djeclipse
New member
glennpendlay said:a powerlifting bar is supposed to be 1 1/8 inches thick, which works out to about 28.5mm roughly. an OL bar is supposed to be 28mm exactly. doesnt seem like much of a difference, but it is, you can really feel it.
lots of the cheap bars, mostly chinese manufacture, are 29mm and above in diameter, which i assume allows you to use a cheaper quality of steel and still not have the bar bend with weight on it. it is indeed a bitch to try to grip a bar that is a little too thick when you are deadlifting.
the specialty "deadlift bar" used in some PL federations like the frantz bar that is i think the official DL bar of the APF is thinner, 27mm to be exact. it is also longer between the collars. being thinner and longer, the bar flexes much more, so you are actually doing something more like a low rack pull, the bar flexes a good deal in the middle before the weights lift off the ground. also the thinner shaft makes it easier to hang on to, especially if you hook grip!
Thanks for the clarification. The guy was complaining that the bars at my current gym were too thick, maybe he was used to using the 27mm specialty bar at the other gym as he was talking about how the bar flexes more for deadlift and squats..
Personally it doesn't matter to me, if the bar is a little thicker and my grp gets worked a bit more that's a bonus. As long as the bar still weights 45lbs I am good to go.