bench shirts

**HardcoreGymWARRIOR04** · 05-23-2004, 08:57 PM

i am a little confused on the concept of those powerlifting shirts for benching. Also how much extra weight does it help you to bench on average and how does it work

**Spoon** · 05-23-2004, 10:34 PM

ya bump to this, im curious as well. if its suppose to make you lift heavier, but some consider it cheating, why do people even use this?

**goodtobeapimp** · 05-23-2004, 10:49 PM

Originally Posted by Spoon

if its suppose to make you lift heavier, but some consider it cheating, why do people even use this?

I love powerlifting. That's about like asking a bodybuilder why he takes steroids . More and bigger is always better. It might be cheating to some but anabolic steroids could be considered cheating to some.. Headjobs are cheating to some. Na'll man really any powerlifter has a shirt somewhere. I don't use one right now but I did all winter. It adds support and will definitly raise more weight up, and also my favorite,decrease the risk of injury.

My best single ever was 505,but with a single ply denim I hit 545 for one. If your not really into big weight or say competitively then I don't really see a point in using one. The right shirt say a triple ply denim COULD (stressed) add 100 pounds,but you have to know what your doing and know the groove for everything to a tee. Check out www.inzer.net or www.monstermuscle.com for some different styles.

**Spoon** · 05-24-2004, 04:11 AM

Originally Posted by goodtobeapimp

I love powerlifting. That's about like asking a bodybuilder why he takes steroids . More and bigger is always better. It might be cheating to some but anabolic steroids could be considered cheating to some.. Headjobs are cheating to some. Na'll man really any powerlifter has a shirt somewhere. I don't use one right now but I did all winter. It adds support and will definitly raise more weight up, and also my favorite,decrease the risk of injury.

My best single ever was 505,but with a single ply denim I hit 545 for one. If your not really into big weight or say competitively then I don't really see a point in using one. The right shirt say a triple ply denim COULD (stressed) add 100 pounds,but you have to know what your doing and know the groove for everything to a tee. Check out www.inzer.net or www.monstermuscle.com for some different styles.

thats not what i meant about the cheating part bro, i guess i should have rephrased. anyway what i meant was that YES the shirts make you stronger that part i know and understand. what i dont understand is that what benefit would one have while wearing the shirt? if i trained with the shirt and removed it would i lift heavier without the shirt as well?

example: i lift 250 for ten reps w/out a shirt. i use my shirt and able to lift 350 for 1. if i keep using the shirt, will my normal strengh improve say 290 for 6 w/out shirt? all im saying is im pretty darn impressed and want to get one NOW

whats the diff with one ply to 3 ply etc. etc. im a beginner have never tried a shirt what can you suggest pimp?

**BARBENDER29** · 05-24-2004, 04:40 AM

I have tried several different shirts,but my favorite on is my triple ply denim open back shirt.With my single ply shirts I can usually increase my bench by around 45lbs.But,with the triple ply I get around 80 to 90 lbs more.It's like pimp said though,you have to find that groove and then everything else falls into place.

**goodtobeapimp** · 05-24-2004, 12:11 PM

Originally Posted by Spoon

thats not what i meant about the cheating part bro, i guess i should have rephrased. anyway what i meant was that YES the shirts make you stronger that part i know and understand. what i dont understand is that what benefit would one have while wearing the shirt? if i trained with the shirt and removed it would i lift heavier without the shirt as well?

example: i lift 250 for ten reps w/out a shirt. i use my shirt and able to lift 350 for 1. if i keep using the shirt, will my normal strengh improve say 290 for 6 w/out shirt? all im saying is im pretty darn impressed and want to get one NOW

whats the diff with one ply to 3 ply etc. etc. im a beginner have never tried a shirt what can you suggest pimp?

It would be impossible to say exactly how your reps would increase, but I can assure you that using a bench shirt won't take away from your raw bench. Honestly,at first you might get frusterated by using it,because if you don't find the right way to use it,it may take away from your bench.

