THE BENCH PRESS

[dwagman]

In reading the rules of the BP as they apply to USAWA, I was wondering how they would be interpreted regarding the placement of something under the lifter’s feet to provide some height off the ground; there are many reasons why this might be necessary for some lifters. As you may know, most powerlifting organizations allow this but USAWA is silent in that regard. Is there any precedent to rely on?

—
Dan

For Body Intellect Brochure click here: https://www.icloud.com/keynote/0fcsokZWooW_1B1uZmL1AI5fA#BI-DW

Those who are enamored of practice without science
are like a pilot who goes onto a ship without rudder or
compass and never has any certainty to where he is going.
Leonardo Da Vinci; 1452-1519

[KCSTRONGMAN]

You bring up a good point, Dan. Some of our rules allow for modifications to the original rules in instances that warrent it, such as we have very specific rules in regards to the barbell being used, with the exception of “allowing a lighter
and shorter bar to be used for women, older lifters and junior lifters.” What about senior lifters who want to participate, but cannot lift a 45 pound bar? My kids are not participating in all-round and love doing so, but could not complete a completely legal fulton bar bench press, as they could not get their feet on the floor. I would be lying if I said we at KCSTRONGMAN have never used crates to build up the floor for a bench press by one of our members. My daughter and my nephew both have records in the Bench Press-Fulton Bar in our record list. Should those records be discounted due to not explicitly following the rules as written, even though they were done within the spirit of the rules? That the infraction did nothing to aid in the lift other than to allow our junior members to be able to do the lift in the first place? I would have to look more closely, but I would suggest that there are other places in the rule book where there were rules written in a fashion that would apply to the majority of lifters, but not to all. My daughter Phoebe wears a headband almost everywhere she goes. A primary function of the headband is to keep her long,luxurious golden locks out of her face. It would be beneficial to her to wear one while lifting, but our rule book reads “Headgear of any kind is not allowed except for religious purposes. This would include stocking caps, ball caps, headbands, or any other covering of the head.” So, Phoebe is constantly blowing hair out of her face while lifting. Is that the intent to the rule? If so, why not ban hair ties, bows, barrettes and other hair accessories? I reckon it was in an effort to keep our org looking professional, and the org was starting in a time not far removed from the days of those dopey looking sweat bands that people work on their heads. so, while if i let Phoebe wear her headband while she lifts, it would violate the rule as written, but would not be in violation of the spirit of the rules. I recognize this is a digression from the original post about bench pressing, but it is an acknowledgement that perhaps there is a rule or two in there that might need to be looked at in regards to their relevancy at this moment in time and whether there are some modifications to them that make the sport accessible to all without violating the sprit in which the rules were written. Thoughts?

I'm the lyrical Jesse James

[KCSTRONGMAN]

I apologize for the typos, but I guess you all get the gist of it. “My kids are not participating’ should read “My kids are now participating’ and “dopey looking sweat bands that people work on their heads” should read “dopey looking sweat bands that people wore on their heads.”

I'm the lyrical Jesse James

[frank203]

I’ve been wondering about this myself, I get a haircut about once a year so when my hair is long I usually wear a beanie. Currently I’m training the bent press and I prefer to train it without a shirt on at all, since fabric slipping or restricting my range of motion is not a nice thought. Neither wearing a beanie or not wearing a shirt would assist me in the lift at all, but I know it would be against the rules.

[Denny Habecker]

I know in the past at some meets where the Bench Press was done, lifters were allowed to put plates down if they could not get their feet on the floor without them. I, myself, haven’t been able to get my feet down to the floor for years now. So I couldn’t do a regular bench press without plates to put my feet on.

[dwagman]

ET, I’m absolutely horrified by what you shared with us. It must be really hard for you, being the father to a juvenile delinquent. In wishing you a happy New Year, I hope you’ll be able to control that beast of yours in 2022.

Her abominable behavior reminds me of that one time when Al did a lift and forgot to take his baseball cap off. He really got chastised for that and I think Phoebe should be punished as well. Send her to a salon to receive Chad’s hairdo. That’ll learn ‘er!

OK, so I completely see your point. There are certain instances where it seems perfectly sensible to “break” a rule. Phoebe’s headband and Al’s baseball cap would hardly provide an unfair advantage on a lift. But where do you draw the line? This sorta reminds me of Thomas Jefferson and Theodore Rosevelt and our country’s rule book—the Constitution. The former believed that if the rule book didn’t specifically allow him to do something, he couldn’t do it. The latter believed that if the Constitution didn’t forbid it, he could do it. I see merit in both points. But how does this relate to USAWA, our rules, and more specifically the bench press and allowing blocks, plates, etc. being placed beneath a lifter’s feet?

I think that if anyone out there can point to a precedent, then we’d be covered. And perhaps this is another issue to be raised at the National Meeting. It would only require adding one sentence to the bench press rule. Thomas Jefferson believed that the Constitution should be adjusted with every generation; in other words it’s not written in stone and we do have in fact 27 Amendments to that document. So is that the way to go for us? Or can we simply say that there are some things that are just so axiomatic, that they need not be put in writing…like wearing a headband shouldn’t disqualify a lift? Seems that Denny’s experience would indicate that we can just place plates or a block under a lifter’s feet if she/he needs it.

Are we in agreement on this or should it be raised at the National Meeting?

—
Dan

For Body Intellect Brochure click here: https://www.icloud.com/keynote/0fcsokZWooW_1B1uZmL1AI5fA#BI-DW

Those who are enamored of practice without science
are like a pilot who goes onto a ship without rudder or
compass and never has any certainty to where he is going.
Leonardo Da Vinci; 1452-1519

[KCSTRONGMAN]

I am more at an inclination to raise this at the national meeting, so that the rule is written properly in the rulebook to allow for such a modification.

I'm the lyrical Jesse James

[dwagman]

Agreed. I’ll add that to my list of things to submit.

—
Dan

For Body Intellect Brochure click here: https://www.icloud.com/keynote/0fcsokZWooW_1B1uZmL1AI5fA#BI-DW

Those who are enamored of practice without science
are like a pilot who goes onto a ship without rudder or
compass and never has any certainty to where he is going.
Leonardo Da Vinci; 1452-1519

[RJ]

I am an average height female at 5’4″ and need something under my feet for the bench press. Thus, I assume that a rule would also benefit many other women.

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