Characteristics and differences between the Olympic bar and a regular bar

Barbell bars are versatile equipment that are an essential tool for strength training. Devices differ in appearance and shape depending on the purpose for which they are used, size and weight. For effective training, it is important for a person to know the features of using this tool.

About training with a thick bar

It cannot be said that this type of training was an invention only of the newest era of the sports industry. Athletes of the past actively practiced such training and long ago noticed that they, firstly, contribute to the development of large forearms, and secondly, they help develop grip strength like no other exercise.

As an experiment, you can advise everyone to perform familiar sets with a barbell or dumbbells, for example, simply wrapping a towel around the bar of the apparatus. The difference will be noticeable instantly! According to even experienced athletes, working with an extended bar is like picking up a barbell for the first time. To increase the effectiveness of your training, it will be useful to buy bar extenders.

If the diameter of a standard barbell or dumbbell bar, as a rule, is 2.5 centimeters, then a thickened one is as much as 5. As already noted, there are both special thickening devices and ready-made thickened bars on sale, more reminiscent in appearance of axles from car wheels.

It is believed that the thickened neck was discovered by athletes by accident and far from a good life. It’s just that at one time, purchasing even a standard neck was an unaffordable luxury for many - so they had to get out of it using improvised means. They took everything that at least somehow resembled a vulture. This is how many sports equipment were accidentally invented - the Apollo Axis, the Inch dumbbell and many others.

The best barbell manufacturers, cost

Barbell bars (types of the same type of equipment may vary depending on the manufacturer) are presented on the market by many companies that sell sports equipment. When choosing inventory, you need to pay attention to the seller’s experience, breadth of assortment and reviews of product quality. Among the reputable manufacturers, Iron King, IDOL Action and Rogue Fitness are considered worthy of attention.

Iron King

Iron King is a Russian manufacturer of training equipment. The company has been selling equipment for more than 15 years and has managed to gain recognition from athletes.

Features of the brand's necks:

• use of safe materials in production;
• high quality products;
• relatively low cost.

The manufacturer's assortment includes rods of different lengths and shapes - the list is arranged from lower price to higher cost:

1. Bars with a diameter of 3 cm are available in the following varieties: straight, EZ-shaped, W-shaped. The length of the shells is 1.2-1.8 m. The method of attaching the pancakes is a spring. Cost – 1,800-2,200 rubles.

2. Bars with a diameter of 2.5 cm in the following shapes: straight, EZ-shaped, W-shaped. The length of the shells is 1.2-1.8 m. The method of fastening the pancakes is a lock-nut. Cost – 1,800-2,300 rubles.
3. Bars with a diameter of 2.5 cm in the following configurations: straight, EZ-shaped, W-shaped. The length of the shells is 1.2-1.8 m. The method of attaching the pancakes is a spring. Cost – 1,800-2,600 rubles.
4. Bars with a diameter of 3 cm are available in the following varieties: straight, EZ-shaped, W-shaped. The length of the shells is 1.2-1.8 m. The method of fastening the pancakes is a lock-nut or a spring. Cost – 1,900-6,100 rubles.
5. Bars with a diameter of 5 cm are of the following shapes: straight, EZ-shaped, W-shaped, parallel grip, Olympic. The length of the shells is 1.25-2.2 m. The method of attaching the pancakes is a spring. The cost of equipment ranges from 4,600 to 23,700 rubles.

IDOL Action

The company has been on the market since 2015. The owners of the brand are proud that they create sports equipment taking into account the needs of athletes. Each product is tested before sale and, if necessary, sent for improvement.

The IDOL Action product range includes several product lines:

• Godzilla bar designed for competition. Its weight is 20 kg and its diameter is 2.9 cm;
• Olympic metal rod with Tiger bearings, weighing 20 kg;
• Olympic bar with bearings for women. Its weight is 15 kg, diameter is 2.5 cm.

The cost of equipment varies between 11,700-14,000 rubles.

Rogue Fitness

Rogue Fitness is an American brand that produces sports equipment. In Russia, a popular product from this manufacturer is the Olympic bar for men. The cost of the tool is approximately 13,000 rubles.

The range of products of this brand includes the following items:

• children's fingerboard. Weight – 10 kg. Length – 1.7 m. Diameter – 5 cm. Cost is about 23,000 rubles.
• Ohio men's bar. Length – 2.2 m. Diameter – 5 cm. Cost – approximately 35,000 rubles;
• Men's Echo Bar Bar. Weight – 20 kg. Length – 2.2 m. Diameter – 5 cm. Cost varies within the range of 35,500 rubles;
• neck for women Bella. Weight – 15 kg. Length – 2.2 m. Diameter – 5 cm. Cost is approximately 27,000 rubles.

