RAW is without any equipment. Mainly bench shirts or deadlift suits. I switch it up between rack and floor. Ill go up to a one rep max each week on the rack. When I fail my max attempts for a few weeks in a row, Ill switch back to the floor until I hit a plateau. Then back to the rack again. I went from 405-510 in 14 months training this way. Ahhhh, now I see what you mean. I used to train this way also, but then noticed blood vessels coming out of my knees walking backward with 500lbs. Yes, it definately makes a difference. The extra momentum allows you to lift much more weight. For me it added about 40lbs. I later switched to deadlifting off the rack. Hope that helps