Where to buy powerlifting equipment

Rogue fitness is a safe haven for beginners and professionals alike. If you can except their higher price tags for the great service and products they provide than this is your one-stop shop for your powerlifting needs.

Rogue fitness

If you want to buy from one of the best vendors on the market and get everything in one shop Rogue Fitness is the right address for you. The only bad feedback I read about them is that they are expensive compared to their competition. In the ned, you get what you pay for. Yes, you can get the same equipment at a lower price with different brand names on them. What you probably won't get when you travel down that road:

The pride of owning the best equipment you can get
All of your equipment with the same look and feel
Mainly American made products from an American based company
Options to expand on your already existing gym with some of the best ideas in the market
One hell of an overbuilt equipment package for your needs

Whatever rocks your boat. My wife always says I am a sucker for merchandise and I admit it. I never really regretted it and also helps me to set ambitious rather than being a cheap goat.

I have bought multiple ties from Rogue ranging from shirts to racks and barbells. I was always happy with the quality of the products except once. That time it was a product that Rogue does not manufacture themselves and since then the improved and took control of the production process.

Shoes

For shoes, you can either go with a combo of weightlifting shoes and slippers or specific deadlift shoes and weightlifting shoes. If you are a conventional deadlifter I would recommend the weightlifting shoe and slipper combo. If you pull sumo I would go for a proper shoe that goes over the ankles to help with torque. Weightlifting shoes that I have owned so far:

The Adidas Adipower and Romaleos are both great for squats and I would not have a preference. As these are also roughly the same price go either for the brand are the design you prefer. These shoes won't fail you.

Adidas powerlift is a great option for beginners. It covers all your needs while being closer to $100 than $200. If you buy your weightlifting shoes directly, just throw some slippers on top to sort yourself out.

Belt

If you want more details on different belt models you can read my article on “which belt to buy from Rogue” for more details.

For powerlifting purposes, you are better off to avoid a half-hearted decision on a lifting belt. Your belt will last you for a long time if you get a good piece of leather, which you should. If you are only interested in powerlifting get the Rogue lever belt. This is the best option t get easily in and out of the belt without facing too much hassle. If you want to share your belt with multiple people and also do weightlifting, go for the Rogue Ohio belt instead.

Wraps

When you progress in powerlifting you might want to protect the weakest parts of your body which are the wrists, elbows, shoulders, and knees. These are the areas where you can not build muscle and everything is held together by ligaments and bones. To do these following items might help you:

These items will help to train harder for longer without wrecking your weakest links. It is usually a good idea for more advanced lifters who already experience pain based on their high volume.

Barbell

You want a barbell which is robust and designed for the sport of powerlifting. This usually means a higher stiffness if the metal, more aggressive knurling and less whip. There is a wide variety of barbells available. The closer range specific for powerlifting is:

The rogue Ohio power bar would be your go-to budget option from Rogue for powerlifting purposes. The deadlift bar is special as it has more whip than other bars which is great for deadlifts but might be of disadvantage for very heavy squats. The Rogie Thor and west side bar are the upper range options if you want something special.

Plates

Powerlifting gives you the advantage when shopping for plates that you can go for metal plates as you will not drop the barbell from overhead. Your options for this scenario are:

The calibrated steel plates are what you will use for competition. These are precision tools which have been crafted to exactly have the weight which is stated on the plate. They are also the most expensive option.

Olympic plates are the old school plates you know from motivational Arnold Schwarzenegger pin-ups. They are cheap and cheerful and not always precise. If you want the most amount of weight for your dollar look for Olympic plates.

The middle ground between top precision and Olympic plates are mechanized Olympic plates. They are a little more expensive than regular plates, but therefore more precise.

Rack

If you want more details on different rack options you can read my two articles “which rack to buy from Rogue for over $1000” and “which rack to buy to for under $1000”.

There is a wide range of racks available for the weekend warrior and the professional establishment. The best options are:

The rogue 690c is a good option if you want to combine plate storage and a full rack with a splash of color for your home gym. Another option is the RM6, but that might be a little overkill for a hin gym setup.

The RM4 fortis is the best rogue rack which you can get for under $1000. You will have berthing you need for your home setup in the most stable way $1000 can buy.

The rogue RML 3WC is the optimal solution for dads who have to compromise between floor space and home gym space. This foldable rack is budget and space friendly and will leave your wife with little counter-arguments, as the last holiday she wanted was definitely more expensive than this rack. Her shoes also probably take up more space in the house. But enough sexism for one paragraph ;).