I have my first bench meet January 29th. I am competing in the 18-19 year old 165lb class (IPA meet).
The current IPA record is 387lb bench w/ multi ply shirt that I am hoping to break.
I have a somewhat awkward body-type and have had a lot of trouble finding a shirt that fits correctly. After a double ply super katana which was too small and an doubly ply Inzer rage X that was too big I went back to single ply katana after speaking with Ken Anderson and have been training with it for a few weeks. So far this is my favorite shirt and I have been consistently setting PR’s with it, granted its the first shirt that fits me perfectly so I just happen to be getting more out of it, plus being a single ply I find it easier to touch.
Anyway the meet is a multi ply meet and my plan with my current single ply katana was to bench with it for a bit, break it in and get it to touch, then send it back to Anderson Powerlifting and have Ken add a second layer and turn it into a double ply, train with it for a month and do the meet in a multi ply. This is what Ken recommended me to do and he has yet to steer me wrong.
Heres my problem, I am confident I will break the record using my current single ply shirt… my best lifts so far include a 380lb 2 board for 3 reps and last week I hit a PR with 425lbs on a 2 board for a single… mind you the current record is 387lbs I dont care so much as to get 390 as I really want to hit 418. I would hope to break 400 on my second attempt. Opener may be 380.
So do you think its worth it for me to get the doubly ply and hope my numbers go up… or just stick with the single ply that I like and enter the meet with it? My concern is that learning to work with a double ply may take longer than I like and I may have a hard time getting it to touch being only about 1 month out from my meet.
Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Also I havent gone down to my chest since hitting my last few PR’s… what would you guys say I could get to my chest without boards if my current PR is 425 on a 2 board?
Thats going to depend on where you touch at, and how your lockout is. I can smoke a shit ton off boards, but to actually groove a double pimped rage to my chest is a new ball game. If you can get the katana to groove right and touch, you may be better off using that till it wears out then buying new.
But if your going to stay multyply, get a multyply shirt. I would suggest a double rage-x from house of pain (call and talk to jason) or an overkill.
Like I said, get the most out of your katana first. And work the full range more then boards.
This is my two cents but my advice is coming from lifting single ply to 100% raw. I held a record for a couple years in the USAPL teen division @181 and then as a collegiate lifter in the 198’s I hit 408 in a single ply inzer rage. I set the teen record less than a week before turning 20. I would take into consideration your birthdate and the number of meets before you turn 20. If you have plenty of time and meets going on then go with what you are comfortable with for this first meet and start working into double ply afterwards. I would not go into a meet not comfortable with gear and I only ever used single ply. That being said I would max out whatever gear the federation allows. If the record was set in multi-ply then it would be dumb not for you to use it. I am lifting 100% raw now, no knee wraps included. If I happend to lift in a federation that allowed knee wraps then it would be stupid to compete to try and set a record but not use the advantage of knee wraps. Just don’t be that guy that claims to the common gym rat that you can bench over 400lbs, include the information that it’s in a double ply suit. I hate misconceptions.
If you can break the record in your current shirt, then do it. It doesn’t sound like you would have much time to get used to the double ply shirt. Sometimes with these new shirts, more shirt isn’t always better. Can you consistently touch and press weights in the shirt currently? If not, then your focus should be on learning the shirt and getting comfortable with full ROM pressing. If you want to go double ply, then wait until you have time to really get used to it before a meet.
Ive found the more plies, the more stop in the bottom and the less carrythrough to the top. Conversely, fewer plies gets you less off the bottom but you get support through a longer range of motion. Plus you can wear it alot tighter. Find whatever style shirt fits your bench groove and style best and run with it.
of plies really doesn’t mean what it used to. Hell, Mark Bell benches more in a single Katana then he ever really did in a multi-ply shirt. My coach is using a stock, ipf legal Katana now, and is about 20lbs shy of his best bench in a 3ply SDP. The whole “Single ply is closer to raw” argument that you used to hear all the time is bulls**t with the new materials.
Stick with the single ply katana. Single ply katana gives as much carryover as most double plys, for some even more. And soundslike you have already learned the groove. don’t throw a wrench into your training.
[quote]PeteS wrote:
Stick with the single ply katana. Single ply katana gives as much carryover as most double plys, for some even more. And soundslike you have already learned the groove. don’t throw a wrench into your training. [/quote]
Seems like the best idea really, thanks for all the input guys!
[quote]aaron_lohan wrote:
You make no mention of what your pb is for the full range bench press is, going off what you can do off boards can be misleading.[/quote]
I haven’t taken weight down to my chest in this shirt yet so I can’t say for sure yet
[quote]aaron_lohan wrote:
You make no mention of what your pb is for the full range bench press is, going off what you can do off boards can be misleading.[/quote]
I haven’t taken weight down to my chest in this shirt yet so I can’t say for sure yet [/quote]
well THERE’S the problem…
I don’t mean to sound rude, and I understand that single ply gear will be much easier to touch in than anything multi-ply… but you have to know where you stand benching to the chest… just because you can hit 800 to a 2-board doesn’t mean that you can hit it off of your chest, or that you can even touch it to your chest.
If your meet is coming up, stay with what you have… never change anything right before a meet.
If you want to go multi-ply later you could either ask Ken Anderson ( if you like your shirt) or because you mentioned that you have a weird build call Overkill and have Rudy make you a custom shirt.