After using a bench press shirt for the first time, you’ll probably start to ask yourself why you’ve waited so long. The truth is that the bench press is one of the most popular exercises in the gym – just go look for yourself on Monday, if you don’t believe it. However, many athletes don’t realize how much more they could be doing on the bench, if they used a proper shirt.
If you don’t know much about bench press shirts, you aren’t alone. This is unfamiliar territory, even for some of the most familiar powerlifters. Luckily, you’ve come to the right place for a breakdown of why you should consider adding a bench press shirt to your gym bag.
Here’s a further look into why you should consider a bench press shirt, as well as three options that are great for any level of athlete.
Why A Bench Press Shirt?
You get to the bench on a Monday afternoon, load up a few plates, and go to town while grunting and yelling as you bounce the bar off your chest for 10 reps. Great job. Now just imagine how much better you’d feel if you had another plate, or even two, on there. Wouldn’t that make you really feel like you’re the man?
While a bench press shirt may not add enough stability for an added 145 lbs on top of your max, the truth is that you’ll likely be very surprised by just how well it can help. That is because a bench press shirt will compress your upper body and chest area, making it easier for you to concentrate your muscles on pushing outwards for a press. Unlike with a regular exercise where you’ll use stabilizer muscles, a bench press shirt focuses all of your power on that one lift.
By the way, consider this when evaluating a bench press shirt value – Scot Mendelson is a IPF Pro who improved his bench press to 1035 lbs with a bench shirt, where as his previous personal best was just 715 lbs without a shirt).
Why You Shouldn’t Wear A Bench Press Shirt?
As great as a bench shirt can be, it’s not without it’s flaws. Because a bench shirt helps you concentrate all of your power, it doesn’t help you build your stabilizer muscles. This can be a big problem, especially when you go exercise without a bench shirt. You won’t have nearly the same amount of strength, which puts you at risk of injury.
Another reason you may not want to use a bench shirt is because it feels uncomfortable, which may be the case if you are new to using one. However, a bench shirt is something worth getting use to, so keep that in mind as well.
What To Look For In A Bench Press Shirt
When looking for a bench press shirt, it’s not going to be something that is like your normal exercise shirt. Instead, a bench shirt is going to be much more stiff and constricting. It’s likely to either come from a polyester, denim, or canvas material. It can also be either double or single ply, which helps with keeping you dry.
- Polyester Shirts – Are made from a polyester material. These typically add the most in terms on constriction around the body.
- Denim Shirt – Denim shirts are not as constrict as polyester, but instead provide more in the way of support.
- Single vs Double Ply – Whether or not a bench press shirt is single or double ply will impact the amount of sweat resistance available, which we’ll factor into our results as well.
Finally, don’t forget to style things up with your bench shirt as well. There are some simple options out there, but don’t be afraid to let your personality shine, too. If you feel like powerlifters don’t get a chance to express themselves, a bench shirt is a great place to do just that.
Our Top 3 Best bench Press Shirts Picks
Now that you know what to look for, here’s a look at our favorite three best bench press shirts.
Inzer Rage X
We’ve used Inzer products before, so we were amped to get our hands on the Rage X. Be sure to check out our review on the Inzer Rage X, as we go into detail as to what we love so much about this shirt.
With some of the best reinforcement that we’ve seen in a lifting shirt, the Rage X is ideal for serious lifters. And if you are looking to improve your bench max, this is the place to start.
Titan Fury Bench
If you want to make your own personal bench shirt, then do so with the Titan Fury Bench Shirt. This bench shirt is great because it has a rocking design that you can add to with your own touch. In addition, the Titan Fury bench shirt provides an airy back, which is perfect when laying down on a bench. Big lifts and improvements in our max were common when using the Titan Fury Bench Press Shirt, which we’ll go into further detail with in our next review.
Metal Pro Bench Shirt
Last, but most certainly not least, we love the Metal Pro Bench Shirt as well. Metal is one of our favorites when it comes to lifting apparel, and you can see why with this version of shirt. The Metal Pro adds additional protection in the way of sweat protection, which will keep you dry when lifting. To read more about the Metal Pro Bench Shirt, be sure to check out our detailed review on it.
Should You Use A Bench Press Shirt?
If you want to improve your bench press stats, then a bench press shirt needs to be in your gym bag. It may not be something you train with every day, but it’ll certainly be something that you are happy to use whenever you want to get in a big lift that leaves your chest sore for days. But before you rush out and buy one, be sure to read our detailed reviews into our top 3 best bench press shirts.