I know there is the gear review thread but I just wanted some direct advice:
I started with a 44 titan fury and it was a bit loose and super easy. got ~50lb
Next, after gaining ltos of weight, I worked on a 46 titan F6 that is supposedly slightly tighter than competition fit but it was still very easy to work with and i get ~70lb. Could touch easily the first session I used it.
Now, i am trying a 46 super katana, and I can’t do anything with it. I can barely get it on and even then it’s barely really on, and when I do, I can barely reach out to grab the bar. Like, it is a monumental effort. When I do, I can hardly even unrack the bar and it won’t move.
What on earth? Any suggestions!? Would a tighter F6 be a better idea? Or maybe a regular katana? Anyone devoutly in support of a rage x?
I bench with a raesonable arch so always use a/s. Also, for anyone interested, the russian team is not allwoed to use s/s because it hinders the mechanically proper way to bench (according to the coach).
Another question: I have heard that shortening the sleeves could help a lot. Any thoughts? Thanks again!
It’ll take some time to get the Super Katana down. If you have it sized right you’re not going to touch for a few weeks.
[quote]LiquidMercury wrote:
It’ll take some time to get the Super Katana down. If you have it sized right you’re not going to touch for a few weeks.[/quote]
Any suggestiosn for getting it on? I use slippers. Perhaps some plastic bags doused in baby powder?
Did you try working with the F6 at all? Jacking the collar, etc? I got around 100 lbs out of mine. Either that or try a 44. They stretch out pretty quickly so you should be ok in it after a few weeks if you could touch the first time out in a 46. I’d get one with the super neck, just because it’s more comfortable and easier to work with. Also, chicks dig shirt cleavage.
If you can’t even get your hands out to set your grip in the Katana then it’s probably not on all the way. If it’s not on all the way, you’re screwed. Did you try using shirt slippers to put it on?
I use plastic bags and have teammates help get it on. If anyone on our team has a real big problem getitng into a shirt we’ll use a ratchet setup to help pull it into place + bags.
[quote]Steel Nation wrote:
Did you try working with the F6 at all? Jacking the collar, etc? I got around 100 lbs out of mine. Either that or try a 44. They stretch out pretty quickly so you should be ok in it after a few weeks if you could touch the first time out in a 46. I’d get one with the super neck, just because it’s more comfortable and easier to work with. Also, chicks dig shirt cleavage.
If you can’t even get your hands out to set your grip in the Katana then it’s probably not on all the way. If it’s not on all the way, you’re screwed. Did you try using shirt slippers to put it on?[/quote]
Well I do use slippers for the superk. I just can’t seem to get it all the way. I only have one training partner who is rather weak so it makes it hard.
As far as the f6, I sure as hell jacked the shit out of it. Like, I had more cleavage than most women can manage hahahha. Still, it felt like not enough.
I am contemplating shortening the sleeves of the superk to make it easy to pull on because I do have rather stubby arms. Does shortening the sleeves ruin the carryover?
Something seems off. You’re not trying to unrack the weight yourself are you? It’s a necessity to have someone lift off for you so you can start in a proper position. I feel like if you’re form is down you should be getting much more out of a jacked shirt then 70lbs. My raw bench sucks, but I would still get 160lbs out of a minimally jacked single ply katana. Can you have someone take a video of you when you’re in your shirt?
Here is nationals from last month:
Not my best for bench due to weight cutting but you get the idea on my form. bench starts at ~1:20
Another training video in the f6, bench starts at 1:00
In addition to sleeves/bags, you can get mini basketballs and inflate them inside the sleeves to stretch the arms out. Be careful, you don’t want to overstretch them, but this will make it easier to get the arms in. I would only stretch the last couple of inches of the sleeve. I had to do this because my forearms were turning purple.
Have your training partner wear gardening gloves to help them grip the sleeves.
[quote]arramzy wrote:
[quote]Steel Nation wrote:
Did you try working with the F6 at all? Jacking the collar, etc? I got around 100 lbs out of mine. Either that or try a 44. They stretch out pretty quickly so you should be ok in it after a few weeks if you could touch the first time out in a 46. I’d get one with the super neck, just because it’s more comfortable and easier to work with. Also, chicks dig shirt cleavage.
If you can’t even get your hands out to set your grip in the Katana then it’s probably not on all the way. If it’s not on all the way, you’re screwed. Did you try using shirt slippers to put it on?[/quote]
Well I do use slippers for the superk. I just can’t seem to get it all the way. I only have one training partner who is rather weak so it makes it hard.
As far as the f6, I sure as hell jacked the shit out of it. Like, I had more cleavage than most women can manage hahahha. Still, it felt like not enough.
