For squats, I would always tighten my belt first, then try and give myself (or have someone else) give me the biggest weggie they could, then breath into the belt so things wouldn't move. It locked the suit in place and always made things work better.
While not new to gear I am one of those crazy f'ers who trains alone in gear most of the time. This may be the best article I have read on here in quite a while. Would love to see more gear related articles, keep up the good work.
Bench shirts:
Make a small "pouch" on your belly after you set the collar by pulling the shirt out of the belt a little.
This will allow you to expand your belly more and shorten your stroke.