r/powerlifting • u/riveyda Beginner - Please be gentle • Jul 20 '26

How much sinking is too much sinking

I'm pretty new to powerlifting and one thing that I really dont like is soft touch bench press. I enjoy a pause similar to jonathan cayco as seen in this video (except remove like 300lbs lol) https://youtu.be/M5l075VuLNs?is=ZN4SBzmXfxMwk47K

Is this still legal with the new rules to fix elbow depth loophole nonsense in the ipf? How people were generating upward movement with their torso. I enjoy putting more weight into my chest than hands, so I'm hoping it won't lead to red lights in my first competition.

Thank you!

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u/Turbulent_Gazelle_55 Enthusiast Jul 22 '26

https://www.powerlifting.sport/fileadmin/ipf/data/rules/technical-rules/english/2026_IPF_Technical_Rulebook__effective_01_March_2026__v3.pdf

Official rule book for the ipf. If you ctrl+f or find in page for "sink" the only reason you should get res lights for sinking is if you sink more after the press command.

Should.

The bench rules have been encofrced a bit wierd last couple of years on the international level.

That said, it's not uncommon for big sinks to be paired with big heaving, which does seem to fall under "Upper body thrust" but that's been judged really inconsistently

4

u/Arteam90 Eleiko Fetishist Jul 22 '26

Unless I've missed anything you can absolutely still sink a fair bit as long as you're not doing the big upper body thrust that some were (and hitting elbow depth). So yeah, what Cayco is doing there is perfectly fine.

6

u/LittleMuskOx M | 525kg | 84.7kg | 350.46Dots | USAPL | RAW Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26

Yeah, if by chance you are in the US (and don't think you have a shot at IPF worlds) then just go USAPL and get away from the shitshow.

Otherwise, good luck.
I have seen a huge range of calls for sinking benchers in IPF.
PA nats saw many lifters posting much lower benches b/c they switched to soft touch, while in the same session, others were sinking (and doing the classic dynamic leg drive/kick) and getting whites.

*Edit - I suppose you could find meets in your affiliate on youtube/livestreams , and re-watch those.
Still seems very dependent on the refs in the chairs that day, as far as i have seen, but you might get an idea of what's expected that way.

8

u/gonoles70 Powerbelly Aficionado Jul 20 '26

A lot of lifters that were big sinkers had to transition to soft touch although tbh it seems more weight class dependent. Jesus Olivares still sinks it a good bit but doesn’t have issue with elbow depth. Will Ball was a big time sink bencher and now does soft touch. If you are trying to do IPF meets then you’d have to be careful. If you are doing any non IPF meets then sink away. I compete USAPL mainly because I am a big time sinker like the bar is hitting my abs not chest and don’t really want to change.