RobertSupreme Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 I'm getting a barbell bar for home use and was just wondering if it's worth paying extra for the longer length bars. So a 6 or 7 ft one instead of a 5ft. Is the extra length at the tips so more plates can be used or is it just he middle section/handle that's longer? Cheers in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xveganjoshx Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 Your not getting an Oly bar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ralst Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 Get a 7ft olympic bar (unless it says otherwise, any olympic bar should be 7ft). Even a cheap olympic bar is superior to an exercise bar, which is a bar made for plates with a 1-in diameter hole. An exercise bar is ok for a few things if you're just beginning, but if you ever plan to actually lift something heavy (really, anything more than just curls), an olympic bar is far better. Perhaps you could post links/pictures of the bars you're considering getting? I know a few good places to purchase barbells/weights from in the US, but not in the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sosso Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 + 1 on the Olympic bar. Do a search on the crossfit forums. A lot of those guys have home gyms and there's a lot of discussion about Olympic barbells there. I'm not into crossfit myself, but that's where I've been getting a lot of info about good barbells. Not sure what your budget is, but this one is nice: http://www.strengthpowerspeed.co.uk/HTML/pendlaymens.htm or http://www.strengthpowerspeed.co.uk/HTML/pendlayhd.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertSupreme Posted February 26, 2009 Author Share Posted February 26, 2009 Wow those Olympic bars look hardcore... Money is tight at the moment and if I got one of those Oly bars I'd have to get a load of new plates as well so I'm going to have to go with some sort of cheap exercise bar...at least for now. One day one of those Olympic babies is mine I was thinking more.... http://www.fitnessmegastore.co.uk/strength-equipment-15/weights-bars-collars-33/bars-barbells-135/fitness-spinlock-barbell-15412.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisjs Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 Wow those Olympic bars look hardcore... Money is tight at the moment and if I got one of those Oly bars I'd have to get a load of new plates as well so I'm going to have to go with some sort of cheap exercise bar...at least for now. One day one of those Olympic babies is mine I was thinking more.... http://www.fitnessmegastore.co.uk/strength-equipment-15/weights-bars-collars-33/bars-barbells-135/fitness-spinlock-barbell-15412.htmYou don't want that. I have some spinlock dumbbells and they're incredibly annoying. Every time you change the weights you have to spin Spin SPIN the damn thing off and on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisjs Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 Not sure what your budget is, but this one is nice:Those are nice but completely unnecessary for his use. I've purchased a decent 300 lb olympic set for less than the price of one of those bars. A friend of mine picked up a used oly bar for $9. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeganEssentials Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 As long as the bar is 7 feet long and has a 2" diameter plate loading area, you're good to go. Exercise bars, first off, do not spin, which doesn't make a difference on some movements, but makes a pretty big difference on others. Definitely spend a few dollars more to get at least a low-level olympic bar (not necessarily one for olympic lifting, which can run over $1000 for the bar alone), which can be obtained used for as low as $20 if you have some resale sporting goods stores near you. Otherwise, as has been mentioned, you can usually find a 300 lb. cheap olmympic set for around US $170-225 at a fair price if you check around a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertSupreme Posted February 27, 2009 Author Share Posted February 27, 2009 Hey thanks for all the feedback on this fellas. I've been looking all over the net and cannot find cheap second hand oly bars for sale in the uk anywhere There are no stores near me that sell them either....The search goes on. Is it desirable for the plates on a bar to spin VE? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisjs Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Hey thanks for all the feedback on this fellas. I've been looking all over the net and cannot find cheap second hand oly bars for sale in the uk anywhere There are no stores near me that sell them either....The search goes on. Is it desirable for the plates on a bar to spin VE?Yeah that's what he said. Think of a movement like a clean. You're spinning the bar so what was at the bottom on the ground ends up facing your head in the top position. If the weights couldn't spin, you'd have that much additional weight to make rotate during the lift and that much additional torque to withstand when stopping. On an olympic bar, the section that holds the plates spins independent from the part of the bar you grip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertSupreme Posted February 27, 2009 Author Share Posted February 27, 2009 Ah cool, thanks Chris. You learn something new everyday as they say Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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