Buy 100 lb. plates for Squat Bar or Bumpers for later?

[FoolsErrand]

Well, tax return time is almost here and one of the main things I'm looking at is getting more plates.

The Rogue York Legacy 100 lb. plates are $290/pair. But are they worth getting? Or is there a more economic pair I should be considering? The main reason I'm looking at a plate this heavy is because a pair would empty out my bar.

45 - 5 kg - 10 - 10 - 10 - 10 = 96 lb per side

http://www.roguefitness.com/york-legacy-iron-plates

A friend stated I should consider getting bumpers instead. Then I can slowly replace them when I need them on my Deadlift bar.

Rogue has a set for $245 (10-25-45 lb)

http://www.roguefitness.com/rogue-echo-bumper-plates

[chadsalt]

I guess my PWO has not kicked in, but I don't follow your thought process as all.

Unless you putting them on a leg press, or are a really big boy on DL, 100 are just a PITA to deal with. I certainly wouldn't want them for a squat bar.

And what are you talking about by slowly replacing the bumpers on DL bar?

[rlundregan]

I guess my PWO has not kicked in, but I don't follow your thought process as all.

Unless you putting them on a leg press, or are a really big boy on DL, 100 are just a PITA to deal with. I certainly wouldn't want them for a squat bar.

And what are you talking about by slowly replacing the bumpers on DL bar?

I don't think you are the only one who isn't quite grasping this (sorry, FoolsErrand--can you clarify?).....

I agree, I wouldn't care to lift a pair of hundos up onto a bar for squats. I didn't even like them for deadlifts or on the sled. They are great for putting on a leg press and leaving there.

[Hardgains88]

Would want to know how much weight you already have, 45's x 25's 10's because I look at hundos, cool as they are, as something a guy with more then enough plates already gets. There for coolness factor, usually specifically to be left on a plate load machine like leg press (Mech RH)

[gym62richard]

I'm also confused, some clarification would be helpful. As everyone else has already said, 100lb plates may be cool, but their uses are limited.

[Synthetickiller]

As someone who gets stuck using 50kg (110 lb) plates because I haven't bought more 25kg (55 lb) plates, I wouldn't advise it.
They are a bear to get on the bar. You become proficient at it, but on a day where your power back is taxed, this is an extra stress you don't want, trust me.
There is also the downside of deadlifting with them. Depending on the whip of the bar, they don't break the floor the same as two pairs of 45s, so it changes the lift a little if you're a solid deadlifter.

The whole 100 lb iron vs bumper plate thing has me extremely confused. If you don't need bumpers, just get some quality 45s. The Rep Fitness Hex 45s @ $117 a pair is a good deal & will get the job done. Loading 4 45s and 2 10s is far less taxing on your back and CNS as a whole. For most of us, loading 100s is like a mini strongman event part way through a training session.

[FoolsErrand]

Once on, these plates wouldn't be removed from my Squat Bar. But I'm now realizing these plates were made for dedicated machines.

The thing about the bumpers...

Squat Bar = 45 - 5 kg - 10 - 10 - 10 - 10 = 96 lb each side

My friend's idea is to replace the lower level Squat Bar plates with a bumper. So...

Squat Bar = 45 - 25kg = 100 lb each side

When I add enough plates to my Deadlift bar to equal the weight of one of my bumpers, switch them for one of the bumpers on the Squat bar. This way I'll always have my heaviest bumpers I can lift on the Deadlift bar at all times. He said it would extend the life of the lower weight bumpers if I do it this way.

Right now my Deadlift bar has 25 kg + 15 kg on it. So I don't really need bumpers at this time. But freeing up those 10's for other bars would be really useful. So my friend thought I'd get a better bang for my buck if I just bought a bumper plate. And since I was thinking of a $300 investment he said I might as well consider a small set.

Hopefully this cleared things up.

[C123C]

Agree with all of the above. I own hundreds (in grip plate format which is what you want if you don't compete and have to move these) - they are cool as hell - they sit on one machine - they make it look pretty - this makes me smile. Otherwise hundos suck.

Those rep fitness hex grip plates look cool as hell. I own some Rogue legacy iron...meh. They are just plates. I'd get the rep fitness over those if I was buying today and doing iron. If you need bumpers buy bumpers - I have Rogue 2.0 Training, I like them.

[vonschnapps]

I have 55lb bumpers, and don't even use them on the leg press anymore. Actually use one to fit my land mine in, works well! Use bumpers for what they are design for, don't use them as a sub for iron as they are too thick and take up a lot of space on the bar.

[Synthetickiller]

I don't understand why you would want to keep any plates on a bar when not in use (save for a pair of plates on a bar for deadlifting, left on the floor).
I'm wondering what your warm up routine looks like, that you're not even doing a single set with an empty bar. 245 (assuming you're not using compression collars) is a lot of weight to start with.


I'd just keep buying more and more 45s as you need them. If you're trying to convert to kg plates, use all kg plates. It's a royal pain to do the math & later on, figure out how you got to the weight you did.



I'm having a lot of trouble grasping what is going on here.

[2fletcher]

Unless on a leg press.. 100 lb plates have always been in PITA. Many years ago, I power lifted in a gym with numerous national level power lifters. Even the men who pulled 600-700 lbs on the regular did not use the 100 lb plates for deads or squats.

[Domicron]

when i had bumpers i bought them in 3 orders, first set was a 10, 25 and 45, then a 25, 45 set, then a pair of 55's to end up with a set.

i bought them on sale, but in hindsight i would have preferred to buy them as a group. also as a beginner, i found that the 10's were near useless, and that 25's are great in terms of being easy to handle and a good progression of weight (again for a beginner) who's learning to deadlift, although if i were more focused on weight training than i am/was, i'd outgrow them fairly quickly.

i'd like to get a set of bumpers again, but the urgency isn't there, really. the need definitely isn't