Andy Bolton squats

[BendtheBar]

Originally Posted by Boucher

I have read a bit about squat suits, but do not know a lot about them. Are the suits themselves so thick and tight that you literally can't get depth without enough weight despite how hard you try?

I know bench shirts are.

I have read comments by some real heavy benchers that if they don't have at least "X" number of pounds on the bar they can't touch.

Bumping because I am curious what the squatters have to say about suits...

[LtL]

From speaking to guys in my gym who compete in gear that is exactly what happens. I know Dean, 75kg's lifter, has two suits. One training suit and an uber tight meet suit. The meet suit gives him about 10-15kg's more on his lift BUT even when squatting 240kg's+, he finds it very difficult to hit depth. This is due in part to the thickness of the material and in part due to the tightness. Essentially you need weight to push you down. It also takes a LONG time to get to depth which means you're having to stay tight for WAY longer than a RAW lift. All challenges geared lifters must overcome.

Andy is squatting in a multi ply suit and probably has briefs under the suit as well. That is a LOT of tension that he needs to push down to hit depth.

LtL

[Isaku900]

it takes a certain amount of weight to be able to descend quick enough to hit depth and stay tight. you can collapse and take any amount of weight down, but you aren't coming back up with it.

the pressure and strain it takes to maintain your positioning in the suit and under the bar increases exponentially when you take a squat to depth. Maintaining proper form and using the proper technique allows the weight of the bar to load into the suit more efficiently and drive your hips down quicker. Poor technique, positioning and improper form make it much much harder to descend to depth, with some people not able to ever hit depth properly due to technique.

the speculation on depth in this thread is kind of funny, andy is making no attempt whatsoever to reach depth in those squats, he's basically coming up when the suit binds up. At the point he's at he would need to push back a little more and drive his knees out to open up his hips, that would cause him to drop into the hole. I think its more like what J Byrd said, he's probably in a new suit. (although like i mentioned earlier, andy's depth is inconsistent at best, and generally squats a bit high).

[Fazc]

From last year:

‪Andy Bolton Bullfarm powerlifting 2010 Squat 455kg‬‏ - YouTube

‪Andy Bolton Bullfarm powerlifting 2010 Squat 455kg‬‏ - YouTube

[MikeC]

Originally Posted by Isaku900

the speculation on depth in this thread is kind of funny, andy is making no attempt whatsoever to reach depth in those squats,

No one here is being critical. We are merely trying to understand.

When I saw the video I didn't understand. Lifting with powerlifting gear is about as foreign to me as Vietnamese cuisine.

[Isaku900]

Originally Posted by Fazc

From last year:

‪Andy Bolton Bullfarm powerlifting 2010 Squat 455kg‬‏ - YouTube

wow that was bad.

[Fazc]

Yeah, I don't want to get into a whole big thing about depth because at the end of the day whatever is passed by the judges is legal.

However obviously people will view the Bolton lift differently compared to Karwoski here:

‪Kirk Karwoski‬‏ - YouTube

‪Kirk Karwoski‬‏ - YouTube

The big difference between the two? ......... Kirk has a beard.

[Isaku900]

Originally Posted by Fazc

Yeah, I don't want to get into a whole big thing about depth because at the end of the day whatever is passed by the judges is legal.

this becomes less certain when the judges are passing garbage and lifters intentionally seek out meets where those judges are in order to get shitty lifts passed.

[Fazc]

Originally Posted by Isaku900

this becomes less certain when the judges are passing garbage and lifters intentionally seek out meets where those judges are in order to get shitty lifts passed.

I agree with you on that, I really do. But i've had these debates before and they always end up getting heated but generally it boils down to what is considered legal by the judges.

Some people think squat suits and monolifts are garbage too. Each to his own, right.

[Isaku900]

Originally Posted by Fazc

I agree with you on that, I really do. But i've had these debates before and they always end up getting heated but generally it boils down to what is considered legal by the judges.

Some people think squat suits and monolifts are garbage too. Each to his own, right.

my issue with it is, their rulebook says the same thing as every other rulebook, and they are intentionally ignoring it in favor of bigger numbers.

i've actually had people say to me, "You can't squat below parallel in canvas"

...I did three weeks ago, with 903lbs(410kg), but its difficult so a lot of people go find judges that will pass anything.