Bars for Power Lifting, Olympic Lifting, Weight Training - All Ship Free

There are hundreds of combinations of Olympic sized barbells and at Muscles and Curves we carry them all! Not only that, but we have the best prices online and all barbells have free shipping included in the cost.

Selection

Choosing the correct Olympic bar for your needs can be a little bit of a challenge. You first need to know what you plan on using the bar for and how much weight you think the bar will ever need to hold. Then you need to start looking at all the specifications of each brand and model of bar you are interested in. For starters, straight Olympic bars come in 7 ft, 6 ft and 5 ft lengths. They can be made of many types of metal and have different types of coatings. The knurling, the raised metal hash marks on the bar, can be in different locations on the bar to accommodate different uses and grips.

Olympic Lifting

If you're looking at barbells for actual Olympic style lifting, clean & jerk, snatch, power cleans, etc., then you're going to have even more options to deal with. The sleeves at the end of all Olympic barbells rotate, but it is more critical that the rotation be smooth and fast when you are performing Olympic lifts. If the sleeve doesn't spin smoothly then it will affect the rotation of the weight which in turn hinders your ability to flip your wrists and get under the weight quickly. To achieve this type of spin, quality Olympic barbells will have bushing or bearings in the sleeve.

Another aspect of a quality Olympic barbell is the ability to withstand being dropped repeatedly through its lifespan without bending, warping or breaking. Since Olympic lifters usually drop the weight from anywhere as high as fully extended overhead, the bar absolutely must be able to bounce well with the load of bumper plates.

Power Lifting

Power lifting barbells have different requirements than the bars used by Olympic lifters. A quick spinning sleeve isn't necessary since the lifter will only be doing squat, deadlifts and bench press. However, the bar must be able to withstand the extreme amount of weight that a power lifter is capable of moving. The bar needs to bend slightly as the lifter moves the weight and then spring back into a perfectly straight line once the weight is unloaded. Also, powerlifters often like the knurling in different locations than other lifters based on where the place and hold the bar. For instance, some power lifting bars have a strip of knurling in the middle of the bar to grip the back during squats.

Basic Weight Training

For your basic weight lifting bar you don't need any of the fancy options supplied for other purposes. You'll just want to get a basic barbell that will hand the amount of weight you can lift AND allow some room for future strength increases. While competition bars can have a weight capacity as high as 1,500lbs, most entry level bars have around a 500lb capacity. Do keep in mind each manufacturer's warranty for bar bending and breaking.