All lifters are required to wear a weightlifting suit (also known as a “singlet”) in competition, The suit looks very much like the one that is used in wrestling competition (see the sequence photos in Chapter 1 for examples of lifting suits). It covers at least a portion of the lifter’s hips and all of the waist and then emerges into suspender like shoulder straps.
It the past, weightlifting suits were not permitted to cover a substantial portion of the lifter’s thighs. Recently the technical rules of weightlifting were modified to permit suits to cover the thighs down to a point just above the knees. This is a significant advantage for lifters because longer length suits protect the lifter from abrasions that can arise as a result of contact between the bar and the lifter’s thighs. In addition, if the suit is made of the appropriate material, it can lessen the friction that is normally created between the bar and the skin of the thighs during the pull. This lessening of friction facilitates the upward progress of the bar during the pull. Longer suits (which cover the thighs) are becoming available, and lifters are permitted to wear bicycle shorts under their suits to create the same effect as a longer suit.
The material used in the weightlifting suit is stretchable and non-supportive (in contrast to the highly supportive “super suits” that are used in powerlifting to increase the lifter’s ability to rise out of a squat). A supportive suit is not specifically proscribed by the rules, but it would be inappropriate. Freedom of movement and speed in descending into a full squat position are of great importance to the weightlifter. The negative aspects of a constraining garment would outweigh any advantages it might offer in terms of support.
Since the weightlifting suit is not supportive, it has no function in training. It is therefore rarely worn except in competition. An exception to this generalization is the workouts immediately prior to competition. Some lifters like to accustom themselves to the feel of the suit and lifting the bar with it on prior to competition day. Most lifters find this unnecessary, but others feel it essential.
