Olympic vs "standard" barbell

Silly Goose On The Loose

Silly Goose On The Loose

Silly Goose On The Loose

Mobster
Soldato
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9 Apr 2012
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I got a dumbbell set about a year ago, that has 1 inch plates.

I understand Olympic barbells are 2 inch and standard are 1 inch. As I would ideally like to re-use my existing plates, am I going to miss out on a lot by getting a standard 7 inch barbell over an Olympic one?
 
Depends what you’re planning on doing with it really. Olympic bars are much stronger structurally and can be loaded with far more weight (e.g. a decent bar will be rated to 1500kg) before they get bent out of shape so if you’re planning on doing heavy compounds or have aspirations in the sports of powerlifting or weightlifting then get a proper bar and plates.

You get more choice with plates for Olympic bars as well as far as thin metal or rubberised bumper plates and the sizes tend to be standardised. Standard bar plates can come in all different sizes for a given weight and tend to be made of inferior materials and wider which limit how much you can load onto a bar and I wouldn’t trust them not to get damaged doing something like deadlifts if they took a lot of abuse.
 
Basically, I'm pretty new to the whole thing so I'll probably be following a beginner programme, 5/3/1 for beginners looks good.

So I can't think I'll be using very heavy weights any time soon, I probably won't be going much over the weight of the bar right?
 
Gigabit said:
Basically, I'm pretty new to the whole thing so I'll probably be following a beginner programme, 5/3/1 for beginners looks good.

So I can't think I'll be using very heavy weights any time soon, I probably won't be going much over the weight of the bar right?
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You'll be surprised. It will only take a couple of weeks of squatting, etc. before you exceed your stack of weights... Then you will have to decide if you get creative with single leg variations or just join a gym...
 
Gigabit said:
I'll exceed 100kg of weights in a couple of weeks?
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Probably not, but then I am impressed a standard bar can take that much. My (clearly faulty) assumption was that you had a set of dumbells only... :)

Depending on your training history, 100kg of weights can be deadlift-able reasonably quickly, but not within two weeks if you have no background in strength.
 
I was an absolute weakling when I started lifting and inherited zero athletic ability from my parents. I could deadlift a plate a side to start off with though (60kg), and it didn’t take that long to get to 100kg adding 5kg a week. If you’re doing a 5/3/1 variation you will need an adequate bar at some point because you’ll be training properly and getting stronger. Another thing is that cheap standard bars can have crappy knurling, don’t always weigh 20kg, don’t always have decent bearings or bushings in the collars and don’t always feel like their own weight is distributed evenly across the bar.

Have you got or are planning on getting a rack too? What are you using to rack squats? I’d keep what you have for your accessory stuff where you’d use dumbbells and get a proper bar and a set of proper plates for squat/bench/deadlift/OHP both for safety and longevity. Now gyms have re-opened the prices are likely to have begun to stop being so ludicrous.
 
Somnambulist said:
I was an absolute weakling when I started lifting and inherited zero athletic ability from my parents. I could deadlift a plate a side to start off with though (60kg), and it didn’t take that long to get to 100kg adding 5kg a week. If you’re doing a 5/3/1 variation you will need an adequate bar at some point because you’ll be training properly and getting stronger. Another thing is that cheap standard bars can have crappy knurling, don’t always weigh 20kg, don’t always have decent bearings or bushings in the collars and don’t always feel like their own weight is distributed evenly across the bar.

Have you got or are planning on getting a rack too? What are you using to rack squats? I’d keep what you have for your accessory stuff where you’d use dumbbells and get a proper bar and a set of proper plates for squat/bench/deadlift/OHP both for safety and longevity. Now gyms have re-opened the prices are likely to have begun to stop being so ludicrous.
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I am planning to get a squat rack and an adjustable bench.

Any suggestions for weight and the price I should be paying?

I went to the gym for a while and just never enjoyed it. With my dumbbells I’ve stuck with it for a year, only now looking to get some proper large weights now I’m bulking again.

I know I will stick with this unlike the gym which I know I won’t.
 
Check out the long-running home gym/equipment thread in this forum as the regulars will have recommendations for you. I'd just get a decent bar now as if you plan on training for years and years it's a great investment and will last forever as long as you're not smashing it onto rack pins or exposing it to the elements.

EDIT - just seen you post in that thread, good oh. I would say deadlifting upstairs no matter the construction of the floor below you is not a great idea unless you're incredibly careful putting the weights back on the floor even with thick rubber mats, and tbh swapping deadlifts out for RDLs would be more sensible as the weight never touches the floor if you start off the rack. This avoids any noise (or structural integrity) issues but then it isn't really 5/3/1 any more. That said there's a lot of beginner programs out there and deadlifts aren't a mandatory exercise unless you're a powerlifter.
 
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Somnambulist said:
Check out the long-running home gym/equipment thread in this forum as the regulars will have recommendations for you. I'd just get a decent bar now as if you plan on training for years and years it's a great investment and will last forever as long as you're not smashing it onto rack pins or exposing it to the elements.

EDIT - just seen you post in that thread, good oh. I would say deadlifting upstairs no matter the construction of the floor below you is not a great idea unless you're incredibly careful putting the weights back on the floor even with thick rubber mats, and tbh swapping deadlifts out for RDLs would be more sensible as the weight never touches the floor if you start off the rack. This avoids any noise (or structural integrity) issues but then it isn't really 5/3/1 any more. That said there's a lot of beginner programs out there and deadlifts aren't a mandatory exercise unless you're a powerlifter.
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I was considering skipping deadlifting after the stories I'd read.
 
Actually if I'm honest I wouldn't program RDLs the same way as deadlifts (especially 3's or 1's) so if you can't realistically get away with doing them at home I wouldn't choose a program where they're a core part of the programming. People typically do RDLs as a deadlift accessory or as a main movement in a bodybuilding program where the reps are a bit higher, rather than treating them as a strength lift where they'll be 1RM tests, low rep ranges etc.
 
I started lifting again and my old standard bar is flexing too much with only 60kg on it. I've ordered an oly bar and weights from Mirafit, they don't have everything in stock but I'm happy to build it up as I need it.
 
Gigabit said:
Is there a reason for that? RDLs just aren't as good for anything?
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No they’re a good exercise, it’s just in the context of 5/3/1 where you have a squat day and a deadlift day those exercises are the main course for that session - I mean the program is based on getting stronger at the powerlifting competition lifts as well as OHP after all - and they both work the whole of the leg to some degree, with squats being more anterior dominant and deadlifts posterior dominant.

RDLs are just for the back of the legs. If I was making a bodybuilding program where the focus was more on hypertrophy than maximising your efficiency and putting all your energy into 3-4 specific lifts, then I’d leave deadlifts out entirely for about half a dozen reasons where as RDLs fit much better in a standard leg day.

Rando videos I pulled up:

Typical deadlift set:

Typical RDL set:

Can you see why one is better suited to being a low rep strength movement and the other a glute/ham builder?
 
Look up Allpros Simple Beginner program (swap the SLDLs out for RDLs since it's a similar movement but the bar doesn't have to hit the floor). x3 a week, full body, still get to squat and bench and all that good stuff.
 
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