Not planning on being the next Arnold Schwarzenegger -- help me pick a barbell

[calebswo]

What shape I'm in
I'm 5' 9" (175 cm), 120 lbs. (54.5 kg) and a fellow on the BF estimate thread pegged me at 10-11% BF. I'm skinny and weak, with pretty much no muscle definition. (Some minor ab definition if I flex, but I just don't think I have much muscle to show off.)

My goal
What most people want, pecs, abs, arms, low enough BF% to be able to see them. I'm not trying to be a competitive bodybuilder or anything like that. I'm just working to be a bit less weak and improve my shirtless aesthetics. Ultimately, maybe a target of 165 lbs. two or three years down the line, body permitting.

What I'm wondering about
About ten years ago, I wound up with a standard barbell, six feet long weighing 18 lbs. Similar bars I see online claim a 250-lb. capacity, so I'd guess this one is similar. I have about 60 lbs. of plates for it. (Not much I know.) I have a tight budget and am building a DIY flat bench and squat/bench rack, but I have maybe ~$100 USD left to spend elsewhere (until I have more). Is a standard bar likely to be sufficient to reach my goals? If I'm ultimately going to have to get an Olympic bar (and of course plates to go with it) I'd rather just start investing in that now, rather than blow cash on something I'll outgrow before my goals are met. If that's the case, next up I'm wondering what (budget conscious) Olympic bar would be sufficient. I know Wally World has cheap, lower quality Olympic bars, and given my goals I kind of wonder if one of those would cut it. (Stuff like this: walmart.com/ip/CAP-Barbell-Olympic-6-Weight-Bar/16541569 ) From what I read, it's probably best to go new for the barbell and Craigslist for the plates?

[jackbravo]

What shape I'm in
I'm 5' 9" (175 cm), 120 lbs. (54.5 kg) and a fellow on the BF estimate thread pegged me at 10-11% BF. I'm skinny and weak, with pretty much no muscle definition. (Some minor ab definition if I flex, but I just don't think I have much muscle to show off.)

My goal
What most people want, pecs, abs, arms, low enough BF% to be able to see them. I'm not trying to be a competitive bodybuilder or anything like that. I'm just working to be a bit less weak and improve my shirtless aesthetics. Ultimately, maybe a target of 165 lbs. two or three years down the line, body permitting.

What I'm wondering about
About ten years ago, I wound up with a standard barbell, six feet long weighing 18 lbs. Similar bars I see online claim a 250-lb. capacity, so I'd guess this one is similar. I have about 60 lbs. of plates for it. (Not much I know.) I have a tight budget and am building a DIY flat bench and squat/bench rack, but I have maybe ~$100 USD left to spend elsewhere (until I have more). Is a standard bar likely to be sufficient to reach my goals? If I'm ultimately going to have to get an Olympic bar (and of course plates to go with it) I'd rather just start investing in that now, rather than blow cash on something I'll outgrow before my goals are met. If that's the case, next up I'm wondering what (budget conscious) Olympic bar would be sufficient. I know Wally World has cheap, lower quality Olympic bars, and given my goals I kind of wonder if one of those would cut it. (Stuff like this: walmart.com/ip/CAP-Barbell-Olympic-6-Weight-Bar/16541569 ) From what I read, it's probably best to go new for the barbell and Craigslist for the plates?

I would keep your barbell and buy additional standard weights at 25 cents/lb or below from craigslist. Many times, you can get them at 10 cents/lb if someone's really looking to get rid of them. When you outgrow the bar, you can get sell it and the weights and get your money back.Meanwhile, I'd save up ~300$ for a nice olympic bar [CAP OB-86B ~ 130$] and weights. Occasionally, you can get a whole set of olympic bar and weights from craigslist for 100$, but it takes a lot of patience and the bar will usually be suboptimal. In either case, I wouldn't spend money on a new crappy bar.

[cmarti063]

I know it's not what you want to hear, but with a budget lke that, I would probably hit up a commercial gym. A quality, safe home gym is not cheap or quick. I would save some cash and get a budget cage and bench with an oly set.

[Wildtim]

I find its best to start with a cheap Olympic set on sale. you can get a crap bar and around 255 pounds of plates for something like $150 if you keep your eyes open. Since decent Olympic bars start at around $150 and are hard to find used I would get the set and not waste money on a cheapo one. All the more as a cheap Olympic bar isn't going to be any better than the standard one you have.

[Detrus]

The only standard bar you won't outgrow is http://www.ivankobarbell.com/products/b86/ for $220-300 depending on shipping.

With 60 lbs + 18 lb bar you may be able to get to 140-160. I'm 5'9" and remember using maybe 120 lbs for squat/bench/deadlift while weighing 155.

