Thompson Fat Pad

[3084life]

Yeah, saves the shoulders in many cases, along with better support, grip and stability for leg drive.

I've had the exact opposite experience with fat pads after a certain weight. I'm comfortable up to about 315-330 with a fat pad after that it starts to compress and throws off my shoulder position, arch, leg position and bar path. Anything over 400 I have to limit leg drive because of the strain it puts on my lower back when it compresses and in effect increases arch and shoulder to foot placement. This is even more pronounced when benching over 600. I went from my standard Rogue bench and unrack and press 650 by myself, to having a hard time getting even close 615 with a fat pad and a 3 man liftoff. It's been a couple months since I've tried anything over 650 on the standard so I might have the same issue going back to it as I had moving to the fat pad. This past weekend I was able to put up a 665 on the fat pad but my lower back kidney area suffered horribly. So I'm guessing is a YMMV type situation.