Question for Archaea or other weight lifters
 

What is considered "the power ring" on an olympic bar? I was reading about an exercise that requires ones grip to be just outside of the power rings on an olympic bar. It describes this as the maximum allowable distance between hands in a powerlifting competition. Any idea what they are referring to?

on a straight barbell.....
 

there is a small ring that has no thread on the bar.....

fuzzy's correct
 

it's where I like to grip for bench press.

archaea...
 

havent you noticed im right on a lot of things?

:wink:

Re: on a straight barbell.....
 

But that's not very far out. That's where I put my hands for a normal bench press. The exercise I'm reading about describes this as being a pretty wide grip which is why I'm confused.

thats where your hands should...
 

be on a wide grip bench press.....

a good solid general rule of thumb is a thumb length away from the middle section of the bar with no thread for bench press.....

wider than that incorporates a different area of the pectoralis....

there may also be a second ring
 

for clean and jerk and snatch exercises.

Remember, I quit lifting fifteen months ago.

I'm not certain most of the bars we use are Olympic bars. BYU used Olympic bars with Swedish Olympic weights. Most other gyms do not.

Here is a link to the exercise description. It is the answer to the 2nd question on the page.

http://www.bodyforlife.com/exercise/....asp?cmsId=344

It's those bench press rings we discussed
 

and I agree placing hands outside them is asking for trouble.

Funny thing is I've always placed my hands with the index finger pretty close to that ring. I've never noticed any activity in the biceps during bench. But perhaps it has helped?