Switching from standards to olympics is often a hot topic. Your standard bar with 250 lb capacity will certainly be enough to reach 160 lb bodyweight. Many people put 300 lbs on them. Only question is if you decide you want more, you'll have hundreds of lbs of standard plates, making switch to olympics trickier. Will you plop down $250 for the only serious standard bar or get the CAP OB86 $150 oly bar and a whole new set of plates?

Personally I really prefer olympic bars, especially when their sleeves are properly oiled and spin. Moves like power cleans, curls, power snatch become quite pleasant.

[calebswo]

I find its best to start with a cheap Olympic set on sale. you can get a crap bar and around 255 pounds of plates for something like $150 if you keep your eyes open. Since decent Olympic bars start at around $150 and are hard to find used I would get the set and not waste money on a cheapo one. All the more as a cheap Olympic bar isn't going to be any better than the standard one you have.

I can probably spend that much if weight plates are part of the deal. A big problem is I live in the middle of nowhere, and the closest Walmart/Kmart/Big 5/Sports Authority are all 100+ miles away, as are most CL listings. So pouncing on a deal is kind of impractical if I don't already have another reason to be making the trip. I will be making a trip this week though. What are some less crummy sets in that price range that I might keep my eyes out for? I'll have access to the four aforementioned stores and others, if there are any noteworthy sales or anything going on.

[jackbravo]

I can probably spend that much if weight plates are part of the deal. A big problem is I live in the middle of nowhere, and the closest Walmart/Kmart/Big 5/Sports Authority are all 100+ miles away, as are most CL listings. So pouncing on a deal is kind of impractical if I don't already have another reason to be making the trip. I will be making a trip this week though. What are some less crummy sets in that price range that I might keep my eyes out for? I'll have access to the four aforementioned stores and others, if there are any noteworthy sales or anything going on.

if you're not wiling to drive, it very much limits your craigslist options. I would set a 2hr drive one way as a reaonsable radius to pick stuff up. If you get it cheap enough, it'll be worth it. where do you live?

[calebswo]

Like I said, it's more a matter of practicality than of willingness. You have to figure you'll be adding at least $25-45 USD to the cost of the item(s) you buy, unless you're already making a trip. Like you said, if it's a fantastic deal it can still be worth it, but that means I need, well, a fantastic deal. I do happen to be making a trip this week for other reasons though, and I will be in the Klamath Falls and Medford (Oregon) areas for the next day or two.

[ffrink]

Like I said, it's more a matter of practicality than of willingness. You have to figure you'll be adding at least $25-45 USD to the cost of the item(s) you buy, unless you're already making a trip. Like you said, if it's a fantastic deal it can still be worth it, but that means I need, well, a fantastic deal. I do happen to be making a trip this week for other reasons though, and I will be in the Klamath Falls and Medford (Oregon) areas for the next day or two.

Take some extra cash on your trip and scour the CL in those areas. look under 'sporting goods', 'beauty and health' and 'general'. You may get lucky!!

[calebswo]

I checked out the various sporting goods stores I had access to earlier today and the best deal I managed to find was Sports Academy's "cheap" 225-lb. Olympic set for $199.99. Didn't strike me as a very good deal so I didn't bite. What would the difference be between waiting for my trip to coincide with a good deal on a cheap set (~225-lbs. for ~$150), versus just buying a cheap bar for ~$40 and then getting 225 lbs. of used plates at ~$0.50/lb. (or less)? Olympic plates seem to show up fairly frequently on CL, and I can check CL listings from home. I don't know where I could keep track of the current prices for cheap Olympic sets at the various retail stores, save for calling them all up every couple days. (None of the sets I saw today showed up when I searched those stores' sites.) Would the bar in a cheap set be better than just a standalone cheap bar?

[morebarbell]

I checked out the various sporting goods stores I had access to earlier today and the best deal I managed to find was Sports Academy's (1) "cheap" 225-lb. Olympic set for $199.99. Didn't strike me as a very good deal so I didn't bite. What would the difference be between waiting for my trip to coincide with a good deal on a cheap set (~225-lbs. for ~$150), versus just buying a cheap bar for ~$40 and then getting 225 lbs. of (3) used plates at ~$0.50/lb. (or less)? Olympic plates seem to show up fairly frequently on CL, and I can check CL listings from home. I don't know where I could keep track of the current prices for cheap Olympic sets at the various retail stores, save for calling them all up every couple days. (None of the sets I saw today showed up when I searched those stores' sites.) (2) Would the bar in a cheap set be better than just a standalone cheap bar?

(1) Sets are usually 300 lbs (255 lbs of plates and a bar with collars)

(2) The cheap bar on Craigslist more than likely originated in a cheap set. So it's likely not any different... besides being used.

