Weight Trainers United

Re: Donna, two, or too... also.

Posted By: Donna
Date: Sunday, 20 October 2002, at 7:51 p.m.

In Response To: Donna, two, or too... also. (Lorraine Liccardi)

Hi Lorraine,
I think belt and wraps are fine, and smart by the way. What I meant regarding equpment was that I trained raw and competed raw, for many years. I was never one to be able to add much if any muscle, so my frame and ligaments/tendons would take all the stress. I weighed in the 120's and didn't start experimenting with a bench shirt until I was already benching 180 raw. My shoulders and pec tie-ins were already giving me problems by that point. I still haven't really experimented with a squat or deadlift suit as I had just started when I was injured. Sooo, I was deadlifting 400 raw and squatting in the 300's with wraps and belt. Considering I'm not a spring chicken anymore and I've been competing and lifting hard in general for a considerable length of time (18 yrs.), my body has taken a beating from not taking advantage of the support equipment can give. I was always one to see equipment as a performance enhancer, not a means of keeping one healthy. I felt that "when I got strong", then I'd start to work on becoming equipped. Looking back, this was a big mistake for me. I think if you are bodybuilding with lighter weights and higher reps, you can get by with a belt and wraps. If you are performing max competition singles, protect yourself. Now that being said, how much protection is necessary? That's a good question. I am a meet director and when I see male teens at my meets lifting less than I do all geared up in double denims, etc., well, that doesn't make much sense to me either. I think a base of strength needs to be built or being geared to the hilt can also cause you injury. I think the age and amounts being lifted are certainly something to take into consideration when deciding how much is enough/too much. I've had female teens at my meets weighing 180 and wearing a shirt to bench 95 lbs. and then I've seen a 42 yr. old woman weighing 123 bench 140 raw and in my mind, the wrong one was wearing a shirt. I personally feel that a woman's shoulder girdle is much more fragile than a man's. We weren't made for strength there. If I have to narrow things down, I guess I would say that certainly by the time a woman can bench 135 raw, she should start wearing a shirt to protect herself in meets. If the woman is in her 30's or older, even sooner than 135. A woman's lower body is built much stronger than her upper body in my opinion, so I think she can get considerably stronger before needing more than a belt and wraps. Maybe 1.5 times bodyweight, something in that range. Again, this is all just my opinion and age of the lifter, bodyweight, etc., all come into play. Certainly, better safe than sorry but I do believe a base level of raw strength needs to be developed.

As far as your back Lorraine, be sure to strengthen your abs and make them as strong as you possibly can. Many times what people think is a weak back is really a problem with very weak abs. We use our backs throughout our lives lifting things but we get very little direct abdominal activity. In the majority of cases, our back strength far exceeds our adominal strength. Make your ab training as important as your back training if you don't already.

D.