How to choose an Olympic barbell

An Olympic bar is defined by its sleeves. They are 50mm across, they rotate on the shaft, and they take Olympic plates and nothing else. Beyond that, the bars in the range differ in length, in what they are rated to carry, and in shape. Those three things decide the choice.

The sleeves settle the plates

Every bar in this collection has 50mm sleeves for Olympic-bore plates. Standard plates, with a 28mm to 29mm hole, will not go on. If you own standard plates and want an Olympic bar, the Standard to Olympic Barbell Sleeve Adapter is a pair of 35cm sleeves that lets a standard bar take Olympic plates, which is the cheaper way round. The sleeves on the bars rotate, so the plates turn on their own axis during a clean or a snatch instead of twisting the shaft in your hands.

Length against your rack

The number that matters for a rack is the distance between the plate stops, because that is the width the bar has to clear between the uprights. The 7ft bars are 220cm long with 136cm between the stops. The 6 Foot Olympic Barbell is 180cm with 114cm between the stops. The 5 Foot Olympic Barbell is 150cm with 91cm. Check the inside width of your rack's uprights against that figure, not against the overall length.

Load rating against your lifts

The 7ft bars come in three ratings. The 300lb bar and the 700lb bar both weigh 18kg, and the 1500lb bar weighs 20kg. The 7ft Olympic Bumper Barbell is also 20kg and rated to 1500lb, and it is the one to load with bumper plates and drop. Compare the rating with the heaviest lift you plan to build to, not with what you lift today. The bar's own mass is the other number to know, since a 20kg bar is the competition standard for men and the 15kg Women's Olympic Barbell, 180cm with a slimmer grip and a 550kg rating, is the standard for women.

The 8kg Olympic Training Barbell sits apart from the rest. It is 183cm, rated to 90kg, and made for learning the lifts with light plates before moving to a full-weight bar.

Specialty bars

• The Olympic Safety Squat Barbell, 23kg and 220cm, rated to 750lb, puts the load on padded shoulder rests with forward handles, which takes the shoulders out of the squat.
• The Olympic Hex Shrug Deadlift Barbell, 27kg and 183cm, rated to 500lb, puts you inside the bar for deadlifts and shrugs with a neutral grip.
• The EZY Curl Olympic Barbell, 8kg and 122cm with 80cm between the stops, rated to 300lb, angles the grip for curls and extensions.
• The Olympic Tricep Bar, 10kg and 86cm, rated to 300lb, gives a neutral grip for pressing and extensions.

Collars and sets

Spring collars come with the 6ft and 7ft single bars. The 15kg women's bar is sold without collars, and the sets list their inclusions on the product page. The sets pair a 20kg 7ft bar with cast-iron hammertone or rubber-coated plates, from a 75kg set up to 215kg in total, and they are the cheapest way to buy a bar and a working load together. The 115kg hammertone set and the 115kg rubber-coated set are the middle of that range.

What to check on the product page

• Distance between plate stops against the inside width of your rack.
• Load rating against the lifts you are building to.
• Bar mass, 15kg, 18kg or 20kg, for counting your total.
• Whether collars are included.
• Sleeve type. All are 50mm and rotating, and none take standard plates.

The RooFitness Olympic bars compared

Related

All Olympic barbells · All barbells · Weight plates · Collars · Power racks and cages