Choosing powerlifting was one of the best decisions that I made for myself. It truly is one of my favourite investments. I can look back and see myself getting stronger over the years. In addition, all the skills and discipline from the sport transferred over to other areas of my life. I’d like to extend a huge congratulations to you as you start your journey into the sport of powerlifting. You probably found your way here after searching ‘best powerlifting essentials for beginners’ on Google. Then you found yourself going down a rabbit hole for all sorts of equipment.
Now you feel overwhelmed by everything that you need to buy. From knee sleeves to lever belts, wrist wraps to squat shoes, bench shoes and deadlift shoes. From liquid chalk to lifting straps – here is the honest truth: you don’t need to buy anything for day one. Each piece of equipment earns its place in your gym bag as you progress in the sport.
Some items I did not buy until a year and a half ago i.e. lifting straps and liquid chalk. My focus was on building up my grip strength until I actually needed the equipment. The best powerlifting essentials for beginners include a pair of good lifting shoes, comfortable training clothes, a powerlifting belt, knee sleeves, and wrist wraps. As I mentioned earlier, each piece of equipment earns its place in your gym bag. You need to start with the basics that you’ll actually use. Once your strength and experience progresses, then you can start buying powerlifting essentials bit by bit.
Disclaimer: This post does include some affiliate links. If you click and purchase, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products that I have personally vetted.
What Is Powerlifting?
Powerlifting is a competitive strength sport, centered around the practice of increasing your one rep max, in the three main barbell lifts: the squat, the deadlift and the bench press. The goal is to attain as much raw strength as humanly possible. It is an individual sport as well as a community sport as you get inspired seeing other powerlifters train. I know that not everyone is fortunate to train in a powerlifting gym with other powerlifters. If you have that opportunity to train with like-minded people, you will find a supportive community. For me, I found a supportive community for this sport online. Through a sport like powerlifting, it is not only about lifting as heavy as possible but also doing it with good form, good control and great technique. That is something that is reinforced from day one of training.
My Experience With These Essentials
When I decided to make the investment into starting powerlifting, I knew I wanted to compete that same year. My first investment was getting a coach as the sport wasn’t big in Switzerland at the time. There were neither powerlifting coaches nor powerlifting gyms in my region. Once I got an online coach, we started with the basics. These include: warming up properly for each lift, learning and developing my understanding of the key terms and abbreviations of the sport. Moreover, my coach reinforced good form, good control and great technique from day one. I was recording all of my lifts and sending them to my coach. He would point out what he was looking for and what I should be looking for when I execute the lifts and rewatch my videos.
As I progressed over the year, he would let me know when it is was time to invest in powerlifting essentials. One of the biggest mistakes that beginners make is overspend on the equipment at the very beginning of their journey. Beginners underspend on the work capacity. It doesn’t make sense to buy all these essentials when you don’t know how to brace your core correctly or your squat is not below parallel. Or when you haven’t mastered grip strength. In my opinion, it is so important to focus and enjoy your journey and trust the process for your timing. The work capacity for powerlifting is no joke. If you haven’t built the foundations, using powerlifting essentials is not going to help you the way it is supposed to.
What Powerlifting Essentials Do You Need on Day One?
For day one, you only need two things.
You need to have a flat-soled shoe for squatting and deadlifting. Running shoes are one of the worst shoes that you can wear for powerlifting. The cushion and the squishy heel absorbs the force and pushes you forward. You will feel unbalanced in your lifts and it can impact your ankle mobility. A pair of Converse Chuck Taylors are good example of a flat-soled shoe that you can use at the beginning stages and on day one. If you don’t have a flat-soled shoe, I suggest training without shoes. I did this with deadlifts until a week before my first meet. I honestly wished that I had done it with squats.
The second thing that you need are comfortable workout clothes. Think athletic shorts, sweats/joggers, a sports bra, leggings, and t-shirt that won’t get in the way while benching. If you are a feel good, look good, train well person, then invest in workout sets. The decision is up to you. For day one, don’t overcomplicate it. Wear what you have and you can invest in this later on.
In sum, practice the movements, add load and build the right habits. That is what you will be doing for the first six weeks of training programme especially, if you are powerlifting for the first time. Once the foundational movement patterns have built, buying the powerlifting essentials will start to make sense.
Month 2 and 3 Powerlifting Essentials
At the two and three month mark of your powerlifting journey, you are most likely increasing the weight on the barbell. You are most likely seeing this increase more with squats and deadlifts; and they will start to feel heavier. Heavy is a relative and individualised term in this sport. However, if you feel like your back is starting to fatigue earlier than your legs or you are working with loads that are 75% to 85% of your pre-determined one rep max, this is time to purchase a powerlifting belt.
