Norms for bench press - 2023: men, women, kmc, with and without equipment

The bench press is a popular upper body exercise. It trains the pectoral muscles, triceps and shoulders. How many kilograms you bench press from the chest can be used as a measure of your strength.

WRPF powerlifting and bench press master of sports

“If you are not a competitive lifter, there are no standards for the bench press. Don’t chase standards and big weights. Strive for quality and beautiful performance of the exercise. Then your body will thank you, and your health will be preserved for decades”.

There is such a sport – powerlifting, the essence of which is to lift heavy weights or perform exercises with maximum weights. Athletes of the same weight category are compared at competitions. In case of the same indicators, the victory is awarded to the athlete who has less weight. In powerlifting, unlike bodybuilding, it is strength performance that is important, not beauty and proportionality of the body.

Powerlifting is also called a powerlifting triathlon. It is connected with the fact that it includes three exercises as competitive disciplines: squats with a barbell, barbell bench press and barbell pull. The sum of the lifted kilograms in the three exercises determines the qualification of the athlete.

There is also a separate discipline of horizontal bench press with and without equipment. The athlete performs one exercise and according to the results gets a sport category.

Зміст

Why should women perform bench press?

Oleg Yamshanov: “I recommend girls to do bench press, but not to chase one-time maximums. First you need to learn how to control the barbell. You will understand how to connect the stabilizer muscles, such as: transverse abs, oblique abdominals, scapular stabilizers, stabilizers of the head of the humerus and even the glutes. All of these will help hold the barbell during squats, the second important body-building exercise.”

As strange as it may sound, but if you want beautiful legs, you need to master squats with a barbell. And for this you need to learn how to control the projectile on the bench press.

Equipment for the bench press

There are their own competitive standards. Under the equipment means various elements of clothing that provide support and safer performance of the press. Also the exercise in the equipment requires special technique.

Usually the equipment includes special T-shirts and overalls. But weightlifting belt, athletic bandages on the knees and wrists are not considered equipment and are allowed in unequipped powerlifting.

How to perform the bench press according to the rules of powerlifting?

Performing the bench press according to the general rules is as follows and is performed in three commands of the judge:

start –the bar is lowered until it touches the athlete’s body;
benchpress – is given after a visible pause, the length of the pause is at the discretion of the referee;
racks – after squeezing the projectile upwards, the bar is returned to the racks on the referee’s command.

Powerlifting is not an Olympic sport, so there is no unified normative grid for it, as, for example, in track and field or weightlifting. For this reason, there are several federations in the world and in Russia, each of which develops its own normative grid for obtaining titles and grades. Depending on the rules of a particular federation, the technical requirements for equipment and the order of performance of exercises may vary.

10 reasons why the bench press may not be validated

Ignoring the referee’s signals during the exercise.
Changing the starting position during the exercise. For example, the detachment of the buttocks from the bench, moving the hands on the bar during the press, excessive movement of the legs, changing the points of contact of the foot with the floor.
Pushing the barbell away from the chest.
Pressing the bar into the chest after receiving the referee’s signal.
Straightening of the arms during the press not simultaneously.
Downward movement of the barbell during the bench press.
Helping or touching the barbell of the guard between the signals of the referee.
Touching the bench or its supports with the feet.
Special touching of the barbell with the bench uprights during the exercise to facilitate the bench press.
The guard must immediately leave the platform after helping to remove the bar.

Oleg Yamshanov: “The press requires great concentration and strict adherence to technique, which is put individually for each future athlete. Master the barbell bench press with an experienced player in the world of bodybuilding to avoid injuries and not to abandon training from lack of understanding of the actions”.

Bench press on a horizontal bench

Technique

Lie down so that the barbell is on the racks above the eyes. Press with the shoulder blades, bring the chest slightly forward and fix the shoulders.
Put your feet on the floor and press firmly with the entire sole. If you feel a strong tension in the lower back, use a lower bench or put a step platform under your feet.
Grab the barbell with a grip slightly wider than shoulder width, the projectile is above the collarbones. The shoulder blades, head and pelvis are pressed against the bench. The abs are tense.
On the inhale slowly lower the barbell to the middle of the chest to touch, bringing the shoulder blades together.
On exhalation, powerfully raise the bar to the top point. The movement of the barbell goes diagonally from the middle of the chest to the full straightening of the arms.
The shoulders should not be removed from the bench. Try not to overstretch the neck during the barbell press.

Perform three approaches of 8-12 times. Rest between approaches – two minutes.

Norms for bench press with maximum weight for one repetition

Discharge standards for men in bench press without equipment with doping control.

Qualification standards for men in bench press without equipment without doping control

Women’s unequipped bench press without equipment with doping control

Women’s unequipped bench press without doping control

Abbreviations

MSMK – Master of Sports International Class
MS – Master of Sports
KMS – Candidate for Master of Sports
I – first sport category
II – second sport category
III – third sport category
WPC – World Powerlifting Congress, International Powerlifting Federation.
AWPC – Amateur World Powerlifting Congress, amateur league of WPC, doping control works during the competitions.
WRPF – World Unequipped Powerlifting Federation
SPR – Union of Powerlifters of Russia
NAP – National Association of Powerlifting