Editing Powerlifting (section)

=== Principles of operation ===
Supportive equipment is used to increase the weight lifted in powerlifting exercises.<ref name=Levin>{{cite web|last=Levin|first=Josh|title=One Giant Lift for Mankind|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/left_field/2004/08/one_giant_lift_for_mankind.html|work=Slate|date=9 August 2004}}</ref><ref name=Perrine>{{cite web|last=Perrine|first=Stephen|title=Misfits of Muscle|url=http://www.menshealth.com/fitness/powerlifting-1|work=Men's Health|date=29 October 2004}}</ref><ref name=Garland>{{cite web|last=Garland|first=Tony|title=The Evolution of the Squat Suit Over the Past Twenty Years|url=http://articles.elitefts.com/training-articles/the-evolution-of-the-squat-suit-over-the-past-twenty-years/|work=EliteFTS|access-date=28 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203012213/http://articles.elitefts.com/training-articles/the-evolution-of-the-squat-suit-over-the-past-twenty-years/|archive-date=3 December 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> A snug garment is worn over a joint or joints (such as the [[shoulder]]s or [[hip]]s). This garment deforms during the downward portion of a [[bench press]] or [[Squat (exercise)|squat]], or the descent to the bar in the [[deadlift]], storing [[Elastic energy|elastic potential energy]].<ref name=Blatnik>{{cite journal|last=Blatnik|first=JA|author2=Skinner JW |author3=McBride JM |title=Effect of supportive equipment on force, velocity, and power in the squat|journal= Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research|date=December 2012|volume=26|issue=12|doi=10.1519/JSC.0b013e3182736641|pages=3204–8|pmid=22996018|s2cid=34123507|doi-access=free}}</ref> On the upward portion of each lift, the elastic potential energy is transferred to the barbell as [[kinetic energy]], aiding in the completion of the lift.<ref name=Maile/><ref name=McCullough>{{cite web|last=McCullough|first=Tom|title=The Power Squat|url=http://www.deepsquatter.com/strength/archives/tomsquat.html|work=Strength Online}}</ref> Some claim that supportive equipment prevents injuries by compressing and stabilizing the joints over which it worn.<ref name=McCullough/> For example, the bench shirt is claimed to support and protect the shoulders.<ref name=Levin/> Critics point out that the greater weights used with supportive equipment and the equipment's tendency to change the pattern of the movement may compromise safety, as in the case of the bar moving towards the head during the upward portion of the shirted bench press.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Williams|first=Ryan|title=Effects of the Bench Shirt on Selected Bench Press Mechanics|url=https://ojs.ub.uni-konstanz.de/cpa/article/view/1358|journal=22 International Symposium on Biomechanics in Sports (2004)|year=2004}}</ref>