A powerlifting belt does not protect you from injuries, but it does protect your spine and enhance your performance during heavy, compound lifts. Your belt gives your core something else to brace against, creates higher intra-abdominal pressure, and reduces the stress in your lower back. Powerlifting belts come in two types of thicknesses: 10mm and 13mm – I recommend getting a 10mm lifting belt because it is sturdier, has a great thickness for beginners and it conforms to your body more. In addition, it is the same belt that you use in a competition. A 13mm belt is mainly used by those who are competing at an elite level (think Worlds or regionals).
I chose and will continue to choose a 10mm lever belt over a 10mm pronged belt because I love the action of flipping my belt open after a lift. Moreover, it’s quick to wear, take off and durable. A pronged belt is cheaper and more adjustable especially if your waist tends to fluctuate.
Liquid Chalk: An Underrated Powerlifting Essential
As much as building your grip strength is important in powerlifting, your grip can also be a limiting factor when increasing the loads. This is when liquid chalk comes into play especially when you have hit the 100kg/225lbs barrier for deadlifts. Chalk comes in a variety of formats but I recommend getting liquid chalk as this is not banned in most commercial gyms. Once you have reached the three digit numbers for your lifts or are close to it, liquid chalk is going to keep your hands dry and ensure a secure grip. These are very affordable. Make sure that it’s made from magnesium carbonate as it is safe for your hands.
6 Months In: Powerlifting Essentials To Buy
Just like that you are six months in.
You have most likely run a linear progression programme once or twice, your numbers have grown significantly, you have had thoughts about competing or you want to keep lifting heavier loads. This is the time to introduce three new powerlifting essentials into your gym bag.
The first thing is lifting shoes with a raised heel. Shoes with an elevated heel help with hitting squat depth by compensating with ankle mobility restrictions and shifting the load to your quads. Moreover, you’ll notice in the difference in your form when you wear them because the position of your body changes. It does help keep your body upright especially as the weights get heavier. These shoes are fantastic and useful for squats and the bench press. Some shoes that I would recommend are the Nike Romaloes, Nike Metcons, Adidas Powerlifts and the Adidas Dropset. If you don’t have any ankle mobility restrictions, you can continue wearing the same flat-soled shoes for squats and the bench press.
The second thing are knee sleeves (and do not get them mixed up with knee wraps) and they are neoprene compression sleeves that go over your knees. They provide warmth which is great for blood circulation. In addition, they have a lot of compression throughout knee flexion which will maximise support and confidence in your lifts when lifting heavier loads. I always recommend choosing knee sleeves that are federation-approved especially if you want to compete in the future. If not, then any type of knee sleeves will do.
Wrist Wraps
The third thing are wrist wraps for the bench press. It is this lift where you feel the pressure of your wrists starting to bend back as the loads gets heavier. They help your wrists maintain a neutral position, reduce strain, keep them stacked and aligned with the rest of your hand. One thing to note about wrist wraps is that they are not crutch. You need to know and practice how to hold the bar properly before relying on wrist wraps. Here are some video guides on how to perform the squat, bench and sumo deadlift for beginners.
Powerlifting Essentials For Competitions & Meets
Lastly, we have the powerlifting essentials for competitions and meets. A powerlifting competition is known as a meet. For the purpose of this post, I will be using these words interchangeably as the word ‘meet’ is only common for those in the sport.
You will need to get a singlet that is approved by the federation that you choose to compete in. Most federations have a list of approved vendors where you can buy a singlet and other powerlifting equipment. The second thing are deadlift slippers or deadlift shoes. You cannot lift without shoes at a competition. I recommend getting a shoe that is flat-soled and that keeps your feet as low to the ground as possible.
Shopping List of Best Powerlifting Essentials For Beginners
If you are starting from scratch and are powerlifting for the first time, here is what your shopping list will look like:
- Day One: Converse Chuck Taylors ($114/€125)
- Month Two and Three: Powerlifting Belt ($80 – $100/€65 – €90) *dependent on whether it is a lever or pronged belt.
- Month Two and Three: Liquid Chalk ($10/€9)
- Month Six: Lifting shoes with elevated heel ($100 – $260/€95 – €240)* if you choose top of the line shoes.
- Month Six: Knee Sleeves ($40- $80/€40 – €120)* if you choose federation-approved, the price is higher.
- Month Six: Wrist Wraps ($20/€25)
Keep in mind that this is bought over the course of 6 months and you may already own Converses. As I mentioned in the earlier paragraphs, you can choose to squat without shoes at the beginning.
Are you a beginner in the sport of powerlifting or have you been lifting for a while? Let me know in the comments below. Make sure to hit that subscribe button to join the community and never miss out on a post. Find me on Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok for more powerlifting and wellness content.
Until next time,
Folakemi
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