I know the video you’re speaking about, long story short that’s a completely different sport. WPO is a ‘joke’ organisation, very very lax on squat depth and allow unlimited amounts of supportive equipment, not to mention they don’t even have to walk their squats out, still really strong though. IPF is NOT the same, you need to be 2-3 inches below parallel to be really safe. They do allow equipment but it’s not the same equipment, maximum of 1 ply polyester. Sure it helps, but it’s not as easy as just putting it on and expecting to instantly add 100lb to your squat or bench, it could take a year or two of training in the equipment and finding out where your new weak points are before that happens. And as for deadlift, you’d be lucky if the equipment gave you anything at all, you might be able to beat a british unequipped record, as I could, but I can guarantee a lot of equipped lifters could beat the british unequipped records as well. For example in my weight class the uneqipped record was 280.5kg, the equipped record is 355kg. Take the suit off and he’d still be good for 340 I’d bet.
Why don’t they? Because the sport allows equipment, and that’s where the main competition is. I bet you wouldn’t start competing in a rival track and field federation that doesn’t allow spikes and replaces the track surface with grass in a desperate attempt to beccome more ‘RAW’. Chances are you’d slip on the wet grass and break an ankle or something. So mondo and spikes are a safety measure aren’t they? But guess what, they also make you faster and jump further. Powerlifting equipment is a safety measure, bench press and squat heavy for long enough unequipped, and you’ll tear a rotator cuff and do some serious damage to your hips and knees, but hey, it also lets you lift a bit more, but who cares everyones got the opportunity to use the equipment, the only people that seem to show any concern are those not competing.
Once again, there are some fedarations that help you get the bar down to your chest, let you wear 19 bench press shirts if you think it’ll help you lift more weight, knee wraps round your elbows, arched so much that you touch the bar down to your dick, take the bar off you when they think you’ve moved it as far as you and your 19 shirts are able to and then congratulate you on a good lift. But I’m not talking about that, I’m talking about the IPF which allow one layer of supportive equipment that undoubtedly adds SOME lbs to the bar, but most importantly enables the lifter to compete over a longer career without injury risk. I’ve never competed equipped, so I’ve no personal reasons to be deffensive.
IPF in my mind is comparable to wearing spikes and running on mondo
WPO and others is comparable to using spikes, mondo, running downhill, jumping into a pit 1m below the runway and you could probably think of some creative ways to use massive fans as well. And steroids, but we’re already there with that one anyway…
FYI, the british unequipped deadlift record in 75kg is 255kg, so you’re strong and I’m sure you could beat that, but if you wanted to be taken seriously (in powerlifting, not life lol because no one else will ever care….) you’d want to be aiming for the equipped record which is 310kg. 255kg unequipped is worlds away from 310 equipped in deadlifting. Lot’s of people get strong at deadlift without actually deadlifting, myself included, so it’s not unusual for you to be that strong at an exercise you don’t do too often if you have a strong squat and strong hamstrings.