Sling Shot Mark Bell Original Exercise Resistance Band for Men and Women (Level 3)

Awesome product! I was skeptical at first, but after hitting a plateau with my bench press, I was up for trying something new. A lot of people will say that a product like this is "cheating" but it's actually quite the opposite. During a normal bench press, your muscles are strongest when at the top of the lift, and weakest at the bottom of the lift when they are stretched out. So let's say you can bench 200 lbs x 5. At the top of your lift, you unrack the bar, and as the bar moves closer to your chest, you're feeling great. At the bottom of the lift, it starts to feel heavy, and you really have to push to get the bar back up. Halfway up, the weight seems much more manageable, and you finish out the rep easily. Pretty standard, right? But let's look at this process more closely. How much of your range of motion was actually spent under heavy tension? 30%? 40%? 50%? At the top of your lift (both at the beginning and end or the rep), you are essentially at minimal muscle tension. That 200 lbs is not putting much stress on you, in fact you could probably half rep quite a bit more weight. Not until you get to the lower muscle range of your rep does the tension build up enough to cause tissue damage, and consequently muscular hypertrophy. So a rough non-scientific estimate puts most of us at minimal tension for at least half of the range of motion. That means, that about 50% of reach individual rep, you're not really getting any benefit. Your muscles are not being challenged enough at the top of your range! So, we need to fix our approach. We need to add tension at the top of the rep (both at the beginning and end), while reducing tension at the bottom so we don't overload the bottom of the rep to the point of failure. That way, we can keep tension high enough throughout the range of motion that we are inducing muscular hypertrophy at or near 100% of the time (it's probably like 80-90%, but it's significantly better than 30-50%). Instead of benching 200 x 5, add 10-15% more weight, put the Slingshot on, and now at the top of your bench you are resisting 225 lbs, while at the bottom you are still under the same 200 lbs of tension you were when benching 200 x 5 without the Slingshot. In reality, with the Slingshot you are doing MORE work than you would be doing benching less weight without the Slingshot! More work, more tension, more muscular tissue damage = more gains over a shorter period of time. If you decide to buy this product, which I highly recommend (quality is top notch), and someone says "you're just cheating man", just keep in mind that some people are dumb as bricks, and there is nothing you or I or anyone can do about it.

This is an incredible addition to my gym gear. Better bench press for and greater strength and muscle mass.

I don’t know why I’ve never had one but if you’re thinking about it get it. Not only does it improve my form for my shoulder but I’m able to easily add 50lbs to my bench and get that arm bulging feeling after a workout. I’m 6’2 230lbs with an XL size. It sits just above my elbows and not digging into my armpits but I get a slight pinching from the fabric. Nothing to put me off from using it. Strong elastic band built to last. Highly recommend.

I don't review often but I love this thing. I've seen it and debated buying for months now. I've plateued at 285. Good for my size but as always, trying to get stronger. Used it once and its awesome. Definitely a great tool. I benched 315 twice with it. 295x5 with it. I use it to max out and do more, then take it off and do it without. 225x8 alone and then 225x15 with it. As far as getting me stronger and break thru my ceiling, time will tell but im very optimistic and for the first-time in a while, I had such a chest pump and was shaky after because the slingshot really pushed me and gave me the confidence to go heavier and no be as scared to fail.

The item works very well. Helps protect your injury shoulder and give you the support you need to lift weights. The elasticity and material was to precision, more color variation would have been a plus.

I'm fighting back from a injury that kept me from lifting more than 365 for almost 1.5 years. I'm starting to do better but having some shoulder issues from the same event lifting heavy was flaring them up. Today I warmed up with this and then did all my presses in it. I ended up doing working sets of 365*8, which felt so good I went straight to 405 for three sets of 4, then 385*5, and 315*12. My usual sets have been more like 365*5, 385*3, 405*1 for a few sets. This was mostly because of the pain I would feel during the lift making me bail. With the Sling Shot my shoulders did great and I was not having the pain I have been which allowed me to push harder. I also used this on incline and though I was a bit doubtful I'd like it there, I did. Did four sets of 225*15 and again didn't have the shoulder pain I was. My usual sets were up to 225 for 10 but lately I was having to drop weight because of the pain.... Not anymore! Being injuried I still didn't press like I normally would have and I'm not fighting for one or two more reps per set, but with the Sling Shot I certainly did better than I had been. I was confident using the device and it certainly gave me an improved lifting experience making me feel like this will help get me over the hump. I think this will get me back up and running quicker and I'll start to use it less as it's intended once I get father down the road of my rebuild. If you're dealing with an injured shoulder I highly recommend this device. I went with the Full Boar in 3XL after reading to go up a size if your arms are larger than 17.5 inches. This suggestion was spot on. My arms are around 18.5 and the 3XL fits well. It was a bit hard to get on high once sweaty but not terrible. I tried it high and at the elbow and liked both methods fine but found just passed the elbow worked best for me. It certainly fit snug but was not uncomfortable in the least. I think I made the right choice.

Fantastic product. Can finally bench again pain free thanks Mr Bell

I have been benching for about 20 years. Had to take a break for a while due to shoulder impingement. After rehabbing that and working on thoracic spine mobility and posture, I got back to benching. I quickly got back to work sets in the 225-245 range and max from 265-285 depending on the day, then hit a wall. I had tried everything I could find on every forum and every website. Corrected my form, added leg drive, got my lats involved, 5x5, 5-3-1, different accessory exercises, couldn't get past the barrier. First time using this felt amazing. My form was already good but this tightened up everything, especially at the bottom. After finishing my sets at 245 without the Slingshot, I went to 265 and it felt like 185 at the bottom. My final work sets with this thing first time out were at my old perpetual max. The best comparison I can make is it is similar to using chains without the noise and stares. If you want to bench off of boards but don't have someone to hold them, this is your tool. You get all the load at the top half of the lift but you get help starting at the bottom. I could have thrown more weight on and lifted it but I wanted to get used to the extra weight and be kind to my aging elbows. I don't think I would have any problem with 315-330 using this device. This device is great for overloading the top half of the lift and I look forward to seeing what it will do to my max in a month or so of use. Because of the shadiness surrounding a lot of fitness product reviews on Amazon, I will mention that I paid full price for this product and would do it again in a heartbeat. It was pricey but it feels sturdy so far and it stands to help me out a great deal in the gym.