There are a ton of great sports tech related products in the world right now that are really useful to help athletes of all levels reach their goals. It’s truly an amazing time to be a consumer and entrepreneur. Subsequently, we’ve had the pleasure of covering and reviewing a lot of these top sports tech products and few have really caught our eye like the TITIN shirt.
Now, at this point you may be thinking, “Okay, how much did TITIN pay SportTechie to write this?”
I can assure you they paid us nothing.
In fact, I personally approached them after we covered TITIN earlier this fall and requested the opportunity to try out the shirt for myself. Perhaps it was the entrepreneurial spirit behind TITIN that really piqued my interest. Or maybe what really stood out to me is the fact that the founder used it to heal from a gunshot wound where he was an innocent bystander. It also doesn’t hurt that I consider myself to be a very active individual and wanted to try such a hi-tech fitness shirt. Regardless, the TITIN story and product specs intrigued me. I had to test it out.
If you’re not familiar with the TITIN shirt – officially called the Titin Force – it is billed as the world’s only weighted compression gear. It has an inner compression shirt that has 14 pockets that hold hydro-gel inserts throughout the upper body. The inserts add up to weigh 8 pounds and are held snugly to the shoulders, arms, chest, back and abs. When wearing it I can personally attest that you feel like a baby hulk and are quite comfortable.
Additionally, TITIN also sent me the TITIN Force Shorts that uses the same type of gel inserts along the hamstrings, glutes, and thighs. The inserts in the shorts added five pounds of weight. I was pleasantly surprised when using these shorts that its built-in belt made the weighted shorts stay in place no matter what activity (I took them on a bike ride, lifted in them, jogged and stretched) I used them for.
But this article is to provide a firsthand review of how the TITIN shirt and shorts feel and operate. To get a more detailed review of the TITIN shirt and short specs please see our previous review.
What I Liked
I was amazed at how comfortable the shirt and shorts were. I got a size medium pair to make sure they were definitely snug and I was feeling the full impact of the compression.
When unpackaging both items and seeing all of the gel inserts that were going to be placed in the pockets of the shirt and shorts I was a bit worried. But once I got all suited up I found that I could literally do yoga stretches with no issues and truly enjoyed the extra resistance.
Once I got all of the gels inserted I put the shirt and shorts on and headed straight to the gym fully looking like a linebacker mixed with a guy in the special forces. I decided to do a chest and shoulder workout and started off with some pushups. This lead to my biggest takeaway from using these TITIN products:
It kicked my ass.
Which is funny because shortly after writing this I saw that one of the TITIN slogans is that “This shirt will kick your ass.” So apparently I’m not the only one…
Compared to the average population I’m in above average shape. But I was out of breath and laboring in a truly enjoyable way that was different than any other weight lifting experiences I’ve had. Each movement or exercise I did was just a bit tougher than usual but I never felt overly exhausted or cumbersome. It was a good balance of resistance and natural movement.
Additionally, none of the gel inserts moved out of place while I was working out. I found this pleasantly surprising as I initially pegged this to be a potential trouble spot when inspecting the product at first.
What Could Be Improved
Even though TITIN shared with me this video demonstrating how to easily remove the shirt after use, I found it a bit tricky. Tip: remove the gels from the shirt arms before removing the shirt.
Furthermore, one issue of using the gel inserts is that they take a while to remove and insert. Again, this is probably something that gets better with practice but the first time I inserted all of the gels into the shirts and shorts it took me 15 minutes. This long of a process would be a pain if you wore this shirt for multiple workouts per week and needed to wash it often. Fortunately, TITIN tells me that the fibers that the shirt is made of are naturally antimicrobial so it doesn’t need to be washed often. And in fact, the shirt is made of the same material that Special Forces units use because it inhibits bacterial growth on their clothes that they don’t change frequently. In addition, TITIN explained that the gels are medical grade and neutralize bacteria on contact.
I can personally attest that after a few workouts in the shirt it does not smell at all and still feels fresh to wear.
Would I recommend?
The bottom-line is yes, I would absolutely recommend using a TITIN shirt to enhance your workout. It’s comfortable, looks cool and I truly feel it added another natural challenge to my workout that I don’t know how I would get with any other product. But be warned, this shirt will kick your ass.