Widest legal bench grip?

[Aaron Montgomery]

As a matter of curiosity, what's the widest legal grip for a bench in powerlifting? I have a Rogue B&R with dual knurl marks.

I currently have my ring finger on the inner knurl mark for my bench.

[Adam Skillin]

As a matter of curiosity, what's the widest legal grip for a bench in powerlifting? I have a Rogue B&R with dual knurl marks.

I currently have my ring finger on the inner knurl mark for my bench.

Inner marks are powerlifting, outer marks are weightlifting. Your grip is legal.

[Dag]

Inner marks are powerlifting, outer marks are weightlifting. Your grip is legal.

Yes. The legal widest grip is 81cm or about 32in. Your index fingers must cover the rings.

[Aaron Montgomery]

Yes. The legal widest grip is 81cm or about 32in. Your index fingers must cover the rings.

To clarify, the widest legal powerlifting grip is index fingers over the inner rings?

Also, why the difference between "weightlifting" and "powerlifting" knurl marks?

[Smyth]

I grip the actual plates, and not the bar at all. It gives me a more full work out, due to my having to keep the bar from falling in all directions. It also allows me to seriously work my grip strength, especially when I use bumper plates. It's not for everyone.

[Dag]

To clarify, the widest legal powerlifting grip is index fingers over the inner rings?

Also, why the difference between "weightlifting" and "powerlifting" knurl marks?

If I'm correct, on the Rogue bars, the inner rings are the power rings. The outer rings are the Olympic snatch rings. So if your index finger is on the inner rings, you're legal. If you're anywhere narrower than that, youre also legal. If you can see the inner ring inside your grip, you're illegally wide. To be sure this is correct, measure the distance between the inner rings. They should be real close to 32 inches apart. To be exact, they should be 81cm.

[Aaron Montgomery]

For giggles I put my index finger on the inner ring during one of my bench warmups today. It was uber uncomfortable...

[Chris McCarthy]

Yes. The legal widest grip is 81cm or about 32in. Your index fingers must cover the rings.

Just to be ultra-pedantic one of the rings may be visible inside your index fingers, as you are allowed to take a lop-sided grip...and, in fact, you can "game" a few extra fractions of an inch this way.

[bean counter]

Just to be ultra-pedantic one of the rings may be visible inside your index fingers, as you are allowed to take a lop-sided grip...and, in fact, you can "game" a few extra fractions of an inch this way.

I don't think this would fly under current IPF Rules:

The spacing of the hands shall not exceed 81 cm measured between the forefingers (both forefingers must be within the 81 cm marks and the whole of the forefingers must be in contact with the 81 cm marks if maximum grip is used).

[Adam Skillin]

To clarify, the widest legal powerlifting grip is index fingers over the inner rings?

Also, why the difference between "weightlifting" and "powerlifting" knurl marks?

Yes, index fingers on the inner (powerlifting) rings is the maximum (although not necessarily advised) allowable bench press grip. The markings are at different spacing because there are two different sports with different rules (which they must have, since the contested lifts are different). So they have their own markings to fit thoae rules. Thus a dual-purpose bar, like the B&R, needs to have both sets of markings, and they just let them look the same under the assumption you can figure out which ones are "inner" and ones are "outer" based on the sheer intuitive powers of our giant mammal brains.