When starting a workout program it’s important to choose the plan and equipment that best fits your requirements. Weight training not only is the perfect way to build muscle mass, tone and sculpture your body but also adds great overall health benefits. Gaining strength in your muscles and joints will increase your flexibility, stamina and increase your bone density. It is important that you understand the different types of barbells available and choose what will be the most beneficial to you.
A barbell is a straight metal bar that can be loaded with weights to be used as a piece of exercise equipment. Although free weights are the most basic form of body building equipment, they must be used with care. Choosing the correct barbell is as important as choosing the right work out plan. Since individual needs vary, there are several types of barbells on the market for the home gym user. Standard barbells are the most commonly known, and easily found in department stores, however there are other alternatives and each should be considered carefully before making a final decision.
A standard barbell has a 28mm shaft, measuring one inch round. These typically weigh 22 pounds, measuring 5 to 6 feet long. Although often used by the beginner lifter these may not be the right choice if you are considering taking your lifting seriously. In this case the better choice would be the Olympic barbell. Weighing 45 pounds and measuring a length of 7 feet, these can hold over 800 pounds of added weights, with some having the ability to handle as much as 1000 pounds. Unlike the standard bar, the Olympic barbell consists of a bar in which the sleeve rotates. This allows the weight discs to rotate on it’s own axis, eliminating the rotational-inertia effect placed on the lifter during explosive lifting and allows easier descending from under the bar. This feature helps eliminate chances of injury.
For anybody new to weight lifting the single biggest feature to bare in mind is that standard barbells require weight plates with a much smaller diameter hole than Olympic bars – consequently should you upgrade to an Olympic size bar in the future it is likely these plates will be incompatible. Depending on your budget, an olympic bar is recommended for most trainers.
Although either bar can be used for bicep and triceps workouts, there are additional bars you may want to consider. The EZ curl bar is a zigzag shaped bar. It is often used for biceps curls instead of the standard straight bar. It’s unique shape and inward curl helps reduce stress to the wrists, avoiding painful and long term injuries. Similar to the EZ curl bar the triceps bar has two handles that are contained in a cage shaped area. This positioning allows for better concentration on the triceps and also reduces stress on your wrists. Although called a triceps bar, it can be used to work other muscles because of it’s ability to work them in different angels.
It is important that all barbells be used properly to avoid risk of injury. Consider your level of commitment and the areas that you want to concentrate on before making your final decision.
