After much deliberation and consultation I finally ordered my bench shirt for my competition in October. I got an Inzer Heavy Duty Single layer with a velcro back. Can’t wait to try it out…
So what was your thinking behind the choice of an open-back HD?
I ask because the Fury/Rage (X) is dominating single ply Leagues (IPF) right now, and with the stretch back is pretty easy to get on, while in most places where a velcro back is allowed, (APF/WPO) you are going to be up against doubles.
Were you worried about the learning curve on the Fury? Balancing what you can touch and what you can lock out can be a real problem. I recently bombed a meet because of exactly that.
The HD is very easy to use, and I think you’ll get a quick and easy 15-30 lbs out of it, but it is a bit of a biter. The HD and the EHPHD are legendary for the nasty bruising. Don’t let it colour your view of shirts! The Fury/Rage and the Denims, are much more comfortable to use, and will give you a whole lot less bruising.
Which league are you planning on lifting in?
I went with the HD with velcro because I don’t have 3 people to help me put on a shirt. It’s also my first meet and I am going to see how I like poly before I buy a rage, fury, metal or a denim shirt.
Good thinking.
(Grin)
Yeah having three guys dress you in the gym…Sure do get some funny looks…
Best of Luck!
I don’t use a shirt but a couple of my training partners have recently got them. Trouble is we’re not sure of the best way to incorporate the shirt into training ie when do you put it on when training for an upcoming meet? Any tips on using the shirt?
Old Dax
[quote]nhiron wrote:
I went with the HD with velcro because I don’t have 3 people to help me put on a shirt. It’s also my first meet and I am going to see how I like poly before I buy a rage, fury, metal or a denim shirt.[/quote]
my fury goes on much easier than my blast shirt or hphd shirts ever did. but i do have to say my open back denim does go on the easiest. is your hd fully split, or is it connected at the top? FYI, there are a number of orgs that don’t allow any type of split/velcro back.
[quote]Old Dax wrote:
I don’t use a shirt but a couple of my training partners have recently got them. Trouble is we’re not sure of the best way to incorporate the shirt into training ie when do you put it on when training for an upcoming meet? Any tips on using the shirt?
Old Dax[/quote]
if you haven’t used one before, i’d use it for 8 weeks before the meet minimum. if you are using a higher end shirt, they really change the groove of the bench. i have been using shirts for a few years, and use mine 8 weeks out from a meet. you get to know your weak points in a shirt and address them, along with getting comfortable in it. i even did a 12 week training cycle using the shirt every week, and my bench went up quite a bit.
i also recommend getting a 3" tool belt from home depot to use as a lifting belt - not for support, but to hold the shirt in place without interfering with your arch.
i like using board presses to get used to the shirt once it is broken in and for warmups. you slowly get used to the shirt as the board stack gets smaller.
Probably the best advice on learning to use a shirt is to lift in it an figure out what works for you.
After that I’d say go lift with a bunch of different shirted benchers. There are a bunch of techniques, some of which will work for you, some of which won’t.
Personally I’m closer to a Metal Militia style where I train in the shirt weekly. Beware that if you do this you will probably stretch a Fury a lot in a fairly short time! Denim and the phenom/ehpdh don’t seem to stretch as fast…
We tend to work up to a heavy triple raw, and then shirt up, and go for doubles. If it’s feeling good, a single, but we do try to keep the singles down, because they tire out the cns pretty fast.