Pairunoyd
10-03-2002, 11:10 AM
Why should I squat, deadlift, bench, etc with an olympic bar vs a standard bar? What makes olympic bars better?
Wildcat33
10-03-2002, 11:54 AM
It's not so much the bar as the plates. Quality full size standard bars are available. But most of the world uses kilos instead of lbs. and everyone uses olympic plates and bars for competition. Olympic plates have both kilo and lb. weight stamped on them, standard generally only have lbs. Standard size plates also don't have ridges on them which makes them harder to handle, plus standard size plates over 25 lbs. are uncommon. You can get them in 50 and 100 lb. sizes but not many retailers carry them.
Other than plate availability and worldwide "acceptance", the only advantage I can think of that Olympic bars have is that they are 3 piece whereas a standard bar is 1 piece. The olympic bar plates extensions can allow the plates to rotate just a little as you move the bar, instead of the bar torqueing while you have it in the air with heavy weight on it.