The Advantages of a Bench Press Shirt

Bench press shirts are made of tight material and are designed to be worn when competing in equipped powerlifting. Shirts come in different styles, with the main types being single-ply and the thicker double-ply shirts. Before deciding whether to wear a shirt for bench pressing, you need to decide whether you'd rather compete raw, where only a lifting belt, wrist wraps and knee sleeves are allowed, or equipped, where bench shirts, squat suits and deadlift suits are permitted. If you decide to go down the equipped route, a bench press shirt has many advantages.

  1. Increased Weight

    • Wearing a bench press shirt will certainly increase your maximum bench press, according to powerlifter and coach Mike Robertson. The current International Powerlifting League bench press world record in the men's raw 220-pound class is 501.55 pounds, while the equivalent multi-ply equipped record, performed wearing a bench shirt, is 727.52 pounds.

    Reduced Risk of Injury

    • During a raw bench press, a great amount of strain goes through your wrist, elbow and shoulder joints. A bench press shirt however increases joint stability, so while you will be lifting heavier weights, your joints are better supported, according to strength coach Tom McCullough. The downside to this is that if your bench shirt starts to loosen, it can tear during a lift, which then poses an even greater risk of injury than benching raw, due to the increased amount of weight you're handling.

    Technique

    • When performing a raw bench, it's vital that you keep your elbows tucked in, notes Robertson. Letting your elbows flare out puts far too much strain through your joints, but it can be tricky to keep your arms tucked. With shirted benching however, this isn't nearly as much of an issue. Flaring your elbows will actually help the shirt carry the weight down, according to powerlifter Joey Smith of Elite Fitness Systems.

    Leverages

    • To make bench pressing easier and lift more weight, aim to move the bar through the shortest distance possible. The less distance the bar has to move, the more you'll be able to lift. In a bench shirt, you can get your whole body much tighter and create more of an arch in your lower back, which raises your chest and means you don't have to lower the bar as far. A bench press shirt gives you more opportunity to take advantage of these leverages and boost your strength, according to Chris Duffin of the Elite Performance Center.