As far as plys,it's the same as say single ply paper towels. Thinner and easier to rip. The more plys the more weight it's going to add,because of the amount of support that the shirt gives you (and spring.) I can tell you from experience the best way I found to use a bench shirt is to bring the bar down extremely slow. It gives your arms and chest a recoil effect. Keep in mind though most federations won't let you go over double ply.

I'd suggest you check out inzer.net and see what you like best. I hear the new phenom shirt is awesome. I think thats what rebecca swanson used to bench 502.

**Spoon** · 05-24-2004, 07:43 PM

Originally Posted by goodtobeapimp

It would be impossible to say exactly how your reps would increase, but I can assure you that using a bench shirt won't take away from your raw bench. Honestly,at first you might get frusterated by using it,because if you don't find the right way to use it,it may take away from your bench.

As far as plys,it's the same as say single ply paper towels. Thinner and easier to rip. The more plys the more weight it's going to add,because of the amount of support that the shirt gives you (and spring.) I can tell you from experience the best way I found to use a bench shirt is to bring the bar down extremely slow. It gives your arms and chest a recoil effect. Keep in mind though most federations won't let you go over double ply.

I'd suggest you check out inzer.net and see what you like best. I hear the new phenom shirt is awesome. I think thats what rebecca swanson used to bench 502.

will do bro, since those shirts are exact fit and i currently just finished by bulking cucle and am going to be cutting, should i just wait til after my cutting cycle?

**Brian D** · 05-24-2004, 08:26 PM

Dude,I would suggest Mabey an open back dd to start with if you not sure what your size will be after this cycle. shirt can be expensive! grow and be happy!!

**HardcoreGymWARRIOR04** · 05-24-2004, 09:55 PM

thank you for the replies

**goodtobeapimp** · 05-24-2004, 11:35 PM

Originally Posted by Spoon

will do bro, since those shirts are exact fit and i currently just finished by bulking cucle and am going to be cutting, should i just wait til after my cutting cycle?

Just wait..Your not going to be as strong when your running a cutter anyways... Like someone suggested on here a double denim with the back open is prolly the best way to go... That's about as extreme as your going to get.. If you wanna try one out for awhile though, you could start with something easy like a poly shirt and work your way up..

**Spoon** · 05-25-2004, 01:08 AM

Originally Posted by goodtobeapimp

Just wait..Your not going to be as strong when your running a cutter anyways... Like someone suggested on here a double denim with the back open is prolly the best way to go... That's about as extreme as your going to get.. If you wanna try one out for awhile though, you could start with something easy like a poly shirt and work your way up..

thanks man will do!

***phreezer*** · 06-18-2004, 08:10 PM

We use bench shirts (denim, double denim, poly, etc) to get more out of our lifts... In competition meets We must have our shoulders on the bench, and we must have our butts on the bench also we must also have our toes on the floor (some federations require that your feet be completely flat on the floor)..these are the rules, if your but, feet or shoulders ever leave the bench during a lift you are disqualified.. Now, basic knowledge tells us that when we are moving heavier weight the best way to do this succesfuly is to move it the shortest distance possible... the longer the distance the longer we have to maintain the weight, and the longer the distance the more effort it takes to move the weight..and thus increases our chances of NOT making the lift..so in this case..shorter is better...

This is where the Big arch comes into play... We try to get as big an arch as possible, Like sticking our stomachs up as high as we can.. We actualy bench off of our stomach's not our chests... And this is where shirts come into play.. We use our triceps more in our benching than we do our pecs... So when the weight is at the bottom (on our stomachs) we don't reallly have a lot of recruitment from our pecs (we still use them, just not as much) so the shirts help get the weight off of our stomachs...basicaly the shirts are so tight that they help reduce the weight a bit at the bottom....so by taking off that little bit of weight (the tighter and denser the shirt, the more weight it helps take off at the bottom) It allows us to be More explosive, and get the weight moving a little faster than we would be able to normaly (the extra momentum we get from this speed burst helps us move heavier weights... The shirt helps in the lower 1/4 movement of the lift, other than that, it's mostly just raw tricep strength...

Does this answer your question?