Women weren't that flexible in the 60s.
✓ Member
Like I said, the arching makes me wonder. But then again, did the guys who got powerlifting going in the earlies understand the flexible nature of women's spines? For something other than their own enjoyment anyway.Originally Posted by Mark Rippetoe
TMPHBITEU
Women weren't that flexible in the 60s.
Member
Hip drive!Im pretty sure I was just reading Victorian erotic literature, so I had a go at the ol' chap, and now my boy is churning bowls of milky-porridge.
chip chap cheerio
✓ Member
I hate to disagree with you, but since I'm a few years older than you, I have to say that some of them were. You need to look back at some of the go-go dancers from back then. Even Kate Hudson's momma Goldie gave a damn good account of herself on Laugh-In.
Member
Because powerlifting started in the 1960s, when weightlifting consisted of the clean and press, the snatch and the clean and jerk. They didn't need to put in a lift a related sport already had. Weightlifting threw out the press in 1972, but that's not powerlifting's fault.
Then a few years later a fellow popped up in the US, some guy from Austria famed for enormous pecs, so while hardly anyone did presses, everyone who went into a gym was bench pressing. Imagine yourself proposing that to a powerlifting board now. "Hi! My name's MacGeezer. Look, I know your sport has less participants than synchronised swimming, and I know the one thing feeding people into it is that every bro who goes to the gym bench presses, and the bench is the one lift members of the general public can all recognise, but I say fuck all that. SYMMETRY ladies and gentlemen, SYMMETRY. Let's take out the bench and put in the press. Remember the press, the lift they couldn't agree on how to judge in weightlifting so they got rid of it more than four decades ago? Come on!"
I'd vote for you. Nobody else would.
Member
They're both easy to judge. There's no rule against arching your back; arching is only a problem if the butt comes off the bench. There's no rule requiring a minimum ROM. Is it a little absurd? Sure. But, it's not hard to judge.
Also, people with arms short enough to have a 1" bench ROM are probably not going to win overall due to a bad pull. This bench from last year's IPF worlds upset a lot of people on the internet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNbrVw1Yp5c. However, that lifter took last in total.
Member
I remember seeing a video of some heavy Asian woman doing a large amount of weight snatch grip bench press. Her ROM was about 4-6 inches. I was impressed she could put that much weight in an awkward wrist situation.
Member
Video description says that this was a world record? Surely they didn't allow that as a world record. The sports governing body should be ashamed of themselves allowing that.
Member
Will there be another national strengthlifting meet this year, like last year's October Iron Fest? That was my first competition, albeit less formal than a sanctioned powerlifting meet. I was training to do ATL's Powerlifting for Pups in August but waited too long to register and got wait-listed.
Member
What should they do, red light her for having short arms? Bust out a tape measure during the lift?
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