When I competed in powerlifting, I always used a bench shirt. It can be a hot topic at times--the use of a shirt in competition vs. raw such as the argument with shirts becoming so sophisticated it's the shirt doing the work and not the person. That aside, I fouond all of that info above is dead-on, especially about the position of the elbows,etc. which I've experienced first hand. I've always been a flat bencher and have found it almost completely impossible to arch, which seems necessary with almost all bench shirt designs. I do know that Titan makes a shirt espec. designed for those like myself that bench flat, and may invest in one soon.