Bench Shirt Basics
Bench shirts were originally brought to the industry as a protective device, significantly like a lifting belt. The original shirts have been a tight polyester material that helped protect the shoulders and pectorals during heavy benching, for example during a competition. Somewhere in the 1980's, lifters observed that these bench shirts also could be used to offer an enhance in the weight a lifter could move.
While the use of bench shirts has been hotly debated over a Internet, it is a reality how the majority of lifters use them. In particular, the vast majority of elite and famous lifters use some form of bench shirt. Today's shirts are highly evolved, functionality produced garments formulated with the intent of lifting far more weight. Even though some powerlifters eat offense to this, and think that the purity of Powerlifting is negatively effected by bench shirts, it's very clear that the shirts are the following to stay and had been solidly ingrained inside the sport.
In the beginning, there was only 1 sort of bench shirt available. Now, quite a few businesses sell varying levels of shirts, in many materials, ranging in cost from a smaller amount than $40 to well over $200. Though I have not worn each shirt on the market, I have worn many of every type, and I can comment from own knowledge over a characteristics of each type. I have worn at least 10 several bench shirts inside the last 5 years. For your sake of generalization, you'll find essentially a couple of principal categories of bench shirts, polyester and denim.
Poly Bench Shirts
Polyester (poly) bench shirts have been a few of the first designs on a market, and are basically the standard equipment choice of powerlifters from beginners to world record holders. The poly bench shirt consists of a single or far more layers of polyester or similar fabric sewn into a tight fitting garment. In general, the sleeves from the shirt are angled in this sort of a way as to need stretching the fabric to move the arms toward the chest when holding the bar, such that the stretch of the shirt adds towards force a lifter's muscles can provide.
Poly bench shirts are produced by numerous manufacturers in several several designs. Some shirts are produced entirely of the exact same material throughout, others have one more material for ones back of the shirt, and nevertheless other have the back from the shirt split open and fastened with Velcro, or even left totally open. In general, poly shirts have to fit the wearer very tight. They are extremely uncomfortable, and are recognized to chaff the underarms severely. If a poly shirt does not hurt, it is a lot as well loose. Several lifters like their shirts to fit differently, but it's universally accepted that tighter might be better.
Each type and brand of poly bench shirt has its own particular characteristics. Some jobs quite well benching high on a chest, such as the Inzer Blast Shirts and also the closed back Phenom. Others just like the Titan Fury, or the open back version of Inzer's Phenom, glimpse to work most effective inside a low groove exactly where the bar touches below the pecs. The poly bench shirt changes the way exactly where weight is lifted. For example, the Inzer EHPHD Blast Shirt tends to drive the bar path more than the lifter's face. The lifter has to compensate for this by purposely forcing the bar path lower. Every person shirt has its very own unique groove, which ought to be learned to be able to achieve maximum performance.
The additional benching power of the poly shirt comes in the stretching on the shirt material and also the compression with the lifter's body. This power can make it difficult to produce the bar touch the chest. For advanced lifters, thicker shirts produced from multiple layers of material can make touching the bar even far more difficult. The multiple layers do add far more resistance, and consequently power towards the shirt.
Incidentally, because the poly shirt is meant to become so tight, it can be very hard for getting on. Shirts produced totally from a single kind of material using a fully closed back are specially difficult, and may perhaps need quite a few helpers to location the shirt on the lifter. Shirts with Velcro backs, stretchy back material, and completely open backs have turn out to be more common because they're easier to get on a lifter. Some lifters use liberal amounts of child powder to support the shirt slide onto their bodies.
All poly bench shirts should be pulled up the lifter's arms as far as possible first. It's always critical to generate certain the shirt is straight. If the sleeve is twisted, it can extremely negatively affect a lift. The seams from the shirt can also be utilized as an indicator of straightness and positioning of the shirt. As soon as the shirt is in position on the arms, it ought to be pulled more than the head, or pulled on the shoulders for an open back model. The shirt need to be pulled down the torso, and all the wrinkles worked out of the fabric. If the shirt is often a Velcro design, the Velcro must now be fastened. At this point, final adjustments to straighten and position the shirt needs to be made. Typically, the seams about the deltoid and under the armpit need adjustment. That is a painstaking process, but patience and attention to detail will prevail. I have usually spent over 20 minutes putting a extremely tight poly shirt on a lifter.
Denim Bench Shirt
Many lifters find denim bench shirts intimidating. I spent 2 years deciding if I was "ready" to move up to a denim shirt. Only after taking the plunge did I discover that the denim shirt suits me significantly better. Denim shirts offer far more assist than poly shirts, and are considered to become the top from the line. You will find also shirts made of canvas, but individuals jobs on essentially the same principle as denim shirts. I have no very own experience with canvas, but from stories I have heard, they are even more supportive than denim.
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