I am contemplating shortening the sleeves of the superk to make it easy to pull on because I do have rather stubby arms. Does shortening the sleeves ruin the carryover?[/quote]
I don’t see how shortening the sleeves would help. Bigger sleeves might help, but shorter ones aren’t going to do anything unless they’re down over your elbows.
If you can’t get it on and can’t work with it to break it in a little, then I don’t see what choice you have other than getting a bigger size or a different shirt.
Did you get it through Ken Anderson or did you order directly from Titan? Ken is usually pretty good with returns and fitting issues. If you ordered from him I’d give him a call and see what he thinks.
[quote]Steel Nation wrote:
[quote]arramzy wrote:
[quote]Steel Nation wrote:
Did you try working with the F6 at all? Jacking the collar, etc? I got around 100 lbs out of mine. Either that or try a 44. They stretch out pretty quickly so you should be ok in it after a few weeks if you could touch the first time out in a 46. I’d get one with the super neck, just because it’s more comfortable and easier to work with. Also, chicks dig shirt cleavage.
If you can’t even get your hands out to set your grip in the Katana then it’s probably not on all the way. If it’s not on all the way, you’re screwed. Did you try using shirt slippers to put it on?[/quote]
Well I do use slippers for the superk. I just can’t seem to get it all the way. I only have one training partner who is rather weak so it makes it hard.
As far as the f6, I sure as hell jacked the shit out of it. Like, I had more cleavage than most women can manage hahahha. Still, it felt like not enough.
I am contemplating shortening the sleeves of the superk to make it easy to pull on because I do have rather stubby arms. Does shortening the sleeves ruin the carryover?[/quote]
I don’t see how shortening the sleeves would help. Bigger sleeves might help, but shorter ones aren’t going to do anything unless they’re down over your elbows.
If you can’t get it on and can’t work with it to break it in a little, then I don’t see what choice you have other than getting a bigger size or a different shirt.
Did you get it through Ken Anderson or did you order directly from Titan? Ken is usually pretty good with returns and fitting issues. If you ordered from him I’d give him a call and see what he thinks.[/quote]
Yah its from Ken. I will try stretching the sleeves slightly to see if it will help. At any rate, I appreciate all your input. I actually got the idea for shortening the sleeves becase i bought a used 46 katana (quite stretched though) and the sleeves slide on much easier without the thick seam at the end and as my arms are short, they arent digging into the inside of my elbow as I lower the bar.
[quote]McDouche wrote:
In addition to sleeves/bags, you can get mini basketballs and inflate them inside the sleeves to stretch the arms out. Be careful, you don’t want to overstretch them, but this will make it easier to get the arms in. I would only stretch the last couple of inches of the sleeve. I had to do this because my forearms were turning purple.
Have your training partner wear gardening gloves to help them grip the sleeves.[/quote]
Good ideas. thanks!
Arramzy, looking at your videos, the main issue that I see is your not rowing into the support, you’re rowing around it. The weight shouldn’t be able to touch that easy. I would start there.
On stretching the sleeves. We used mini soccer balls (we also use them for opening the leg up on briefs). You’re going to have to go way over the PSI rating on the balls to get it to stretch. We generally go about 2x the recommended PSI, but you’ll have to play around with it to get it where you want.
[quote]UAphenix wrote:
Arramzy, looking at your videos, the main issue that I see is your not rowing into the support, you’re rowing around it. The weight shouldn’t be able to touch that easy. I would start there.
On stretching the sleeves. We used mini soccer balls (we also use them for opening the leg up on briefs). You’re going to have to go way over the PSI rating on the balls to get it to stretch. We generally go about 2x the recommended PSI, but you’ll have to play around with it to get it where you want. [/quote]
How do you mean I’m rowing aroun the support? Watch the best benchers in the world and the weight touches taht easy with MUCH TIGHTER singly ply shirts. Here are 3 I found in like 1 minute of searching:
Oh and PS: Thanks for the advice on the mini soccer balls. I will try that. Do you need that much PSI for a singly ply poly shirt?
I know you found these videos quick, but I’ve seen way more hard to touch shirted benches where once it did, the weight flew up and benches that are easy to touch and are slow or missed lifts than the other way around.
The best way to describe rowing into the support is think about rowing into a beach ball, if you row into the middle you will get a ton of support. The shirt will try and force the bar towards your feet or over your face to take the path of least resistance so the bar will go around the outside of the beach ball. Your job is to stay in the shirt and row into where it’s hardest. If you can do that, you will get the most pop from the shirt. If you don’t you won’t get anything out of the shirt when you touch your chest and go to reverse.
