I recently came across a query in a forum in which someone asked about the basis of wearing a supporter, to which the following answer was given:

you could lift world record breaking poundages in the deadlift & the squat, STARK NAKED (Now that would be true "Raw" Power lifting LOL) and nothing would happen to your genitalia…

External compression of your genitals by an undergarment holding them in place can by no means prevent an Inguinal Hernia from happening if you are prone to it due to weak musculature in the abdominal region
& Conversely
Lifting without a firm undergarment holding your testicles cannot cause a Hernia if you are not predisposed to it by any weak musculature in the abdominal region…

In the same vein Putting your testicles in a pouch made available by the modern day "Supporter" will again in no way cause or prevent a Hernia from happening… Your testicles are meant to hang outside the body in a pouch of their own provided by the human body. This is because sperm production by the testes requires a slightly colder temperature than your body temp… Habitually wearing very tight undergarments could render you impotent…

Bottomline… To sum it all up… Just wear a comfortable Underwear. There are no specific kinds that I would recommend…because the recommendation would have no scientific basis…

The reason I posting this, is because I was wondering the same thing. I mean the athletes during the 'Ancient Greek Olympics' competed completely naked. I suppose the human body should be used to letting it just hang. On the other hand, I have been told, that the purpose of the athletic supporter(which is used by putting your genitals in the pouch, I'm stating this because I found this out only a couple of months ago) is to prevent your gential parts from going in opposite directions, which makes sense, that would reduce the strain on them.
Please clarify this guys.

Wearing supporters is not really a big thing anymore. Even when I was a kid we didn't do that whereas when my father was in school they'd have probably been strapping on "jock straps" for everything. The only time we wore a supporter, which was really a "cup"** was for things where we might get hit in the nuts, lol. Martial arts or football or whatever.

As I understand it, though, the use of "athletic supporters" had nothing to do with preventing a hernia. And indeed, as your quotes said, they would have done nothing to prevent an inguinal hernia should you be predisposed to one as it is the abdominal wall that is weak and it has nothing to do with the scrotum. However, the use was primarily to keep the genitalia from sort of getting caught between the legs and such during sporting events and in old times it was for modesty and "decency"…just so your stuff didn't hang out and flop around for everyone to see.

It makes sense if you are mostly naked. You are going to want some protection down there. But nowadays there is not really much use for it.

** For those of you who are not aware of it, athletic supporters come with a pocket into which can be inserted a strong plastic protective 'cup' to protect the male genitalia from collision. This is not just to prevent the horrible pain of such a blow, but to protect from damage that could be a very bad thing for a male. Those involved in high contact sports such as football need this. And some who engage in martial arts will want to use them.

I feel naked without my supporter. There's no way I can do Deadlifts or Squats or anything actually…without wearing my jock strap.

What I find funny is that this same supporter costs like $50 at Walmart but $1 in Bombay…lol….

I feel naked without my supporter. There's no way I can do Deadlifts or Squats or anything actually…without wearing my jock strap.

I feel the same way. But I might just come into a workout in my underwear.