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Barbell Rogue Barbells

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I use cheap Wal-Mart metal plates. They were well under $1 per lb years ago (they are typical plates you find in a commercial gym). Also, for about $50 or so, you can purchase a couple 4'x8' sheets of plywood and some rubber horse stall mats and make a first class deadlifting/weightlifting platform. This way you don't have to worry about damaging your floor or dropping weights.
 
FWIW, my "bumpers" really aren't bumpers, they're rubber plates - all rubber, just a metal ring in the center. If you look up "rubber weight plates," you'll find similar.

Mine too.

My bumpers, on my deadlift mats, together have too much bounce for me.

My bumpers have a very dead bounce. I agree that overly bouncy plates are annoying.

I have used a bar plus the 10 lb. bumpers when I wanted 65 lbs. total but didn't want a student to have to reach further than the standard distance to the bar. I haven't done this often, but I have done it more than once.

Certainly a legit use. But a lot of 10lb bumpers are so thin and bendy that they collapse and get damaged easily when used by themselves, especially in a gym environment where people may not be so careful with the equipment and may be dropping them from overhead. There are actually manufactured light "technique plates," usually made out of solid plastic, that are the same diameter as regular 45s, so people can learn the olympic lifts with a light weight from the normal starting position. Some people just make their own out of plywood.

I like that iron plates slide on and off the bar easily

The looser-fitting iron plates are definitely easier to load and unload. However, I once had a cheap sporting goods store bar where the sleeves actually dented and eventually cracked because of the shifting and rattling of iron plates. However, I have used iron plates extensively with higher quality bars without this kind of damage, so I attribute it mainly to the poor quality of the bar.
 
As a 9th grade kid in weight training class, there was something magical about iron plates that got bigger and bigger with weight. The 45s became a rite of passage, adding them to the bar was like becoming a man.

I guess there's nothing wrong with colorful rubber bouncy weights, but there's something special (for me personally) about big, loud, iron plates.
 
But a lot of 10lb bumpers are so thin and bendy that they collapse and get damaged easily when used by themselves, especially in a gym environment where people may not be so careful with the equipment and may be dropping them from overhead.
The things we have done to those poor 10 & 25lbs bumpers in my old crossfit gym...
After most WODs that included oly movements you had to lay them on the floor and lay a couple of 45s on top to make them flat again. Why? Because most of us were weak and did the snatches and C&Js with less than 135lbs.
Sometimes it was the "WODs fault". For "Fran" you only use 95lbs (bar + 2x25lbs) and for the final thruster of a set people would push the bar overhead and let go once their arms reached full lockout...
The owners didn't seem to care, so that's their problem.
 
The things we have done to those poor 10 & 25lbs bumpers in my old crossfit gym...
After most WODs that included oly movements you had to lay them on the floor and lay a couple of 45s on top to make them flat again. Why? Because most of us were weak and did the snatches and C&Js with less than 135lbs.
Sometimes it was the "WODs fault". For "Fran" you only use 95lbs (bar + 2x25lbs) and for the final thruster of a set people would push the bar overhead and let go once their arms reached full lockout...
The owners didn't seem to care, so that's their problem.

I was trying to make the point without using the "C" word ;-).
 
Sometimes it was the "WODs fault". For "Fran" you only use 95lbs (bar + 2x25lbs) and for the final thruster of a set people would push the bar overhead and let go once their arms reached full lockout...

This really ticks me off. Even with bumper plates dropping the bar will put some wear and tear on the collars. I always tried to respect the equipment, especially when I was using a higher end bar such as an Eleiko. Eleiko's spin smooth as butter. In addition, the official rules in Olympic lifting state that while the bar may be dropped it must be done so under control. No one seems to know what that means, but the standard advice is to keep your hands on the bar until it it passes your chest. Also don't slam the bar down like Jon North used to do.
 
@Anna C Seems like either the Ohio or B&R bars will make good all-purpose "starter" bars. I bought a fairly inexpensive bar to train Olympic lifts at home and it works just fine. As long as the collars have some spin to it you can venture into the world of Olympic lifts if that is where you want to go. The bar that came with my cheap weight set has practically no spin and the cheap metal required a 30 mm diameter which was difficult for me to hook grip. 28.5 or 29 mm are fine, and my general experience has been that bars costing over $200 have enough spin for training purposes. It also seems the knurling on that bar is reasonable and not too aggressive. I once used a Usaeka bar - when you're done lifting you can take a Usaeka bar home and grate cheese on that thing.

