Everything happens in cycles. Trends come and go...and then come again. If these rules apply to powerlifting, we might soon see multi-ply powerlifting take over the sport.
Or maybe not.
As raw powerlifting has grown—often attributed to the low barrier of entry (grab a singlet and you're ready to go)—it's easy to wonder if multi-ply is dead. There are arguably more meets than ever, with more competitors than ever. If the majority of competitors are first-timers coming from another sport or fitness hobby, they're not going to show up donning double-ply briefs under a double-ply squat suit; they're showing up in a singlet and a belt. This might skew your perception into believing multi-ply competitors are scarce.
WATCH: Table Talk — Prehabilitation and Rehabilitation Techniques
If you want to know how alive geared powerlifting is, you have to consider more than the weekend meet at your local barbell club. In this edition of Table Talk, Dave does exactly that. Addressing the supposed increase of raw powerlifting, Dave talks about when multi-ply and single-ply were at the height of strength sports, and explains how to know where to go if you want to compete against the best strength athletes in the world. Are they in multi-ply? Single-ply? Raw?
WATCH: Table Talk — Bodily Stress and Increasing Range of Motion After An Injury
Also, I don't think people differentiate between single/multi-ply with/without wraps because I can't think of anyone lifting in gear who doesn't use knee wraps. I lift without wraps and luckily lift in a federation that has a category for me, but I would honestly have no problem competing against people with wraps because I'm too stubborn to convert. Trophies are nice, but I'm just trying to set PRs for as long as I can.