structural:reformatting, structural:scholar_edition
Supportive equipment

In powerlifting, supportive equipment refers to supportive shirts, briefs, suits, and sometimes knee wraps made of materials that store elastic potential energy and thereby assist the three lifts contested in powerlifting. Some federations allow single-ply knee sleeves, and wraps for wrists in raw competition. Straps are also used in deadlift training in case of a weak grip, but are not allowed by any federations in official competitions. A weight lifting belt is the only supportive equipment that is allowed by all federations in raw competition. The use of supportive equipment distinguishes 'equipped' and 'unequipped' (also known as 'raw') divisions in the sport, and 'equipped' and 'unequipped' records in the competition lifts. The wide differences between equipped and unequipped records in the squat and bench press suggest that supportive equipment confers a substantial advantage to lifters in these disciplines. This is less evident in the case of the deadlift, where the lack of an eccentric component to the lift minimizes how much elastic energy can be stored in a supportive suit. Supportive equipment should not be confused with the equipment on which the lifts are performed, such as a bench press bench, or conventional or monolift stand for squat or the barbell and discs. Chalk is commonly used by lifters to dry the hands to reduce blisters, slipping and improve grip strength, as the contents of the chalk is made out of magnesium carbonate. Chalk can also be added to the shoulders for squatting, on the back for bench pressing to reduce sliding, and on the hands to grip the barbell on the bench press and deadlift.