All barbells are the same right? Wrong. At least if you want to get the most out of the equipment available to you. In the world of barbells, there are many different factors that influence the type of barbell best suited to your use and these differences, believe it or not, can impact the progress you make. I’m not saying you can’t make progress using the “wrong” bar, I am saying that the fitness game is one of small percentages and that every percentage that goes in your favor is one you should take seriously. After all, even if your barbell choice only improves your results by one percent- that is one percent better than you would have had otherwise. There is no set number as far as how much a barbell can improve your results, but that improvement does exist, nonetheless.
In this article, I will be covering the basic elements of barbell construction and purpose to provide a base level of knowledge for you to use. By no means will it be a comprehensive guide because that would be unnecessarily lengthy. For our purposes, a top-level view of the basics will be enough.
Some important vocabulary before we get started:
Shaft - The part of the bar that you hold.
Sleeve - The ends of the barbell where weight is loaded.
Knurl - a small projecting knob or ridge, especially in a series around the edge of something. This is what gives barbells their grip.
Knurl Marks - These are rings on the barbell shaft where there is no knurl. They are meant to provide a guide as to where to place your hands.
Bearings/Bushings - What gives barbell sleeves the ability to spin around the shaft.
There are hundreds of ways to build a barbell using different variations of the above options. Over time, various standards have come into play due to some options being superior to others for specific reasons as well as organizations placing limits as to what can be used in their competitions. Currently, there are three standard barbell types that are the most common, but even these have many variations within each category. Once you understand the purpose of each barbell type, personal preference can play a much bigger role in choosing the right bar for you.
1.) The Power Bar
The Power Bar is the most common of the three standard variants. This is due to how well they perform in a commercial setting as well as their use in the most common lifts: The squat, bench, and deadlift. For all three lifts you want something that won’t bend too much under load, won’t allow the weight to spin too much, and that gives a lot of grip. For these purposes, the power bar is ideal. Standard features include:
28.5- or 29-mm diameter shaft. This is slightly thicker than the other types which provides more rigidity of the steel to prevent bending while not being so thick to affect the grip for deadlifts. There are thicker options, but that usually means the steel is not as high quality and thus requires the extra thickness to not bend. These bars will work fine for squat and bench press but will underperform on deadlifts.
More aggressive knurl and single knurl marks. An aggressive knurl pattern will give you better grip on the barbell. Many people will call this style of knurl “sharp” due to the way it digs into your hands. While this may be uncomfortable at first, most people will get used to it over time and end up preferring increasingly aggressive patterns. It is not essential to use the most aggressive patterns available, but it is essential to use one that provides enough grip. On these bars, there will be single knurl marks on the shaft for a reference point on where to place your hands.
Bushings instead of bearings. Power bars typically use bushings inside the sleeves. This provides the sleeves the ability to spin just enough to be useful. Bearings tend to provide a much better spin; however, it is unnecessary and can even be dangerous if the sleeves spin too much. Bushings also tend to be sturdier with less risk of breaking under load. While bearings aren’t “frail”, they are more prone to damage than their counterparts.
Higher strength steel. Power bars tend to use higher strength steel to prevent bending under heavy loads. When squatting a lot of weight, the last thing you want is the end of the bars to be bouncing up and down because the steel is too weak to handle it. Steel strength is measured in tensile strength and expressed as pounds per square inch or psi. The standard range for bars in this class is 190,000 psi - 250,000 psi.
Always has center knurl. Power bars will always have a small knurl section on the center of the bar. This is especially important for squats because that section helps keep the barbell on your back and not slide down as easily.
2.) The Olympic Bar
The Olympic Bar used to be the second most common barbell used but is now probable the least common of the three due to the rise of CrossFit (The last bar on our list is the main barbell used in the CrossFit world). This style bar is the most likely one to be misused and broken or deformed in some way due to its specific purpose and its construction. Some gyms have even taken to placing locks on them in order to prevent their misuse. While that may seem extreme, it may seem less so when you take into account that they typically cost $500-$1000. The precision and components that go into their construction result in much higher prices than other bars. It is also the most specialized bar of the group and is designed for only two lifts: the squat and the clean and jerk.
25mm shaft for women or 28mm for men. Due to the necessity to hook grip when doing the Olympic lifts, the bar shaft is the thinnest of the three bars. The Womens’ variant especially so to account for the difference in hand size between men and women. While a millimeter or two doesn’t seem like a big difference, it is definitely noticeable when you grab them.
Knurl aggressiveness depends on usage. A unique aspect of these bars is that they are classified as “training” bars or “competition” bars. The training bars have less aggressive knurl patterns to allow for higher rep training protocols to be followed without risking damage to the hands. Due to the nature of the lifts done, high rep work done with aggressive knurl would result in tears in the skin of the palms and hinder training. Competition variants, on the other hand, keep the aggressive knurl to provide as much grip as possible for a single rep since these bars are not meant for training and only for a single rep done in a competition.
