Interesting take by Johnnie Candito on dealing with the issue of 1 inch ROM benches. He advocates changing the rules on grip width rather than arch. To the extent you see this as a problem that needs to be fixed, it’s an interesting proposal.
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I cannot help but appreciate the humor of this coming from someone that pulls sumo.
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I think this is taking a lifters perspective on the issue. The ROM will increase but the arches will remain the same (or potentially get worse) which is the issue, rather than the ROM IMO. Maybe closer grip reduces your ability to arch but I doubt it.
If you take this from the audience perspective bringing the bar to the neck makes both an impressive lift and introduces an atmosphere of risk that will bring in the crowds.
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I also can’t help but find it hilarious that powerlifters care about this stuff. What ever happened to just lifting the most weight?
I know strongman can get into the weeds with this crap sometimes too but powerlifting is just so full of “they are cheating!!!”.
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Powerlifters: “We need to unify the sport. There are too many feds!”
Also Powerlifters: “We need more rules!”
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Everybody hands touching and bench to forward kinda like @strongmangoals idea. Skull crusher as comp lift. Everyone gets massive triceps/arms and elbow issues
Change the bench press to a push up with a barbell strapped to your back? 
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Who the hell is Johnny Chimpo?
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I think this video raises a valid point when it comes to the lower weight classes.
I don’t even bother paying attention, because the ROM at times is a joke and I can’t relate to it.
I’d rather watch Julius Maddox bench 9999KG with a decent ROM and Josh Bryant spotting with a beanie on.
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I think that the public perception of powerlifting is a legitimate consideration; it impacts the future of the sport and the extent of participation. If it is looked upon as a carnival act rather than a true sport, serious athletes will say “no thanks.” Tweaking the rules to make it look more like a true test of strength is not just legitimate but, in my view, necessary.
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Yeah, a giant arch with a closer grip is going to look just as dumb.
My vote’s still for floor press where elbows have to touch the ground, no more sumo deadlifts, bring back the press, and keep squats the same except use a laser level, set at parallel for that lifters height.
That’s powerlifting for ya - even my utopian vision of the sport looks dumb.
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Actually it doesn’t. That’s one of the points of the video. A more moderate grip, even with a high arch, still looks like what most people think of as a bench press.
That’s actually not a bad idea at all. Judging depth in the squat is all over the place right now; something that would make it objective is totally reasonable.
Not with you. For the most part, powerlifiting is awesome. To say that it could be tweaked is not at all to write it off. Every sport has evolved over decades from earlier manifestations. Powerlifting, relatively speaking, is still in its infancy.
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Opinion, meet opinion!
You’re right - if we move his arms in, this is exactly what people think of when they think of a bench press.
Awesome in terms of what? In terms of sports, or just in terms of strength sports?
Both. Look, if you don’t like, cool, don’t do it; there are plenty of other reasons to work out. But I think powerlifting has great potential for future growth. It’s already become enormously popular, and it hasn’t reached its potential.
Has it? Are you sure? I’m fairly certain that if I surveyed 100 random people on the street, I’d be lucky to find a single one that knew what powerlifting was, nevermind being able to actually name a powerlifter.
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Is this really the test? If so, yeah, FWIW, out of a hundred people, I’m pretty sure more than one would know what it is, especially in the Midwest and South (if we’re talking about Manhattan or San Francisco, yeah, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who knows what it is).
But what is your larger point? Do you really want to get into a debate about how popular powerlifting is? To what end?
I’m suggesting that I could probably name 20+ sports that are more popular than powerlifting. I don’t think that tiny rule changes are going to have a noticeable impact on that and in my opinion, it isn’t worth trying. Powerlifting has always been a niche sport, and always will be so I think it wisest to enjoy it for what it is. If you’re going to try to “improve” powerlifting, it should be with your eyes on improving it for the people who are already in the sport, not with some grand idea of making it something it will never be.
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I have lived in many places across the US and whenever I bring up powerlifting, people think it is either bodybuilding or strongman.
It’s not a popular activity by any stretch. Very niche.
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Also while power lifting IS awesome, it’s boring to watch if you’re not a power lifter, even then it’s kind of boring.
Meets themselves are terrible to compete at unless it’s a really good group running it. 8 hours is exhausting.
As a friend of mine once recently said, until you have to be recruited to compete it’s just a hobby. A great hobby but until the majority of events are invite only it’ll only ever be a hobby.
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