- Chalk: If the gym doesn’t provide chalk you should walk! Chalk is essential in powerlifting. Chalk helps improve grip and reduce slippage when lifting heavy weights.
- Proper competition bars and specialty bars: A serious powerlifting gym will have competition-standard barbells for use in all powerlifting federations. This includes power bars, squat bars, a variety of deadlift bars, and competition bench bars. A serious powerlifting gym will also have specialty bars, such as cambered bench bars, swiss bars, bamboo bars, cambered squat bars, safety squat bars, and buffalo bars, to target specific weaknesses in each of the three lifts.
- Calibrated competition plates: Accurate weight measurements are important in powerlifting competitions, so the serious gym should have calibrated competition plates to ensure consistent and accurate weights.
- Deadlift jack: A deadlift jack can be useful for loading and unloading weights on the barbell and make it easier to perform deadlifts. You can get by without a deadlift jack, but why would you? A serious gym will have several deadlift jacks.
- Reverse hyperextension machine: This machine can help strengthen the lower back and glutes, which are important muscle groups for powerlifting. Make sure you use it for more than a place to store your pre-workout drink and log book.
- Glute hamstrings device: A glute hamstrings device, also known as a GHD machine, can help strengthen the posterior chain, which is important for powerlifting movements such as the deadlift.
- Bands and chains: Bands and chains can be used to add resistance and vary the load on the muscles during training, which is very helpful for powerlifting.
- Monolift: A monolift is a specialized piece of equipment that allows the athlete to lift the barbell without having to walk it out from a squat rack. This can be useful for powerlifting as it allows the athlete to focus on the lift itself rather than the setup.
- Heavy dumbbells: Powerlifting often involves lifting heavy weights, so the gym should have a range of heavy dumbbells to accommodate different strength levels and training goals.
- Adjustable benches: Adjustable benches with incline, decline, and flat positions can be useful for powerlifters to target different muscle groups and adjust for individual body proportions.
At Grinder Gym we have all of this and much more because we take powerlifting very seriously and we want our members and guests to have the best equipment possible.