The smooth rings that interrupt a barbell’s knurling are grip-width references, not decoration. The narrower pair are the Olympic (IWF) marks, set 910mm apart; the wider pair are the powerlifting (IPF) marks, set 810mm apart. A bar can have one set, the other, or both — and which it carries tells you what discipline it was built for.Once you know what they are, you’ll use them every session to set the same grip, rep after rep.
What the marks actually are
The knurling on a bar is the diamond grip pattern cut into the shaft. Breaking that pattern are one or two pairs of smooth bands— the ring marks. They’re machined at fixed, standardized distances so that a lifter can line a landmark on their hand up with a ring and get the exact same grip width every single rep. A consistent grip is part of a consistent lift, which is why competitive lifters live by these rings.
The Olympic (IWF) marks
The narrower pair of rings, 910mm apart, follow the International Weightlifting Federation standard. They’re the reference for the snatch and cleangrips — an Olympic lifter uses them to groove the wide snatch pull and the cleaner front-rack grip without re-measuring. If a bar has only these marks, it was built with the Olympic lifts in mind, and it usually pairs them with fast-spinning bearing sleeves.
The powerlifting (IPF) marks
The wider pair, 810mm apart, follow the International Powerlifting Federation standard. Their most important job is the bench press: in IPF competition, your hands can’t grip wider than these marks, so they define the maximum legal bench grip. Even if you never compete, they’re a useful reference for setting a repeatable, honest bench and squat grip. A bar carrying only these marks is a dedicated power bar.
Dual-marked bars: the versatile default
Many quality all-purpose bars carry both sets of rings — the REP Delta bar is one example that publishes both IPF and Olympic marks. A dual-marked baris the most flexible choice because it gives you references for both disciplines, which suits the lifter who does a bit of everything. The two sets are easy to tell apart once you know to look: the inner pair is Olympic, the outer pair is powerlifting. If you’re unsure which family of bar you want in the first place, our what barbell should I buy guide walks the decision.
Don’t confuse ring marks with the center knurl
One quick clarification: the ring marks are not the same thing as a center knurl. The center knurl is an extra strip of grip in the very middle of the shaft that stops the bar sliding on a low-bar squat; the ring marks are smooth bands out toward the hands that set grip width. A bar can have either, both or neither. And the marks are separate again from how aggressive the knurlfeels — that’s about the depth and sharpness of the diamond pattern, not the rings.
How to use them
Pick a landmark — the tip of your index finger, or the edge of your palm — and line it up with the same ring every time. That’s the whole technique. For the bench press, the IPF rings give you a legal, repeatable width; for the snatch, the IWF rings mark your pull. You stop guessing your grip, which removes one small variable from every lift. When you’re reading a bar’s spec sheet before buying, the marks are one of the quiet tells that separate a purpose-built bar from a generic one — our barbell roundups note the knurl and marks on every pick.
Sources
- IWF (International Weightlifting Federation) and IPF (International Powerlifting Federation) barbell knurl-mark spacing standards (910mm Olympic, 810mm powerlifting) as reflected in governing-body equipment specifications and manufacturer product listings linked from our barbell roundups.
- General knurling and grip principles as covered in our methodology and linked spec guides.