Typically has “passive” center knurl. Olympic bars typically have “passive” center knurl opposed to the aggressive center knurl found on power bars. Passive just means that it is there but that it is much lighter and less abrasive than what it found on the grip portion of the bar. This helps to provide some grip in the front rack position of the clean without damaging the collar bone area too much. Some training bars opt to have no center knurl at all for the same reason they have a less aggressive outer knurl - prevent skin damage as much as possible.
Bearings instead of bushings. Bushings may be less prone to breaking, but bearings provide a far superior spin. In lifts that require taking the barbell from the floor to overhead, the more spin the better. Bearings spin so much better that you can almost always tell by simply spinning the weight on the bar while its racked. If it spins a couple times and stops then it is probably bushings and if it spins forever, then it is probable bearings. Due to the way they are constructed, barbells made with bearings should never be stored vertically. Horizontal storage will help ensure the bearings stay in good condition and will lessen the chances of breakage.
High quality steel but less tensile strength. With power bars you don’t want them to bend at all. Olympic bars, on the other hand, you do. This is typically referred to as “whip” and can actually be beneficial in lifting more weight when doing Olympic lifts. In order to create this “whip” manufacturers use extremely high-quality steel but keep the tensile strength lower to allow it to bend more freely. This is ok because these bars are not typically put under the same types of stress as power bars. However, if they are misused (or abused as some would say) they are much more likely to bend permanently. For example, if someone performed rack pulls with one, the chance of it bending permanently is almost certain whereas a good quality power bar would be likely to escape unscathed.
Single knurl marks. Like power bars, Olympic bars will only have one set of knurl marks. They will be placed slightly further out on the bar to account for the fact that the grip widths done are significantly wider than with the power lifts.
3.) The Multi-Use Bar
The multi-use bar has become a very popular option with the rise of CrossFit but its usefulness isn’t constrained to just CrossFit. It has become more popular over the years because it takes aspects of the previous two bars and blends them into a bar that is decent for all of the lifts. While the other two bars are very good for what they are intended, the multi-use bars are the “jack of all trades, master of none”. They are good at everything but great at nothing.
28.5mm diameter shaft. Most power bars are 29mm and Olympic lifting bars are 28mm, so these have settled exactly in the middle. For the most part, 28.5 mm is a good diameter for grip strength and steel strength, so it is a good compromise.
Knurl tends to be more passive. Due to the nature of the bar and that it is designed to do all lifts well, the knurling has to be made more passive for the same reason the training variants of Olympic bars are- to prevent your skin being ripped up. This is great for anyone who is doing both the Olympic and Power lifts, but it isn’t great for anyone who focuses on the main three power lifts. Passive knurl won’t provide the same level of grip and thus make grip strength a potential weak point.
No center knurl. Again, this is a must have feature in order to make it useful for as many lifts as possible. However, the center knurl is such a nice aspect to have for squats that anyone who squats a lot will take issue with it.
Dual ring marks. These bars will have dual knurl marks for both Olympic and Power lifts. This isn’t incredibly important and won’t sway too many people one way or another. I find single knurl marks more aesthetically pleasing personally, but function-wise it doesn’t really matter.
Lower strength steel. In general, the steel strength found in these bars will be lower. This makes sense because you won’t find many generalists using as much weight in single lifts as you will when someone specializes in just a few lifts. Therefore, including really strong steel would result in higher prices that wouldn’t be necessary for the vast majority of people using them. This isn’t to say the steel is “weak” only to say that it won’t serve you as well if your focus is on the squat, bench, and deadlift. Not only will it be more prone to bending permanently, but it will have more “whip” than you will want.
Bushings or bushing/bearing combination. Most multi-use bars will use bushings for their spin because they work well and hold up to high use environments. Some use a combo of bushings and bearings to provide the reliability of bushings and the spin of bearings. I prefer bushing only setups for these for two reasons. One, bearings are more expensive which adds to the cost unnecessarily. Two, you get more spin that may or may not help you at all, but you add in parts that are more unreliable - more risk of breaking without any guaranteed benefit. It is always best to try out both to see which you prefer, but if you don’t, I recommend sticking with bushing only setups.
Conclusion
The best barbell choice will come down purely to what you will be doing with that barbell. It pays to know the differences so that you can make the best decision possible and have the right tool to use in your training. In an ideal world, you will have access to a variety of bars that serve each purpose. This will allow you to explore new training styles as well as provide you with the right tools as your training evolves. It is not uncommon for people to start training in one area and move to others as they progress. For example, starting with Powerlifting and switching to Olympic lifting later. Training in a gym that has a good barbell selection solves that problem easily. If you are buying a personal barbell, I would recommend buying the bar that suits your training now.
No Olympic Lifting = Power Bar
Mostly Olympic Lifting = Olympic Bar
Some of Both = Multi-Use Bar or One of Each
