Switched to equipped a couple months ago and been enjoying my Fury, but I have been limited to only benching equipped when I have my wife going so she can yank me into the shirt. Picked up the Forell F8 single-ply (Was gonna go BenchDaddy but they wouldn’t respond to any emails) since it was the easiest one to get a hold of and I wanted an alternative I could use when I go alone. It’s great, way more comfortable, easy to get on and off (I take it off between sets instead of being locked in for the full bench workout like with my Fury) by myself and it offers about the same amount of ‘pop’ so I don’t feel like I’m cheating with this thing.
Just curious if anyone else uses one and has any advice, either on the same model or banded shirts in general. So far I’ve found the best setting is to have the chest ‘plate’ pulled down as far as possible but then ride the sleeves up slightly so I have about half an inch between my elbow and the end of the sleeve. This replicates my output from the Fury almost exactly. I can definitely see how if I pull those sleeves a bit lower it’ll crank up the tension and I believe that’s the intended set for it based on Rob Forell’s IG videos but I lift in a gym of newbies, casuals and cardio bunnies so I do not trust anyone to unrack for me and with the sleeves set at the elbow it forces my arms into a skullcrusher position for unracks which lol I just am not gonna do with big loads on the bar.
Just looking for any tips or info that anyone out there may have, as these shirts are not really discussed anywhere online. The only reputable person I’ve heard mention them is Clint Darden touches on them a bit, and the guy from BigBenchas has an audiocast where he claims you can slap one on and bench 200+ over your raw max which is complete nonsense but this is the general consensus of the limited internet discussion I have seen about them. Just trying to find some REAL info/anecdotes from anyone who actually uses one.
It’s not nonsense, maybe with the single ply version perhaps but I get around 200# to my raw max from my single ply shirt.
If you want Band shirt info go contact Bruce Mason on Instagram, he can get you pointed in the right direction.
I don’t plan on using one any time soon and I’ve seen a few people here mention them but it’s best to go to a higher level user for band shirt information.
Wear them lower but the sleeves still need to be above the elbows. Tyler Butcher just did 1050 in an F8 triple ply to a 1 board and does 800+ in a single ply Super Katana.
I’m looking to get the 2ply version to play with. I’m normally single ply.
There are some feds that allow them. Him and I would like to do a bench only meet just to see how wild it can get for the fun of it.
What is the carryover single ply katana vs f8 shirt single ply? I only bench 380 single ply katana so wondering if single or double ply would be good to hit 400-450? Thank you
Hi bud, I’ll give you my honest impressions/update the thread a bit:
I managed to take my press from 405 off the chest to 505 off the chest (hit early Nov so ~1 year to gain +100lbs off chest in gear) in my single ply F8 shirt, as well as hitting 515 to a 2board and 525 to a 3board. I recently switched to a double ply F8 after I reached 505, and in the ~3 months I’ve worked in it I have taken 600 to a 3board, 585 to a 2board, 545 to the chest. I had to row everything pretty hard to get them to the respective points though, even 600 did not wanna come down much on it’s own.
As a 375lb raw bencher and 420lb poly shirt SP bencher, I’d say the F8 SP will give you more but it’ll require you to learn a new benching style. I began getting the most out of it when I started flaring my elbows hard the entire lift and adjusting my arch enough to do this without it wrecking my shoulders. Kolb does it the more traditional way with a tuck and a flare, but everyone else besides him is doing the flare method. Try both out, flare probably will work best for you since you’re likely not 5’5 315lbs with arm length proportions built for benching lol.
Honestly it’s incredibly fun, much more fun than poly shirt work, but be realistic with expectations. As I said in the OP, everyone swears you throw these on and just magically add 200lbs to your bench which is horse shit. Don’t fall for that garbage. You will get a percentage increase to your bench in these but unless you’re already pushing big ass numbers it’s not gonna be hundreds of pounds gained. If 380 is your absolute max in the Katana, and without knowing your raw or board work strengths, I will say if you pick up an F8 try to take 380 on day 1 and maybe 400 or 405 if you use pound plates and like the aesthetic of having 4 plates per side. I don’t want to ‘guarantee’ anything for you though; Try it out if you want to have some fun and have 200 bucks to drop on the shirt, but go in with low expectations so you don’t mess your head up.
Ive done 505 in singleply evil twin and super katana. 650 in 2ply f8 in competition and 700 to a 1 board.