[quote]UAphenix wrote:
I know you found these videos quick, but I’ve seen way more hard to touch shirted benches where once it did, the weight flew up and benches that are easy to touch and are slow or missed lifts than the other way around.
The best way to describe rowing into the support is think about rowing into a beach ball, if you row into the middle you will get a ton of support. The shirt will try and force the bar towards your feet or over your face to take the path of least resistance so the bar will go around the outside of the beach ball. Your job is to stay in the shirt and row into where it’s hardest. If you can do that, you will get the most pop from the shirt. If you don’t you won’t get anything out of the shirt when you touch your chest and go to reverse. [/quote]
I appreciate what you are saying regarding putting the shirt in the path of greatest resistance. That concept should be obvious to anyone who has ever put on a shit… But the thing to remember is that this is a single ply poly shirt. That f6 in that video was not even particularily tight so the bar should come down that easily if you have decent back strength and technique. I don’t understand how you could say I was out of the ‘groove’ as the bar was high enough to pass IPF standards and it sure as hell wasn’t higher on my chest than the groove.
I am interested in what you are explaining just not convinced. Based on those videos, could you explain how I am not hitting the groove? Are my elbows out of position, too tucked/flared? Is the bar high or low? Am I pressing too straight or too J? Whatever it is you see I would love to hear becase potentially it could make a difference.
[quote]UAphenix wrote:
I know you found these videos quick, but I’ve seen way more hard to touch shirted benches where once it did, the weight flew up and benches that are easy to touch and are slow or missed lifts than the other way around.
The best way to describe rowing into the support is think about rowing into a beach ball, if you row into the middle you will get a ton of support. The shirt will try and force the bar towards your feet or over your face to take the path of least resistance so the bar will go around the outside of the beach ball. Your job is to stay in the shirt and row into where it’s hardest. If you can do that, you will get the most pop from the shirt. If you don’t you won’t get anything out of the shirt when you touch your chest and go to reverse. [/quote]
Best advice in thread.
[quote]arramzy wrote:
[quote]UAphenix wrote:
I know you found these videos quick, but I’ve seen way more hard to touch shirted benches where once it did, the weight flew up and benches that are easy to touch and are slow or missed lifts than the other way around.
The best way to describe rowing into the support is think about rowing into a beach ball, if you row into the middle you will get a ton of support. The shirt will try and force the bar towards your feet or over your face to take the path of least resistance so the bar will go around the outside of the beach ball. Your job is to stay in the shirt and row into where it’s hardest. If you can do that, you will get the most pop from the shirt. If you don’t you won’t get anything out of the shirt when you touch your chest and go to reverse. [/quote]
I appreciate what you are saying regarding putting the shirt in the path of greatest resistance. That concept should be obvious to anyone who has ever put on a shit… But the thing to remember is that this is a single ply poly shirt. That f6 in that video was not even particularily tight so the bar should come down that easily if you have decent back strength and technique. I don’t understand how you could say I was out of the ‘groove’ as the bar was high enough to pass IPF standards and it sure as hell wasn’t higher on my chest than the groove.
I am interested in what you are explaining just not convinced. Based on those videos, could you explain how I am not hitting the groove? Are my elbows out of position, too tucked/flared? Is the bar high or low? Am I pressing too straight or too J? Whatever it is you see I would love to hear becase potentially it could make a difference.[/quote]
You can see on the last two attempts of the second video that you keep coming down at an angle, even at chest. The last inch or so should be straight into the chest where the greatest support is. A shirted bench movement should start going straight down for the first couple inches to set the shirt and pull the slack out of it. Then come down at an angle as you tuck your elbows. The final couple of inches are straight in to where the support is greatest, you keep going towards your feet.
The other things I see is at the start of the lift the person lifting you off isn’t allowing you to tighten your back once the weight is over your face. Once they hand it off to you, you don’t really settle at all. Squeezing your back together and letting the weight settle you into the bench will take a couple inches off the movement. You also start to far over your chest and have nowhere to go but more and more towards your feet. Start higher up over your face, it’s where you are finishing so why not start there. Another thing I see is you aren’t tucking much, you appear to almost be raw benching the weight keeping your elbows out, as you lower the weight try tucking more. On the reverse, I would like it if you drifted more to your face, the lockout would be easier and that transition looks like where you’re stalling. From looking at the one video, that’s what I see. You can’t really see form from behind the rack in the first video.
If the F6 isn’t tight you should have someone around that can tighten it up if you set it properly. Saying the shirts are only single ply isn’t really work as they give a ton of support these days. A lot of guys that I used to train with liked the single ply shirts better than most of the double ply because they gave a ton of support and also you got more pop and lockout strength than with the multiply that they had previously been using. Hope that helps.
