I f$#@ing love the shirt! It's awesome! Here's the a video of The Jack in action:
I'd like to preface this by saying I have not been in a bench shirt for ten months. Also, I just competed in a raw meet two weeks ago. Jumping right into a heavy shirt session might not have been the smartest thing I have ever done. However, I am known for being strong, not smart.
I had this Metal Jack shirt for a few weeks and it has been burning a hole in my gym bag. To the best of my knowledge, it's the only one in North America. I couldn't let it just sit there anymore.
When I first tried to get it on, the sleeves were just too tight for me. I have solved this in the past with the Ace shirt by just cutting an inch off the bottom of the sleeve. The nice thing about this material is that the plies are laminated so the material does not pull apart. I trimmed the shirt and that problem was solved.
Another change I wanted to make was fixing how the shirt closes in the back. I do understand that this is a good answer for a federation which requires a closed back. For me, it made it very difficult to get in and out of the shirt on my own. However, before I made the capricious decision to cut the back wide open, I recognized I really liked how the stretch material kept the shirt in a good position on my shoulders. So, I compromised and just cut a square out of the bottom of the back. Now I can slip into the shirt on my own.
Ok, now to the fun part, the performance of the Metal Jack bench shirt. I could tell this shirt had a lot of "adjustability." It has a super open neck and chest plate, so the shirt can be worn up for lighter weight and lower for the heavy stuff. For this first day, I left the collar up. I just wanted to see what I could get out of it as is.
To recap the training from the session, I went
- 3 board 590 x 1
- 2 board 640 x 1
- 1.5 board 680 x 1
- 1 board 730 x 1
- .5 board 770 x 1
- to chest 800 x 1
- lastly an extra work set of 2 board 640 x 3
Each set felt great, especially considering how long it has been since I've worn equipment. The Metal Jack shirt definitely has more of a sweet spot than the Ace. It also has more pop. I was especially surprised by this considering how easily I touched the 800.
In conclusion, I know I've only worn the shirt once, but I felt like I put on Cinderella's slipper. Interesting anology for a powerlifter huh? I can't wait to get a full training cycle in the shirt so I can really figure it out. I've worn a lot of bench shirts over the years and I can say unequivocally this is the best one I ever put on.
The Second Session
Here's my second session in the Jack. I pulled the collar as the weight got heavier. Each rep felt a little better than the last. I really focused on my form. I've really been focusing on not dropping as I touch and doing away with that heaving motion I have. If you see anything technique-wise I should work on please let me know.
By the way, this shirt has the best of the ACE and SDP. It has a lot of potential to take over the market. Although, I'd be quite happy for no other lifter to ever get his hands on one.