Speaking of bars....

[callthedoctor]

My gym has several bars and they never feel the same weight-wise...

I guess a 45lb olympic is not a standard...eh?

Really screws up my progressive 5x5 sometimes...gotta be careful.

Tips?

Rants?

 

[WalkingBeast]

I read something about plates being at different weights. Sometimes 2-3 pounds off per plate! Someone weighed them at a gym and marked them with magic markers. Imagine the difference if you have 3-4 plates a side on the bar. I tried weighing some plates on a digital scale, some of them were off by over a pound. I only tried 3 plates maybe. Apparently the companies that make standard plates for gyms arent very strict about the weights. So its not an exact science when you train in a regular gym. Wear and tear over the years also decreases the weight. Hope that helps!

 

[Backlash]

That is correct WB. The tolerance is like 5% or something. You can buy plates that are milled for less than 1% variance, like weights they use in meets (or should be using), but they are very expensive and none of the gyms any of us workout in will have them.

 

[Sub-Zero]

what...the...fuck...


this totally pisses me off.

 

[string_bean00]

My high school had some old weights from the 60s that are far lighter than any 45-pound plate you'd find in a gym today.

 

[Becoming]

There are different types of bars... the regular ones, ones that are slightly thicker (and weigh more) and deadlift bars (which usually weigh 55 I think)... The deadlift ones don't have any center knurling, and thicker ones are well, thicker... as far as other regular bars, I think they are pretty consistent-if you stay within the manufacturer... outside that I have no idea...

 

[strongsmartsexy]

There are 3 olympic french curl bars at the gym I go to. One of them is VERY light. I was used to using the light one for preacher curls. One day when I was there, that bar and bench was being used, so I tossed my normal weight on it and went to do preachers. DAMN was that heavy! There must have been 20lbs different in the two bars...

 

[Scotsman]

Ok here is what I learned from having to order these things when I was a gym manager.

ez-curl Three main types
standard 25lbs
short collar 20lbs
long bend 30lbs

Olympic style weights
bars
standard 45lbs
deadlift 60-65 depending on which tensile strength is used
"club" 40-45lbs depending on manufacturer they are designed for health clubs
High tensile thich barr 2" 70-80lbs depending on collar style
true olympic 44lbs 22kilos.

Plates
45lb
44lb true olympic plate is 22kilos

35lb
33lb true olympic 15kilos

25lb
22lb true olympic 11 kilos

Also yes the varience is anywhere from 1-5% depending on manufacturer and plate style.

A set of elieko olympic cometition weights including bar that weighs 315lbs is $4,000.00. An ivanko high test 45lb competition bar costs around $1,500.00. A "club" olympic bar from magnum costs $400.00. So you see why many places don't have many good bars.

Cheers,
Scotsman