What are the commands in a Powerlifting Competition?
Knowing the commands in a powerlifting competition is vital to having a good day. Without knowing these crucial rules, your day will be very difficult to get any lifts in.
The commands are issued by the head referee (the middle one in front of you) during your attempts. They are very simple to follow. But if you are not used to training to these standards, they can cause you to slip up and lose precious KGs on your total.
Squat:
Squat has 2 commands to follow
Down/Start
Once you have unracked the weight and walked out, you need to keep your feet planted, knees locked out, and show control. Once the head referee sees this, they will say Down/Start. You are only allowed to start the descent of your squat once you have been given this command. So make sure you get yourself stable and in control once you’ve walked out and wait for the command. You then go down to depth (hip crease below top of knee joint) and (hopefully) come back up.
Rack
Once you have completed your squat rep you must stay where you are. Similar to waiting for the start command, your feet must not move, your knees must be locked out, and you must show control. Then, once the head referee sees all this, they will say “rack”. This is your command to walk back to the rack and re-rack the weight. If you move before the referee says “rack” your lift will not count. I advise my clients to hold the weight steady before and after sets to emulate this, so it is automatic at competition.
Bench Press
Bench Press has 3 commands to follow, which makes it a very common lift for people to miss commands for when they are not prepared.
Down/Start
Similar to the squat, un-rack the weight and hold it above you. Having locked out elbows. Head, glutes, and feet planted. Aswell as showing control. Then you will get the start command to start lowering the bar to your chest. But, bench press has an extra command to follow before you come back up.
Press
Before you are allowed to come back up, you need to wait for the press command. This is only given once the bar is touching your chest, and the bar is motionless. Giving the effect of a pause. You need both of these parts in order to get the press command. If the bar is not touching, or the bar is bouncing around, then you will not get the press command. And the longer you are down there holding the weight, the harder it will be. So, make sure you are nailing your motionless pause in your training.
Rack
Once you have (hopefully) pressed the bar back up until your elbows are locked out. You then have to hold the bar there while showing control before you get the rack command and complete the lift officially.
Deadlift
Deadlift has only 1 command, but it is just as important as all the others.
Down
There is no start command for deadlift. So, when it is your go on the platform, you can start to lift at your own pace (aka, less than 1 minute from when you are called onto the platform). You have to lift the bar up until you are standing upright. Knees and hips locked out. Shoulders back. You then have to stay there, fully locked out, until the referee says “down”. Once you have the down command, lower the weight back down to the ground, keeping your hands on the bar, without giving excessive force (throwing the bar down). This means it’s extra important to hold your deadlifts at lockout in training, so that you are able to do it in a competition.
Only have 1 minute from when the judge says “bar is loaded” to get yourself in position for the start command on squat and bench press. On deadlift there is no start command, so you have 1 minute to attempt to lift the weight.
Now that you know the commands in a powerlifting competition, you can make sure your training mimics these conditions, in order to give you the best possible chance of being successful at your competition.