Knowing what kinds of barbells there are helps athletes assess their strength, work out the necessary muscle groups, and also avoid injuries caused by improper use of devices. When choosing specific types of equipment, you need to focus not only on its maximum load capacity, but also take into account the type of exercises that will be performed, which will help effectively build muscle mass.

Training with a thick bar in modern sports

For some reasons, even among experienced athletes, training with a thick bar is sometimes little known and not very popular today. Of course, this is largely due to financial difficulties, especially for beginners. And every athlete wants to show himself as advantageously as possible in front of others and lift as much weight as possible. And in the case of a thick neck, this is very difficult to do right away. Therefore, alas, such a neck is not very popular.

At the same time, those who have already appreciated all the advantages of a thicker bar have the most developed muscles and strength indicators. Training with a thick bar is actively used by professional powerlifters and the military.

Why is a thick bar so effective?

For all its apparent simplicity, a thick bar is most effective in developing strength. Why does this happen? After all, some athletes are very skeptical about these exercises. And there are several main reasons why thicker bars give excellent results:

• this is the so-called irradiation and more effective muscle contraction;
• eliminating the effect of nervous inhibition and eliminating weak groups;
• grip strength training;
• increased concentration during exercise;
• reducing impact on joints and eliminating imbalances.

It makes sense to consider each of the listed points in more detail.

How much does a barbell weigh?

Weight is one of the key characteristics of a barbell. The choice of exercise and the method of holding the device in your hands during exercise depends on it.

The weight of the neck, depending on the variety, is indicated in the table:

Irradiation

Irradiation refers to the spread of nervous stimulation to all muscle groups. When performing any exercise with a thick bar, the athlete strains to a much greater extent. But at the same time, tension occurs not only in the target group, but also in the whole body.

The more any muscle group tenses, the more contraction all other muscle groups in the human body undergo. Even doing biceps exercises, you can effectively tense the muscles of, say, your back.

You can even suggest performing the following experiment. Sitting in a normal position and even without weights, slightly tighten your biceps. At first glance, nothing special will happen. However, if you place any object at hand in your hand, you can strain your biceps much more strongly, and you can also notice how the tension is transferred to muscle groups other than the biceps. This is how a thick bar works: by forcing the target group to strain to a greater extent, it forces the rest of the athlete’s body to strain as well.

The irradiation effect is greatly enhanced when working with a thick bar. At the same time, there is no need to significantly increase the load: everything happens as if by itself.

Elimination of lagging groups and inhibitory factors

The fact is that for an effective increase in strength and muscle volume, a constant increase in free weight in training is required. But in practice, the stumbling block may be precisely the athlete’s weak forearm, which does not allow him to take on heavy weights and hold them for a long time. Therefore, it is necessary to eliminate the weak link as soon as possible, namely, weak forearms and a weak grip.

By increasing grip strength by performing exercises with a thick bar, an athlete can “swing” over time at more serious weights, thus moving forward in his development.

How bar thickness affects bench press efficiency

The essence of the study

In the first study from the University of San Francisco¹, researchers compared the effects of exercise with two types of bars - a 28 mm wide (classic Olympic bar) and a 51 mm wide bar . They were tested by 18 young men during barbell chest presses. Muscle activity was measured using electromyography: electrodes were connected to the pectoral and forearm flexor muscles. The readings were compared both during classic presses, when the angle at the elbows was 90 degrees, and during presses with a more acute angle - only 45 degrees.

results

Paradoxically, the research results completely turned the myth of the wide bar upside down and gave preference to its less weighty brother.

1. The degree of muscle contraction was the same with both a narrow and a wide bar.
2. When using a thin bar, more pronounced neuromuscular activity of the pectoral muscles was recorded.
3. Neuromuscular activity of the forearm flexor muscles also turned out to be higher in the case of a thin bar in both versions of the exercise.

As it turned out, presses with a thin bar were more effective in terms of neuromuscular activity. This may indirectly indicate that exercises with the Olympic bar may be a more effective alternative for developing strength and muscle mass.

Reducing stress on joints and ligaments

In an effort to lift as much weight as possible, an athlete always runs the risk of injuring himself. The risk increases if bones and ligaments are not prepared for increased loads. However, in the case of thicker bars, it is not physically possible to take on a lot of weight at once. In addition, in this case, the tendons are trained properly first. And thus the risk of tearing or stretching them is significantly reduced.

The thick bar also anatomically reduces stress on the joints. And this, of course, eliminates the possibility of a fracture. Physics simply works here: the larger the area of ​​action, the lower the pressure.

In conclusion, we can recommend that from now on you perform the entire usual set of exercises - but now with a thick bar. Of course, when performing some exercises (especially the bench press), the use of insurance is mandatory. After all, there is always a risk of dropping the barbell.