What is a bench press shirt and how to get one

The first time I heard the word; “Bench press shirt”, I immediately began to wonder what it could be and what exactly it could be doing for lifters. Until I saw and used the shirt myself, I erroneously concluded it is perhaps a magic suit to enhance the effectiveness of benchers, kingly members of the powerlifting, weightlifting, squat, deadlifting community at the gym. I might have been wrong with that, but it’s clear now that my conclusion was entirely incorrect. Anyway, you don’t need to laugh at me; it was a long time ago, and there is always a first time for everything. I know better now.

The reasons why you need to bench press

As common as it may sound, do you realize how important the bench press is for you?  Today, it is considered a very popular exercise in most fitness centers. It has become so common that first time gym visitors engage in the bench press without proper guide. This has contributed to the progressive decline in the importance attached to this lift. Should it be like this for the bench press? It is time to appreciate the bench press more. There are reasons it has to remain in your repertoire. To justify this you need to understand its roll in your muscle development as well as its extra functions. Let us begin with looking at the various muscles of your torso which are put in action when engaging in this exercise one after the other:

Eliminate these mistakes with the bench press

This is a little write up of the things which I could have done better right from the start to learn the bench press. I gathered these little tips from different sources and put them together. Please leave a comment or tell me your own story about the bench press.

Don't make these mistakes with the Texas method

This is an overview of the mistakes I made with the Texas method which I did not get a lot of return on. It is a good program if you time it right in your development which I did not.

Stop making mistakes with Stronglifts 5x5

In this post, I describe which mistakes I made while training on Stronglifts 5x5 so that you can avoid them. If you have any tips for the program please leave them in the comments.

Bench press with chains or bands ?

If you have not trained for more than two years do not use bands or chains at all. In short chains are more suited for maximum efforts while bands are the better choice for developing explosiveness based on my experiences. The following articles provides you with knowledge for conjugated periodisation, how to setup bands and chains correctly and when to choose one over the other. Feel free to share your questions and experiences in the comments to make this article better. 

How does a bench press calculator work?

Most bench press calculators either work with a mathematical formula which you will find in this article or are based on empirical results from a study. Calculators are a good tool to determine general strength, track progress and program an athlete's schedule. Be careful around maximum efforts especially for very strong athletes as physics dictate exponential effort while calculators usually assume linear strength progression. In short, this means the stronger the athlete the more inaccurate the calculators become.

How accurate are bench press calculators?

So should you rely on a bench press calculator for your performance? The short answer is definitely not for estimating real life one repetition maximum attempts. They are a good tool to get estimates to see where to start and whether you are progressing.

What are bench press bars made of? 

This is an overview of barbells which can be used for the bench press. Most of them are made of steel with different finishes. For details and different variations of barbells read on. Hope you enjoy it. 

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Which bench press is best for chest?

There is no one answer to that and if you think you have or someone claims to have, you are limiting yourself and setting yourself up for less than optimal gains. There is no one exercise that is best for chest. There is a multitude of tools that have to be applied on a constant basis to build that magnificent pec fest.