Stretching the JACK Shirt

When the JACK bench shirt was made available to us for ordering, I was using a 54 ACE. The rule among the lifters who already had their hands on the JACK was to order the same size. I ordered a 54 and had it in a few days. For whatever reason, it was too big. The arms felt great, but the chest plate was too big. I was easily touching weight in the mid-fours and struggling to push weight I was blowing up in the ACE. The arms felt good, but the chest plate was just too big. It was so big that I thought dropping one size wouldn’t do what I needed.

What I thought would work was a custom shirt, size 50 chest plate, with size 52 arms. Nasty! Out of the box it looked pretty much impossible. I know children this shirt would be tight on, but you know, I was going to try it. This thing was sticking at my elbows. It was almost stupid to have someone pull on it, but I did. I started that night stretching the arms. Because the arms were so small, I had to completely deflate footballs and roll them up tight to get them to slide in. I inflated them and left them overnight. When I had nothing else to do, I deflated the balls and then inflated them over and over again. I did this for almost two weeks.

When it was time to try the shirt again...I got it close. It was close enough that trimming the sleeves sounded like a good idea. When I trimmed the sleeves, I took a straight edge to lay across the sleeve and used a sharp razor blade to make a straight clean cut against the edge of the straight edge. Start small if your trimming the sleeves. You can always trim more. I started at ¼ inch. That’s all I needed. My next attempt to get the shirt on was successful.

Half the Battle

Getting the shirt on was only half the battle. You still have to use it, and it’s helpful if you can leave it on for more than a set. I couldn’t touch three boards at first, and I couldn’t leave it on for more than two sets. That wasn't really a success in my mind. I took it off after the second set the first time I had it on, and after each set after that. The sleeves are tight, and the reason I had to take it off. I wasn’t able to touch a 3-board the first set, and when I did it was with horrible form and with a narrow grip. That was more a problem with the chest plate.

I’ve told you how we stretch the sleeves, and I’m continuing that this week. The chest plate, however; is a completely different beast. It takes more than just an inflated ball to get the proper stretch on it.

The Madness

Hang the shirt from a bar on the monolift through one sleeve. Insert a second bar in the sleeve that’s left hanging. After that, you just start adding weight. You need help because the bar will want to go all over the place. So, make sure the bar is balanced in the shirt, that way the weight doesn’t slip off the bar and crush a foot. I usually stagger the weight if it feels off, once I have it set. Be sure to leave the weight further out on the sleeve of the light side. The shirts are strong. I used five plates on each side the first time I stretched my JACK. Previously, we used four plates on each side for the ACE. Wet the collar, sleeves, and chest plate because it helps the stretch. Also, warm the shirt up by adding only a plate at a time over about 20 minutes. You might not want to just stack 10 plates on it right out of the hole.

As far as timing, you should use your own judgment. Only you know how much stretch you want. We usually leave it on for a couple of hours at a time. I know I need a ton of stretching, so I left mine stretching for 2 hours last night with five plates on each side. When I left the gym, I lowered the mono to where the weight was sitting on the legs. This was't enough to take the weight completely, but it drastically reduced the stretch. Today I will JACK it up again. I’ll leave it for another hour or so before lowering it again. I won't take it off again until after tomorrow’s training when I have help. You really need two people to load and unload the bar. I’ll leave it be until after I try it on my next bench day. I’ll use that to judge how I should proceed.

I know my shirt is tight, and I have helped some of the guys do this with other shirts. I’m not afraid of going too far, but it is possible. Be conservative at first, and test often. You don’t want to overstretch a brand new shirt.

Get your shirt right and get a PR.

Follow-up

I left the shirt stretching on the monolift for around 48 hours. Remember, I dropped the weight to the legs of the monolift to lessen the stretch, but it stayed under stress. When I went back two days later, I slowly raised the weight and wet the shirt. I slowly put more and more stress on the shirt over about 15 to 20 minutes, until the weight was hanging by the shirt again. I left the weight hanging for about two hours. When I left the gym, I stripped the weight.

When I came in for our bench session, I put the shirt on for the first time since I stretched it. It was still tight, but I got it on. I hit my first set, but the shirt was still to tight around my elbows. I pulled it off and trimmed the sleeves by another quarter inch or less. I put it back on and was able to leave it on for my first two sets. After putting it back on I was able to leave it on for the rest of the session. Just that alone was a vast improvement.

As far as the reps are concerned, I was able to hit a 3-board without too much effort. As the weight moved up, the reps got easier. My only disappointment with the session is that my second rep of each set felt better than the first. I was still getting a little popping in the seams, but nothing like last week. Even on the lower boards, the shirt was pretty much done popping. I was able to squeeze down to a 1-board by the end of the session.

Overall, the shirt was great. It has more pop than the ACE and the groove is great. I seriously thought I had undershot the sizing. After stretching it, it is right on. The sleeves are still tight, and my forearms turn purple, but it fits exactly how I like a shirt to fit. Take your time stretching your shirt. Don’t over stretch it. If you can get in the shirt, but it feels impossible to use, stretch it. It’s the right size.