The bench press
This is a plain-English guide. The official IPF Technical Rules are the final word.
The bench press tests your upper-body strength. You lie on a bench and press the bar from your chest up to straight arms.
How to do it
The bench press has three signals, not two. Listen for all three.
- Lie on your back. Your head, shoulders and bottom must touch the bench the whole time. Your feet stay flat on the floor. Do not put your feet on the bench.
- Grip the bar with your thumbs wrapped around it. Your index fingers must be no more than 81 cm apart. You cannot use a reverse grip.
- Lift the bar out to straight arms, with help from the spotters if you want. Hold it still with your elbows locked.
- When the referee says "Start", lower the bar to your chest or stomach. Your elbows must come down at least level with your shoulders. The bar must not touch your belt.
- Hold the bar still. When the referee says "Press", push it back up to straight arms.
- Hold it still at the top. When the referee says "Rack", put the bar back.
If you need to, you can raise the floor with flat blocks to keep your feet flat.
Why a bench press fails
- not following the "Start", "Press" or "Rack" signal
- lifting your head, shoulders or bottom off the bench, or moving your hands sideways
- sinking the bar into your chest, or bouncing it, to help the press
- using an arch or thrust of the upper body to start the press
- letting the bar move down at any point while you press up
- not lowering the bar to your chest or stomach, or it touches your belt
- not locking your arms at the finish
- a spotter touching you or the bar in a way that helps, between the signals
- your feet touching the bench or its supports
- your elbows not coming down level with your shoulders
Para and disabled athletes
Bench press competitions are open to disabled lifters in the same category, refereed by the same rules. You can be helped to and from the bench, with a coach, crutches, a cane or a wheelchair.
If you have a lower-limb amputation, your prosthetic counts as a natural limb. You are weighed without it, and a set amount is added to your bodyweight (see weigh-in). If you wear leg braces to walk, they count as part of the limb and you are weighed wearing them.