Powerlifting Glossary of Terms

Dumping – the act of losing control of the bar during a bench press or squat. Typical in shirted benching.  Ex.-“ The bar got out of the groove and I dumped”

The Groove – term used to describe the desired bar path during a shirted bench press. Ex.- “ The bar got out of the
groove and I dumped.”

Red Lighted – phrase used to describe a missed attempt during a powerlifting meet. Ex.- “ I didn’t it depth on my squat and got red lighted.”

Gear – any piece of extraneous equipment worn by a lifter for support or performance advantage. Ex.- bench shirt, squat suit, deadlift suit, knee wraps.

Smoke show – expression used when a lift is performed with speed and ease.

Wraps – refers to either knee or wrist wraps

Lock out – The top portion of either the bench press or deadlift, typically the top 3 to 4 inches of the lift.

Hand off – When the bar is handed out to the lifter before the start of the a benchpress, allowing him to retain his position and not press the bar out of the rack

Set up – refers to the act of preparing to initiate a lift. Ex.- In the bench press this would include foot placement, hand placement on the bar, body position beneath the bar and arch.

Walk out – The act of the lifter removing the weight from the rack on his back, and stepping back into position to begin the squat.

Hitting depth – refers to the correct position a lifter must be in at the bottom of a squat for a good lift. Typically with femur parallel to the ground .

Soft hand off – When a handoff man does not release his grip on the bar until after the bar has begun its descent. 

Jacked shirt – when the chest plate on a bench shirt is pulled down, creating more loading during the bench press and a lower bar path.

Belly Benching – term used to describe a bench press bar path that ends with the bar resting on the lifters stomach, common in shirted benching.

Bar path – The trajectory that the bar takes during a lift

Raw – lifting without the aid of gear

Plies – refers to layers of fabric comprising a given piece of powerlifting gear. Ex. Multi ply, single ply- many federation distinguish themselves by the number of plies they allow lifters to wear.

Fed – abbreviation for Powerlifting Federation. Ex.- “ What Fed do you lift in?”

Tucking – the act of bring your elbows towards your sides during the descent portion of a benchpress. The result is a lower bar path and less strain on the shoulders.

Arching  - the act of arching the back during a bench press, this decreases the range of motion on the press by up to half.

Pulling – slang for deadlifting Ex.- “ Are you pulling today?”

Mono lift – A safety apparatus used in multi-ply lifting to eliminate the walk out portion of a squat and increase the safety of the lifters.

Sumo – deadlifting or squatting with a wide stance.

Board presses – an exercise where the lifter performs a bench press with 1 or more wooden boards placed on the chest. Used to incrementally decrease the range of motion to accomodate the natural strength curve. 2x4’s or 2x6’s are commonly used.

Rack work – lockout work done in a power rack, usually for the deadlift.

Reverse Band – When elastic training bands are hung from the top of a power rack and attached to a given weight. Used to create a deloading effect at the bottom of the lift.

Flaring – the act of driving the elbows outward during the pressing portion of a bench press. The opposite of tucking.

Commands – the one word instructions given by a judge to a lifter during a lift in competition. Ex. – “Start”, “Press”, and “Rack” for the benchpress.

Collapsing – The act of losing one’s arch during a bench press, typically resulting in a dump.

Heaving  - the act of throwing the bar back towards the rack during a bench press, incorrect bar path.

Casting – refers to wrapping the knees or wrists tight enough to severely limit range of motion, but increase performance.

Total – The sum of a lifters squat, benchpress, and deadlift in competition. Ex- “I totaled 2150 in the last meet.”

The Hole – The bottom portion of the squat.  Ex.- “I had a ton of pop out of the hole on that squat”

Opener – The first and lightest of three possible attempts taken for a particular lift during competition.

Push - Pull – The total of the bench press and deadlift during a powerlifting meet.

Bombing out – refers to disqualification for not completing a lift during competition

Bands – large rubber bands used in training to create a loading or deloading resistance effect on
the bar.

Touch and Go – refers to bench pressing without a discernable pause at the chest between reps.

Wheels – slang for 45lb plates. Ex. “Throw another wheel on the bar for me.”

Quarter – slang for a 25 lb. plate

Dime – slang for a 10 lb. plate

Nickel – slang for 5lb. plate

Speed Work – movements done with lighter weight and maximum acceleration

1RM – abbreviation for “One Repetition Maximum”

Max – term used to describe a maximum weight lifted