bench shirt help

[jamescb77]

how do you know what size bench shirt you need and which one is best for you? thanks jamescb77

[kite]

Re: bench shirt help

As far as which one is best for you, it's a matter of personal preference. The Denim is great for stopping power and I know lots of guys hitting big number in them like Sean Lattimer, Bill Crawford, Sebastian, etc.. but alot of top guys are using poly shirts now too like Gene Rychlack and Ryan Kennelley. I've tried the Inzer brand and Metal and I prefer Metal. Metal is a little more pricey but you can't wear those *****es out, they are bad ass! If you choose to go with Metal, I'd recomend ordering from elitefts, they have the absolute best customer service and they'll tell ya all you need to know on the phone or via email. I use a Metal Viking Pro bench shirt and that thing is the fuking bomb! The viking material is kinda like a cross between poly and denim, it's got excellent stopping power and rebound.
If this is the first time you've used a shirt, it takes some getting used to. The groove is completely different from raw benching, the key with equipped benching is technique, technique, technique. To break your shirt in, you should start using boards, going one week 3 board press, next week two board then try to take it on down to your chest. Wetting the collar with a squirt bottle will help make it easier getting weight to touch and break in the shirt as well.
This is the sizing chart used by Metal:
Bench Shirts
Metal bench press shirts are sized based on the circumference of the shoulders. To take this measurement, place the tape around the widest part of the shoulders. Once this measurement is taken, find the shoulder measurement in the chart below to select the proper size shirt.

The first number is shoulder measurement, second is for Poly or Viking Pro, third is IPF Viking and the last is IPF Bencher.

46 46 46 48
48 48 48 50
50 50 50 52
52 52 52 54
54 54 54 56
56 56 56 58
58 58 58 60
60 60 60 62
62 62 62 64
64 64 64 66
66 66 66 66

[kite]

Re: bench shirt help

I should also mention that Elite Fitness Systems also has the Metal Bash shirt which has a more forgiving groove and a larger touch spot.

[TestRip7]

Re: bench shirt help

Kite, Depending on the length of your arms do you need a certain style of bench shirt because of tucking your elbows or different form. I'm 6'2" and wanted to make sure there is not a certain style I need for my arms.

[kite]

Re: bench shirt help

No, the sleeves will be long enough. They are extremely tight though. You want tight sleeves but sum***** those things are crazy. What I did was wet the sleeves real good and put in a deflated football and blew it up to where I needed it, left it like that for a week and that worked great. You can wedge whatever you've got handy for the same effect, pvc, 2x6, whatever.