You might find some good stuff on CL if you put in the effort. Reading through the barbell thread would be a good place to start to learn about how to identify a quality bar.

But it sounds like you are deciding between buying used low end stuff on Craigslist or buying new low end stuff at a store. That's simple. Why the confusion?! Then the decision comes down to the price difference and the condition.

(3)

A low end 300 lb set with a bar costs between $160 (on sale) to $210. Buying used at 50-60 cents per pound would be $127.50-$153 plus around $25 to $50 for a cheap used bar. So around $152.50 to $203.00... plus the cost of gasoline, your time, etc... and factor in the condition of the used equipment.

SO... in the end... if everything else is equal... if you buy a used low end 300 lb set with bar at 50-60 cents per pound, you save somewhere between $7.00 to $57.50 on a couple hundred dollar purchase ....BEFORE you consider the cost of gas, your time, and any depreciation due to the condition (and any cost of repainting the plates, if necessary)

The bigger price differences come up when you buy high end equipment used. Or find someone that just wants to get rid of a cheap set for next to nothing. The more effort you put into it, the more likely you'll score big.

P.S. Although the sale is expired, some have reported that they were still able to get the sale price and free shipping from Power-Systems.com . They had some cheap plates for 65 cents per pound with free shipping. That may be worth looking into.

[calebswo]

Actually I was talking about a new cheap bar like from Walmart or similar and used plates. The reason I ask is because I can arrange to pick up a new cheap barbell (like that one in the first post) at any time, and CL often has listings for plates that would likely coincide with any trip I happened to be making. In contrast, good deals on cheap new sets seem less common and more difficult to monitor, and thus less likely to coincide with a trip I was already making. (If I can time my purchases to coincide with trips I'm already making,

On the other side of the topic, Detrus seemed to feel the standard bar I have would probably be sufficient to reach my initial 2-3 year goal. Is that the general consensus? If it will, I don't have a problem just investing in plates for that, which seems simpler. If I outgrow it after that and still want to progress further, I can worry about it then. I'm just averse to investing in something that I'll have to upgrade before the first couple years.

[morebarbell]

If you buy a low quality bar in a set or separate... new or used, it is still a low quality bar. If you only care about price, you only need to compare costs (all of the costs) and maybe the condition. If you want to buy quality, start reading the knowledge dump threads like the barbell thread etc.

[Detrus]

On the other side of the topic, Detrus seemed to feel the standard bar I have would probably be sufficient to reach my initial 2-3 year goal. Is that the general consensus? If it will, I don't have a problem just investing in plates for that, which seems simpler. If I outgrow it after that and still want to progress further, I can worry about it then. I'm just averse to investing in something that I'll have to upgrade before the first couple years.

Your 6 ft bar won't fit in most racks. So if you're planning on doing back squats you'll need a longer bar. I was thinking maybe get olympic sleeves for your standard bar but they're as much as a crappy olympic bar, so might as well get that, and 7' if you have the space. With only 20 lbs of standards it's not hard to switch.

If you get more standard plates, they cost the same $1 per lb new/50c used as cheap olympics. So might as well have olympics and maybe buy a bar in 2 years.

[vic84875]

If your ULTIMATE goal it is to achieve a body weight of 165 lbs, the standard bar will be enough, do not sweat it.

PS: 165lbs, dear god, massive. Allow yourself to dream, just a little.

[Detrus]

lol yea at 165 lb it's barely noticeable that you're fit. I bet you'll want more.

[calebswo]

The rack I'm building is made up of two separately movable posts, so no problem with any bar being able to fit it. 165 lbs. might not sound like a big goal to you guys but I think that'd make me feel like a million bucks. :-) Even if I do decide to go further than that, I imagine it will take me a couple years to get there lean-ly. So if the standard bar is probably going to last me at least a couple years, I don't mind investing in it now. Thanks for the info!

[KeithTheSnake]

The rack I'm building is made up of two separately movable posts, so no problem with any bar being able to fit it. 165 lbs. might not sound like a big goal to you guys but I think that'd make me feel like a million bucks. :-) Even if I do decide to go further than that, I imagine it will take me a couple years to get there lean-ly. So if the standard bar is probably going to last me at least a couple years, I don't mind investing in it now. Thanks for the info!

Good luck attaining your goal of 165. It is a big step up from 120, and you certainly will notice a tremendous difference.

My two cents: Just get a used olympic set for something cheaper than what you could buy it for at Walmart or a sporting goods store. The point is to get going pursuing your goals. You don't need the perfect set, or the absolute best deal, or just the right bar. You need a bar and weights so that you can get to work.