Lifting Guides

Odyssey is a Canadian grip company based in Ottawa. Here is how buying a bench mat works in Canada, what to look for, and why Canadian lifters slide on the bench just as much as everyone else.

A bench mat does not add strength. It removes a leak. Here is what changes in your setup when your back stops sliding, who feels it most, and what lifters say after switching.

Two bench press mats, two different ideas about how a mat should stay on the bench. What the UPR Bench Bro and the Odyssey Bench Mat each do, and how to pick between them for the gym you actually train in.

Lifters have tried everything to stop sliding on the bench: a towel, chalk on the pad, a band around the bench, a strap-on grip cover and a bench mat. Here is how each one holds up in a real gym.

Grip surface, lay-flat or strapped, size, thickness and the guarantee. The five things to check before you buy a bench mat, and why most of the rest is noise.