Bench shirt

{{Short description|Powerlifting equipment}}

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File:Putting on a bench shirt.jpg

A bench shirt is a stiff supportive shirt, used to improve performance in the bench press, most often in powerlifting competitions. Bench shirts are usually made of polyester, denim, or canvas and come in single- or multi-ply thicknesses. The extremely tight fit of a bench shirt supports the weightlifter's shoulders and deltoid muscles.Levin, Josh, "[http://www.slate.com/id/2104915/ One Giant Lift for Mankind: The race for the 1,000-pound bench press.]", Slate, 9 Aug. 2004. Retrieved 8 August 2007.

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,100% Raw Powerlifting Federation [http://www.rawpowerlifting.com/pdf/rules.pdf Rules] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929055900/http://www.rawpowerlifting.com/pdf/rules.pdf |date=29 September 2007 }} (PDF), p. 4. Retrieved 8 August 2007. whereas the International Powerlifting Federation stipulates that support shirts must be "of one ply stretch material".International Powerlifting Federation [http://www.powerlifting-ipf.com/Technical-Rules.50.0.html Technical Rules] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100101175538/http://www.powerlifting-ipf.com/Technical-Rules.50.0.html |date=1 January 2010 }} (PDF), p. 12. Retrieved 4 January 2010. As the same lifter's performance may vary significantly depending on the presence and design of a bench shirt (for example, Scot Mendelson has a shirted bench press record of 1030 lbs,[http://www.powerliftingwatch.com/records/shw-men All-Time Powerlifting Records] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080515191315/http://www.powerliftingwatch.com/records/shw-men |date=15 May 2008 }}, 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.