Bench Width as a remedy for ridiculous rom from Candito & Noriega (IPF)

[bobmen10000]

[JohnHelton]

Good conversation. I think I need to widen my grip.

[mbasic]

If you tackle bench grip width, then it would seem you'd have to go after sumo also.

lolz at his reasoning that "studies show" EMG activation is the same between sumo and conv. and therefore half-the-ROM thing just goes away.

lolz at "even weightlifters do sumo" ... *shows a chinese dood basically doing squats, just above parallels depth, holding the bar in his hands, with a squat stance*

its basically a click-bait video.

[JohnHelton]

If you tackle bench grip width, then it would seem you'd have to go after sumo also.

He gives some rationale in the video as to why he doesn't think that is necessary, but I don't really disagree with you.

ETA: I also wish they could take the arch out of the bench, especially since the rods in my back prevent me from arching.

[bobmen10000]

Sumo doesn't look nearly as ridiculous as some of the bench arches that win competitions and set wrs. The visual matters in terms of gaining viewership from the mainstream, especially for bench as it is the lift the general population is most familiar with. However, I don't think powerlifting is ever going to be a very visually pleasing sport and future growth is as likely to come from lockdowns and homegyms than competition rules for the IPF.

[mgil]

Tying the grip width to weight class is just as arbitrary as anything else.

[dw]

Sumo doesn't look nearly as ridiculous as some of the bench arches that win competitions and set wrs. The visual matters in terms of gaining viewership from the mainstream, especially for bench as it is the lift the general population is most familiar with. However, I don't think powerlifting is ever going to be a very visually pleasing sport and future growth is as likely to come from lockdowns and homegyms than competition rules for the IPF.

Agree with this sentiment. This was discussed in a previous thread hear and Izzy said something like from the point of view of the health of the sport, they should change the rule to reduce arching. It literally looks ridiculous. Bench is also the lift that is most familiar and therefore potentially exciting to casual viewers, but perhaps not if it looks like a caricature of what bench means to them.

I don't compete or have any involvement with PL, or even care about this topic. Just an observation.

Sumo might be open to similar objections but as Izzy (I think) also pointed out, it's very popular with smaller lifters and women so it would seem imprudent to ban it.

[TimK]

Tying the grip width to weight class is just as arbitrary as anything else.

Well, the old "Weight classes are height classes in disguise" is pretty true at the highest levels of the sport, so there is some logic to it. Shorter people typically have shorter arms and therefore are able to get a much greater reduction in ROM vs taller lifters when taking a max width grip. Of course there might be some shorter/lighter people with freakishly long arms (Lamar Gant) but as a general rule it would probably work and be much easier to implement than going by actual height or wingspan (lol).

I do think 2" ROM benches are stupid and they should do something to eliminate them from the sport. But I don't blame the lifters for doing it given the current rules. I also don't really think it would have much, if any, impact on "growing the sport".

[slowmotion]

I've thought about this from time to time, and IMHO some sort of rule similar to the squat should be workable. Inside of elbow joint lower than top of shoulder or something like that, maybe? That should work for almost all lifters, I would think. Some arching is good, since it benefits shoulder health.

Re sumo, I have no problem with that at all. I prefer conventional, but sumo is okay too.

Just my opinion.

[Hardartery]

I think it would be easier to regulate foot placement than these other suggestions. That arch is way smaller if your feet aren't under your shoulder blades.

[mgil]

I think it would be easier to regulate foot placement than these other suggestions. That arch is way smaller if your feet aren't under your shoulder blades.

Yeah, just ask for vertical shins or something similar.

[Cleverusername]

The tiny ROM some smaller lifters are able to achieve with sumo deadlifts looks just as silly to me.