Most bumper plates do fit a little tighter on the collars because in the Olympic lifts you don't want loose plates that rattle, for a whole host of reasons.

Sorry that I'm just talking about the Olympic lifts but that's all I really know.
 
I may take a serious look at the rubber horse stall mat, TSC has a 4 ft. x 6 ft. x 3/4 in. Thick Rubber Stall Mat for $39.99.......good replacement for my interlocking gym mats that are falling apart......thank you for the great idea!

I use cheap Wal-Mart metal plates. They were well under $1 per lb years ago (they are typical plates you find in a commercial gym). Also, for about $50 or so, you can purchase a couple 4'x8' sheets of plywood and some rubber horse stall mats and make a first class deadlifting/weightlifting platform. This way you don't have to worry about damaging your floor or dropping weights.
 
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@MikeTheBear I just want to clarify that I don't approve of such behavior, just noticing what people regularly do, specifically on that WOD.
Personally I always copied what I've seen the oly lifters do on TV, which is in line with your "chest level passing advice", just for the fact that when I came back to the bar it was in the same spot and hasn't rolled away after basically being thrown away like most of the others would do.
Over time the controled drop still did heavy damage to the 10s or 25s. Even though they are bumbers, they're not designed to be the only plate on the bar.
 
1 potential downside of the B&R Bar is that it is bare steel material of construction. This is a plus for me though, I prefer bare steel. However, if you are storing your bar outside in the Gulf Coast, you may require an exotic material of construction.

My bar is a few years old and still looks brand new (I don't oil it or take care of it). It is stored in doors.
 
has anyone heard of quality issues with Diamond Pro? i got both kettlebells and bumpers for ~$1/# and they have done well for garage gym purpose...
 
@Kettlebelephant My being "ticked off" was not directed at you at all. My apologies if it came across that way. And if the culture of that particular Crossfit box allowed for that kind of thing then I also do not blame you if you dropped the bar causing the plates to "taco." As you said, it's their equipment. My comment was more of a general nature, like when an athlete at an Olympic lifting meet slams the bar down to look cool. Jon North used to do this. It's not cool.
 
I like center knurling for the purpose of back squats - the knurling sticks to my shirt. Yes, it makes a difference on the back squat. Otherwise it's pointless. I don't do one hand lifts with a barbell. For front squats the lack of center knurling makes it slightly easier on the neck, but not a big deal. For Olympic lifts the lack of center knurling can help prevent the bar from catching on a lifter's shirt if the bar is very close to the body, but this is rare.
 
Anna C Did you press the order button already?

No, not yet.

Leaning towards the B&R bar for the center knurl but a little concerned about corrosion.

Really tempted by these plates, but ooh, $$$ !!! Super nice though.

upload_2017-11-22_9-0-41.png

I was a the military exchange yesterday and they have a whole set bar + 300 lb in plates for just $299. So, there's that option.... But sloppy, ugly, and noisy.

Just have to decide how much of an investment I want to make I guess.
 
No, not yet.

Leaning towards the B&R bar for the center knurl but a little concerned about corrosion.

Really tempted by these plates, but ooh, $$$ !!! Super nice though.

View attachment 4480

I was a the military exchange yesterday and they have a whole set bar + 300 lb in plates for just $299. So, there's that option.... But sloppy, ugly, and noisy.

Just have to decide how much of an investment I want to make I guess.

If you buy cheap, you will buy twice! ;)

And yes, those plates are nice. Am eyeballing them since @Harald Motz convinced me to get a barbell, but that has to wait until next year and I also need to figure out the space for all this.

A shame the Ohio Bar does not have the center knurl, because there is a stainless steel version that would keep you worry free about that corrosion ...

Those plates and the stainless steel Ohio Bar ... *dreaming*

DO YOU HEAR ME SANTA!?!!

:rolleyes:
 
@Tobias Wissmueller I think it's odd that barbells don't come with the center knurling option. When you run 200 through the knurl machine can you just do the first 100 with and then just program the machine to not carve center knurl on the second batch giving you 100 of each?

Disclaimer that I know nothing about this type of manufacturing.
 
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