Loving my SlingShot!

At the Arnold Classic Expo I spent a few minutes with Mark Bell at his booth (not nearly enough time, this guy keeps popping up on my screen and he's fascinating, but Katie Hogan was also in his booth and I kept visiting with her!), and talked him out of a SlingShot. The device Mark invented helps those of us with shoulder issues perform a flat bench press, safely and hopefully pain-free.

I've a more comprehensive review coming out soon; a video was shot of me using the SlingShot yesterday, but the gym we used is so noisy you can see my lips flapping but can't hear much. I'll re-do is somewhere else. In the meantime, I need to scream as loudly as possible that the SlingShot is amazing, I love it.

Yesterday I benched 225#. Keep in mind I used to be a competitive powerlifter (yeah, a long time ago). 225# is no big deal, unless you've known me in the dozen or so years since I first ruptured my left rotator cuff, then this year tore my right cuff in two places. I've performed no more than a handful of light sets of flat bench with a barbell during this past decade or more. 

With the SlingShot I'm repping pain-free, worked my way up from an empty bar to the 225#, and today, no ice, no inflammation or pain deep in the shoulder. Very impressive for an old gym-rat like myself.

I am going to chase Bell down and comprehensively interview him; listen to his great, rambling, entertaining work with Robb Wolf on the Paleo Solution Podcast this week, find a copy of his impressive Power magazine, buy yourself one of these wonderful SlingShot bands, and stay tuned for Mark Bell in Stuff I Like. He and I have both weighed over 300 pounds; Mark is down to 245 or so, I'm way down to 190, but somehow we look and perform differently! I need to find out why.