Tip The T-Shirt Bench Press Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness Training Tip The T-Shirt Bench Press Set a new PR on the bench press by preparing for it with this ego-crushing technique by Paul Carter July 18, 2018August 18, 2019 Tags Bench Press, Chest, Tips, Training Most guys do some form of paused bench press... if they aren't ego lifters. Bring the bar down, pause at the chest, do some repping. Sweet. It's great in theory, but the application is sometimes lacking. Where? The pause itself. The whole point of the pause is to reduce the rebound from the stretch reflex so that the lift is much harder. Making it harder is what you're after. And that's where the T-shirt bench comes in. It not only forces you to slow down considerably during the eccentric (lowering) portion of the rep, it'll make you hold the bar down near the chest under a tremendous amount of tension before lifting the bar back up. The technique is quite simple: once you begin the lowering portion of the rep, try to touch your T-shirt as lightly as possible at the bottom. That part's important. And if you're doing a full range of motion, the bar does in fact touch your shirt anyway. But make it touch lightly, like you would a newborn kitten. Sounds simple, but it kinda sucks after 8 reps. It's not quite a paused bench, but it might be better in terms of developing the bench press because of the control you're forced to apply when lowering it and at the chest. Be as explosive as you can on the concentric or lifting phase of the rep, but within reason. The Loading The weight you use is important because if you're using a really light load, then your elbows are going to start cursing at you in a third-world language. You can use whatever loading pattern you've been using with these if it's been working for you. Simply use this technique, then find out just how much ego you've been using in your training. The technique will let you know immediately. Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Training Arm Workout Overhaul 7 New Biceps Exercises Hit a plateau with your arm workout? Then light up your biceps in a whole new way with these fresh exercises and smart training methods. Arms, Bodybuilding Bradford Cooke July 4 Training 6 Ways to Upgrade Your Back Workout These unique back exercises and form tweaks will help you build a bigger, stronger back. Guaranteed. Training Lee Boyce October 29 Training Tip Dips Rear Delt Flyes Over and Backs Mark Dugdale uses this depletion circuit as part of his contest prep. Bodybuilding, Exercise Coaching, Tips Mark Dugdale February 16 Training The Truth About Bulking There's more to gaining muscle mass than lifting and pigging out. Don't fall for bulking advice that just makes you fat. Diet Strategy, Dietary Myth Busting, Training Christian Thibaudeau September 26