I'm pretty good with what to expect everytime I go into a workout.. Whether its bench, shoulder press etc.. I recently switched gyms and I noticed that the flat bench bar was a lot thicker opposed to my old gyms bar... I weighed it and everything and it's dead on 45lbs... How could my numbers be lower with a thicker bar? Will I eventually adjust? It's upsetting cause I went from doing 3x8 at 225, to 3x8,6,5... Nothing else in the gym has dropped.. Back,bis,shoulders, triceps... So it's planted in my head its this stupid thick bar.. Help me out
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Thread: Fat bench bar vs skinner bar
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02-20-2013, 01:29 AM #1
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Fat bench bar vs skinner bar
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02-20-2013, 04:46 AM #2
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02-20-2013, 04:59 AM #3
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Some bars can weigh as little as 15 kg. And some can be slightly over 20
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02-20-2013, 11:36 AM #4
He says in the OP that he's weighed the bars and they're both right on.
@OP, its to be expected. Olympic bars are anywhere between 28mm (competition bars are all this size) and 32mm (generally bought by crowded gyms who don't want their bars to bend). A thicker bar is harder on your forearms and on your triceps, so your lockout strength will suffer. No, you won't "adjust to it" and get back your lost reps by magic, but you will eventually get stronger and when you switch back to a skinnier bar you'll be moving more weight.
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02-20-2013, 11:44 AM #5
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02-20-2013, 12:27 PM #6
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The weights can also be off. But that's to be expected, minor differences in equipment, thickness, length of bars can easily add or remove 20 lbs off your lifts. I remember someone saying that with deadlifts, using a stiff 5' bar that 'had no give' took 60 lbs off his lift.
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02-20-2013, 12:34 PM #7
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02-20-2013, 02:41 PM #8
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02-20-2013, 03:05 PM #9
Yep, my bad there - I'd just woken up and apparently my post (or my reading comprehension) was lazy as well.
It does though. It makes much more difference on deadlifts or oly lifts, but it still makes a difference on squats and bench. Besides the change to the forearm and tricep muscles I mentioned in my last post, a thicker bar is going to be automatically more stiff than a thinner bar, and that's going to change the stretch reflex and the "bounce" at the bottom of any lift you're doing.
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02-20-2013, 08:24 PM #10
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That makes alota sense.. It does seem like I was having more tension on the forearms with the thicker grip.. Thanks. And a guy I was talking to in the gym said I should probably just stick to te thick bar because when u go up more in weight the thicker bar evens the weight out better? He looked big so I took his word for it lol
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02-20-2013, 11:27 PM #11
Pretty sure that's broscience.
But using the thicker bar will transfer better to the thinner bar than using the thinner bar will transfer to the thicker bar. Just keep in mind that if you're ever planning to compete in PL you should spend a few weeks adapting to the regulation equipment. That's just common sense.
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02-20-2013, 11:30 PM #12
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02-21-2013, 02:39 AM #13
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You need a good rack, a bench, and a 300-lb Olympic weight set. Now, what was your question?
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