Howmuchyabench - my Sling Shot review

[pumping4life]

I have seen some discussion on the Sling Shot, but never a full review here, so I thought I would throw up my experience with one so far.

Delivery and packaging

I ordered mine from Elite Fitness as they had the size I needed (or so I thought), and they had a 10% off sale. It came within a week in a padded envelope. As soon as I took it out, it was clear that it was well made. Essentially, it is 2 very tough, elastic pieces of material stitched together. Then the fabric is looped around either end for your arm to pass through and stitched with a gap where your elbow sits to allow better joint flexion. I was happy to see it is a nice red color as in the videos on their website it seems to have a pink hue.

How does it fit?

You definitely want to follow the fitting directions on the website. The Elite Fitness fitting directions are a bit more precise and probably worth looking at. On their site, a 2XL is meant for a 15-16" upper arm. a 3XL is for 17+". It does say to go to the next size up if you're at an in-between size. Relaxed, unpumped, I am at 16.5" when measured 3" above the elbow. Based on that, I should have gotten the 3XL, but the 2XL was close so I bought that one. I figured this would allow some break-in since these supposedly won't last forever and I could send it back, if needed. It definitely is a bit tight and when I buy the next one, I'll go for the 3XL.

How does it work?

Really well. Right now my max. bench is 335# for 2-4 reps. When using the Sling Shot, I can do 355# for 4-6 reps. I have read that it commonly adds 20-30# to your bench. I have seen some claim as much as 50#, but my suspicion is that if it adds more than 30# to your bench, chances are your raw bench is higher and you just need a kick in your confidence.

When you put it on, it pulls your arms together. This makes you pull your arms apart to grab the bar, which, in turn, helps activate your lats and triceps.
Now I have never used a bench shirt, but I very much suspect this acts similar to one. I have read posts suggesting the same. you probably won't need to pull the bar onto your chest, but it provides the initial push off. Like a shirt, if your set-up is off, you'll know it quickly. It's hard to readjust your position mid-rep with the Sling Shot on. You may need to re-rack and start your set again. It will help to get you beyond your sticking point to push more weight.

The theory, here, is that this device should help prepare your CNS for handling heavier weights and work to get you past sticking points. I haven't used this long enough to see if my bench will actually increase, but time will tell.

I haven't included any pics, since it's such a simple piece and there are pics and vids on their website (www.howmuchyabench.net). If there are any particular pics you're looking for, let me know and I'll try to post them here. Also, if you have any questions, let 'em fly.

[Josephbd]

Great review! I was definitely leaning toward getting one but your thoughts and experience with the Slingshot will make me purchase it.
All the best and thank you.

[pumping4life]

Great review! I was definitely leaning toward getting one but your thoughts and experience with the Slingshot will make me purchase it.
All the best and thank you.

I hope you like it, too.

[animalfan]

nice job on the review! i bought one in march and didn't even think to do a review.

[Cleveland33]

isn't the guy that invented that the brother in Bigger, Stronger, Faster*?

not that it means anything in quality or usefulness, just trying to remember.

[animalfan]

isn't the guy that invented that the brother in Bigger, Stronger, Faster*?

not that it means anything in quality or usefulness, just trying to remember.

yes.

[4MEandThem]

I have one too and just want to add it forces your elbows in making it a better on the shoulders. I usually go to raw max then one or two lifts with the slingshot before getting in a bench shirt.

I would also like to add that I heard about someone at another PL gym who used on way too small with really heavy weight and they broke their arm. I wasn't there for that but one of the guys I lift with was.

[druskovich23]

Great product. Terrible customer service. Customer service means a lot and this company lacks it. Would not recommend.

[rlundregan]

Great product. Terrible customer service. Customer service means a lot and this company lacks it. Would not recommend.

Let's back the hate truck up for a minute......it's not OK to walk into a forum like this and blast a company with your first post with a statement that is vague at best. How about detailing how your shopping experience went, and breaking down what happened? I've seen a lot of posts like yours here. Some of them have turned out to be truly awful customer service experiences, and the regulars here have avoided dealing with the company. Sometimes after reviewing what actually happened, some of the regulars have made suggestions that have turned out to be really helpful in getting the issue resolved. And, unfortunately, some of the posts have shown that the buyer's expectations have been very unrealistic. We won't be able to help until you tell us what happened.

[thebigzakbowski]

Great product. Terrible customer service. Customer service means a lot and this company lacks it. Would not recommend.

I own a few slingshots. never had any issues with the company at all. great service and great product. we more information.

[indianbuckeye]

6 yr old thread. lots of zombie threads coming back lately.