to 5", then 3", then plates). Each drop forces you to re-learn how to load tension while still keeping confidence high.

• End goal. Pulling from the floor in the same pattern you learned from the blocks. This “layered descent” removes frustration and accelerates learning compared to just diving into the floor pull straight away.

2. High Sets, Low Reps at Light Weight

The suit is more about skill practice than grinding strength. The only way to learn that “bite point” where the fabric gives you rebound is with repetition.

• Prescription: 10–20 sets of 2–3 reps at 30–50% of raw max.

• Why so light? Because heavy weight disguises bad mechanics. At light loads, every positional error is obvious - if your hips shoot, if the bar path drifts, or if you’re not sitting back enough, you’ll feel it immediately.

• Tempo advantage: Use a controlled eccentric to really feel where the suit “pushes back.” That feedback on the way down is the best teacher you’ll get.

3. Straps-Up vs Straps-Down Days

Assuming your suit has straps, you need both variations (outside of a dedicated short term prep)

• Straps Down: Builds familiarity without restricting setup. Ideal for technique work, speed pulls, or lighter percentages. Straps down often feels like pulling raw with added tightness.

• Straps Up: Full comp specificity. All max effort work and most event-prep reps should eventually be done straps up. You need to know how it feels under pressure, with the straps fully engaged.

• Rotation Example: Week 1 - Suited pulls, straps down, 6×3 @ 50%. Week 2 - Heavy block pull straps up. Week 3 - Floor pull straps down, speed focus. Week 4 - Comp-style max or rep set straps up.

4. Suit + Secondary Raw Session

The common fear: “Won’t I lose my raw pull if I train in a suit?” The fix is simple - keep a raw touch point every week.

• Structure: Main deadlift session in the suit (ME or DE depending on the cycle), then add a secondary raw session 3–4 days later.

• Raw prescription: 4–6×2 at 40–55% is usually enough. Light, fast, technical. Think of it as “skill sparring” for your raw pull.

• Carryover: This way, you keep raw motor patterns sharp, while still building the confidence and efficiency you’ll need in a suit for competition.

5. Integrating Into ME and DE Work

Your Conjugate cycles shouldn’t treat the suit like an add-on; it has to be programmed into your wave.

• Max Effort: Rotate suited pulls in every 2–4 weeks during prep. Use them on the floor, off blocks, or against bands/chains. Test both straps-up and straps-down to build versatility.

• Dynamic Effort: Occasional speed pulls in the suit can be useful, especially for strongman medleys where bar speed in the suit matters. Keep volume high (8–12 doubles), intensity low (50–60%).

• Balance: The suit is a skill, not just a strength tool. Prioritise exposure during comp prep, taper it back in off-season to rebuild raw positions.

The deadlift suit doesn’t pay out just because you bought one - it pays out when you train in it deliberately. Block progressions, high-frequency light sets, straps-up/down exposure, and smart integration into Conjugate cycles all accelerate the learning curve.

Treat the suit like a discipline in itself, not a last-minute costume change, and you’ll get the full 10–15% carryover everyone else is chasing.

From the Depths: Pulling to Win

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 Putting It All Together

A deadlift suit should never be seen as a shortcut or a gimmick. It’s a tool - one that amplifies what you already bring to the bar. Without raw strength, sound positioning, and torso rigidity, the suit has nothing to work with. But if you’ve built those foundations, the carryover can be game-changing.

For strongman athletes, equipped powerlifters, or anyone entering deadlift-only competitions, refusing to learn the suit is effectively leaving points on the platform. When 20% or more of your total score can hinge on one lift, ignoring a legal advantage doesn’t make you a purist - it makes you unprepared.

The learning curve is real. You won’t get all the benefits on day one, and the first sessions can feel more like wrestling the fabric than lifting a barbell. That’s why patience is key. Start with a looser fit, lighter weights, and plenty of practice drills. Over time, as you tighten the suit and refine your setup, it becomes less of a fight and more of a skill - a tool you can rely on under the heaviest loads.

Approach the suit as a long-term project, the same way you would treat perfecting your log clean or dialling in your squat stance. Do that, and you’ll unlock kilos you never thought possible - not because the suit replaced your strength, but because it helped you harness it more efficiently.

* Online Coaching

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Suit Comparison Table

Not an exhaustive list by any means

Brand / Model	Ply	Straps	Typical Use Case
Cerberus Multi-Ply	Multi-ply canvas	Long, adjustable	Strongman competition and high-rep medley work-durable and forgiving for volume
Inzer Fusion DL	Single-ply (PGX)	Fixed	Equipped powerlifting-fast rebound, highly competition-legal
Titan Velocity	Single-ply	Harness-style straps	IPF-approved, suitable for both sumo and conventional pulling
Metal Jack Deadlift Suit	Multi-ply canvas	Velcro straps	Heavy strongman or multi-ply equipped work-max upper-body support
Kaos Deadlift Suit	Multi-ply canvas + elastic	Velcro straps	Strongman and equipped-style pulls-designed for explosive starting power (505 kg pull by Thord)
Metal King Pro	Single-ply (Stiff KING fabric)	Velcro straps	Faster stroke off the floor-thicker leg panel gives rigid upper structure
Overkill / F8 Custom	Custom multi-ply	Adjustable Velcro	Bespoke strongman and multi-ply setups requiring precise tailoring

The Unholy Bible of Bench Press: Six Months of Pressing Power

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