Raw vs Equipped: How Much More Do Equipped Lifters Lift?

Comparing the median (50th-percentile) competition lift across equipment categories in the public OpenPowerlifting dataset, the supported lifts run well above raw - but the size of the gap depends heavily on the lift:

• Bench press: the median single-ply lift runs about 20.8% above the median raw bench - the biggest equipment effect of the three lifts.
• Squat: the median single-ply squat runs about 17% above raw.
• Deadlift: the median single-ply deadlift runs only about 3.6% above raw - by far the smallest gap, because a deadlift suit does little off the floor.

These figures compare different groups of competitors (the typical equipped lifter versus the typical raw lifter), not the boost gear gives one person. Equipped fields skew toward gear specialists, so the gap reflects a population difference plus the mechanical help of the equipment.

Median competition squat by equipment category, with each supported category shown as a percentage above the raw median in the same class.

Median competition bench press by equipment category, with each supported category shown as a percentage above the raw median in the same class.

Median competition deadlift by equipment category, with each supported category shown as a percentage above the raw median in the same class.

Supportive gear stores and returns energy at the bottom of a lift. A bench shirt and a squat suit are loaded hardest in the deep, stretched position, so they add the most to the bench press and squat. A deadlift starts from a dead stop on the floor with no eccentric to load the suit, so a deadlift suit returns far less - which is exactly why the deadlift shows the smallest raw-to-equipped gap in the data above.

Knee wraps sit between raw and full suits: they add little at the median but more at the heavier, advanced end where lifters use them aggressively.

For each lift and male weight class we read the 50th-percentile (median) competition lift from the public OpenPowerlifting dataset in four equipment categories - raw, knee wraps, single-ply, and multi-ply - then expressed each supported category as a percentage above the raw median in the same class.

• Same-class comparison so the only difference is equipment, not bodyweight.
• Median (50th percentile) of the best competition lift in each category.
• Population comparison, not a per-lifter measurement. These contrast the typical equipped competitor with the typical raw competitor. Because equipped divisions attract gear specialists, the gap reflects both the mechanical help of the equipment and a difference in who competes raw versus equipped.

Read our full standards methodology →