A bench shirt is a stiff supportive shirt, used to improve performance in the

bench press The bench press, or chest press, is a weight training exercise in which the trainee presses a weight upwards while lying on a weight training bench. Although the bench press is a full-body exercise, the muscles primarily used are the pectorali ...

, most often in

powerlifting Powerlifting is a strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athlete attempting a maximal weight single-lift effor ...

competitions. Bench shirts are usually made of

polyester Polyester is a category of polymers that contain the ester functional group in every repeat unit of their main chain. As a specific material, it most commonly refers to a type called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include natural ...

denim Denim is a sturdy cotton warp-faced textile in which the weft passes under two or more warp threads. This twill weaving produces a diagonal ribbing that distinguishes it from cotton duck. While a denim predecessor known as dungaree has been pr ...

, or

canvas Canvas is an extremely durable plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, shelters, as a support for oil painting and for other items for which sturdiness is required, as well as in such fashion objects as handbags ...

and come in single- or multi-ply thicknesses. The extremely tight fit of a bench shirt supports the weightlifter's shoulders and

deltoid muscle The deltoid muscle is the muscle forming the rounded contour of the human shoulder. It is also known as the 'common shoulder muscle', particularly in other animals such as the domestic cat. Anatomically, the deltoid muscle appears to be made up o ...

s. Different powerlifting federations have different rules governing allowed equipment—for example, the only supportive equipment allowed by the 100% Raw Powerlifting Federation for bench press is a leather belt, whereas the International Powerlifting Federation stipulates that support shirts must be "of one ply stretch material". As the same lifter's performance may vary significantly depending on the presence and design of a bench shirt (for example,

Scot Mendelson Scot Mendelson (born February 21, 1969) is an American armwrestler and powerlifter, who specializes in the bench press. He has broken multiple world records and was the raw (unassisted) world record holder in the 308-pound weight ...

, whose shirted bench press record is 1030 lbs,All-Time Powerlifting Records
, ''Powerlifting Watch.'' while his unshirted best is 715 lbs), records across different federations or categories may not be directly comparable. A bench press performed without the usage of a bench shirt is referred to as a "raw" or "unequipped" lift.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bench Shirt Powerlifting Shirts Weight training equipment