So here is my question: I just purchased a Metal Ace Pro Bench shirt. It is my first shirt I have worn. I have good form and learned to bench from another 600+ pound raw bench guy, but he can't help with the gear. I need to break in the shirt still, but I found a meet 12 weeks out. I have nailed down my dynamic work and still incorporate some reps to try and keep my size. Up until now I change my bench frequently with chains, boards, floor press, ext...
But how should I train leading up to this meet? I need to break in this shirt but is 12 weeks out to early to start training in the shirt? And I guess what would some of the workouts look like? Sets X reps... boards? Chains?
Any advise would be great! Thanks for your time.
Mac
Breaking in an Ace is like riding a bike
First, great shirt choice. I have just recently gone back to the Ace. The good thing about the Ace is there is not a ton of give, so it does not have a lot of breaking in to do. What I have done is wet it down in the arms and the chest plate. Then I start working boards down. First week will be 3-board then to a 2-board, the following week is a 2- to a 1-board, and the next week is a 1-board and then to the chest. After that, deload and start your program.
I have had good success using the conjugate method with and without the shirt. If I were just learning the shirt, I'd probably wear it three times a month. I'd just pick different ME exercises to do in the shirt. Make one week a chain bench, another a band bench, and the other could be a reverse band. Get in the shirt and learn the groove.