So i was having an argument with some people over bench arches,and someone managed to put a very good argument about how there doesnt exist any way to put a rule to eliminate excessive arching. With that in mind,i feel like powerliftings a joke. Those 3 inch rom “world records” are not a good display of elite strengh and neither are sumo deads with ur feet the plates. I came into this sport seeking real strengh and power and now everyone just says you gotta do whatever it takes to shorten the rom and basically lift more weight while being weaker. I got so passionate for it and it felt like i had found sth i could belong to,but now it all seems like a joke. I dont know what this post is really,im just having an existential crisis and feel like shit,really feel like half the world has lost meaning. Sorry if i come off like a crybaby,but i really held powerlifting in high regard.
I don’t understand? Were you confused about the rules at some point?
You should play more video games.
Powerlifting is about lifting the most weight possible while adhering to certain standards. If you think that strength is irrelevant then you are out of your mind, advantageous leverages and shorter ROM will only increase the weight you can lift.
How would you judge strength, the maximum force that a muscle can exert?
I thought that eliminating the bench arch was just a matter of time for the federations. Didnt know most ppl actually endorse it.
Being able to exert that strengh in more normal conditions. An excessive arch is something that learnt,its not sth ppl do naturally to lift heavier,its a loop hole per say. For example the guy the bench is supposed to be both a chest shoulder and tri tester,but the guy who recently benched 205kg at worlds strugles and grinds with flat dumbbell 54kg bench and he also half reps them. .
Reducing ROM is a strategy in a competitive sport. Why do you think the average height in the NBA is 6’8"? It’s not about who’s the best at individual skills (like dribbling, shooting, etc). It’s about who can perform the best in a competitive “real game” environment.
Consider two extremes: Shaquille O’Neal and Steph Curry. They have obviously different skills and attributes, but both are successful in their respective competitive environments using their gifts and talents; yet their games are wildly dissimilar. Same is true in powerlifting. When you look at a lifter like Dan Green or Chris Duffin, their deadlifts rely heavily on extreme hip mobility that most people just can’t replicate. On the opposite extreme, SHW lifters like Vlad Alhazov and Eddie Hall have very little in the way of hip mobility, and rely on their brutally strong “overpower” to manhandle crushing loads.
If you don’t like bench arches or sumo deadlifts, don’t do them. They’re still within the rules and this is a competitive environment. It’s a strategy. Like using a zone defense instead of man to man.
You do everything that’s within the rules (or what you can get away with) to win. That’s every sport ever.
You could start your own fed. If you dont like that idea, have you come up with a good argument against the arch besides it’s shit and you don’t like it? Do you have an alternative rule for the bench that will work and can be judged?
If yes, have you gone about talking with the decision makers in the federation you compete in?
Youre right i just thought powerlifting was different. Naive me i guess.
The only federation near me is absolute shit so no real option there. Aside from that,idk i just feel like it aint what powerlifting was originally about. Like i always thought its about brute unmistakable strengh but as ignorant as this might sound to you,im 100% sure someone with minimal arch benching a little less than someone with a huge arch has way more brute power. But youre right i have no way of how to change that. Its like powerlifting was supposed to be no bullshit just you against gravity and then enters “shortenint the rom”.
lol powerlifting has always since day one been about moving the most amount of weight from point A to point B. The sport has always been about maximizing strength AND using using your body’s most advantageous leverage to your benefit. It seems the people most up set about the big arches and wide sumo pulls are guys who just cant do it and cry about it.
Look into Rippetoe’s Strength Lifting Federation - it might be more your kind of thing
I would also say try to look at the big picture. There’s a relative handful of guys who have the kind of bench arches you’re talking about. At the end of the day, the strongest guys are gonna be the strongest regardless of the rules/depth calls/etc.
The strongest sumo pullers, in the past and contemporarily (Coan, Bridges, Belkin), are/were tremendously strong conventional as well. They just performed better at a sumo stance than they did with a conventional stance. Make me squat wide, squat narrow, no arch in the bench- doesn’t matter. They’re still gonna be the strongest. Stay in your lane and worry about what you can do. The rest will take care of itself
More of a philosophical issue actually lol. I guess im just overthinking it.
Try USAPL with the “natties” They are pretty restricitive on what is allowed.
YOu realize EVERYONE can arch or do sumo. So whats’ your excuse for being weak and uncompetitive.
I arch and hold a word record bench in the IPA as well as a WR total. I don’t sumo and my range of motion in the bench is still about 18" with my long ass arms.
Lol thats damn impressive man. I didnt want it to come off as a criticism to the lifters themselves but rathert the rules. Dont mind me tho realized cant be done shit about it lol.
Go compete in strongman.
Thinking about it actually
Haha @T3hPwnisher beat me to it, but here comes the “Aw man they allow leg drive on overhead movements! They allow push jerking/split jerking! Aw man that guy zerchered the axle bar up, what a cheater. Aw man they allow straps. Aw man Roizo full grip shirts and tacky? Buncha cheaters”
People who whine about arched benching often have shitty benches. You’d probably bench more if you weighed more - mass moves mass. The biggest clowns are dudes who whine about arched benching and sumo because of the reduced ROM but can’t hit depth on squats.
I think there’s still a lot of dogma within powerlifting. I can’t train OHP, trap bar deadlift, or use straps in peace at the gym 
Lmao,strongman is cool,all the components like jerking and other stuff is just using other forms of force and power. Getting ur sternum to the sky to press 2 inches doesnt quite feel like a strong thing to do. Just my opinion is stated,shitty that there doesnt exist any strongman gym or federation in a radius of 3 countries in every direction lol.
“Using leg drive to press a log up 2 more inches doesn’t quite feel like a strong thing to do”
“Using straps to deadlift an axle bar doesn’t quite feel like a strong thing to do”
“Using tacky on atlas stones doesn’t quite feel like a strong thing to do”
“Using your belly to hold an axle for a continental clean and press doesn’t quite feel like a strong thing to do” 
If arching is such a cheap move, why doesn’t everybody have the mobility to execute a big arch? I personally arch, but mine’s not excessive. This doesn’t mean I have bench envy or arch envy. There are big benchers who do arch and don’t arch - it’s a matter personal preference and mobility.