26
Feb
The Olympic weightlifting bar has always been the best option to gain explosiveness and strength, but it was only with the appearance of the Crossfit that athletes of all kinds understood its advantages.
If you're one of those who prefers free weights training to machine training, what we'll tell you Olympic bars you might be interested.
WHAT'S AN OLYMPIC WEIGHTLIFTING BAR?
The weightlifting bar was created to facilitate the weight management of athletes, with a firm and secure grip during training sessions.
There is an official Olympic bar for women and another one for men, which varies their weight and length.
The characteristics of the weightlifting bar are similar to those of the weightlifting bar, although the latter has some peculiarities; there are also modifications for Paralympic athletes.
CHARACTERISTICS OF A WEIGHTLIFTING BAR
The Olympic bar consists of two sleeves (metal tubes) at the ends, which rotate independently of the bar. This rotates the discs with the sleeve and this rotation is independent of the bar.
Even the bar will go around freely and it will depend on where we put our hands.
To make this whole system work on the Olympic bar, we'll have to take that into account:
- Bearings
- Loading area
- Tensile strength
- Diameter
- Knurling
- Load capacity
BEARINGS
As I said before, the rotation of the main elements, the bar and the sleeves are independent, so a good bar together with a proper weightlifting technique will help us to prevent wrist injuries.
"If the bar does not turn correctly, all the force generated is transmitted to the wrist, causing discomfort and discomfort that can lead to a sports injury".
To make it possible to rotate the weight lifting rod, there will be two types of bearings: the bushing or needle roller bearings.
Bushings rotate less, due to their high friction they do not allow complete free rotation and these bearings need more maintenance, and the oil must be applied frequently.
The needle bearing has less friction on the bar, which results in freer rotation.
Needle bearings are better than bushings and are the recommended rotation system for our weight lifting bar.
Having no more bearings the bar will turn better, the quality of the materials is more important, although normally in bars if you specify how many you have.
HANDS
The sleeves are the ends of the weightlifting bar on which we place the weights, which rotate independently of the bar.
Remember that the weight lifting discs are 50 mm in diameter, other dimensions are for non-professional bars.
TENSILE STRENGTH OR ELASTICITY
It is used to determine the strength of a bar, the higher the tensile strength or PSI, the higher the strength, but also more rigid.
When we are training, carrying weights, we do not realize that when we sneak into the bar this bounces a little bit, it seems to bend or whip, is the term known in weightlifting as "whip" the bar.
We found Olympic bars with tensile strengths ranging from 190,000 to 205,000 PSI.
For Olympic lifting or Crossfit, it is best to look for bars with 190k PSI.
For powerlifting, the tensile strength from 200k to 205k PSI is ideal.
DIAMETER
The diameter or thickness of the bar varies from 25 mm to 30 mm, if they had a larger diameter this would affect "flogging" as the bar would become stiffer.
Being among these values, the recommended diameter would be the one you are comfortable with, although the recommendation is to get used to Olympic lift officers: 25 mm for women and 28 mm for men.
MOLETEADO
Knurling is an engraving / carving that has the bar to improve grip.
Depending on the knurling we will find bars that grip more or less, this already depends on each of them, there are people who like to be well attached to the bar and others who like to turn more in hand.
These engravings, in some bars are different and also serve as a reference to mark the different types of grip.
GRIDS SIGNALS
They help us to know where the width of the handle is.
The official markings for Olympic lifts are at 910 mm and in powerlifting they are at 810 mm.
LOAD RESISTANCE
Facial ability is the weight that that bar can support without deforming. We don't think of the load capacity as the total weight of the discs we put inside, because this concept is a bit more complex.
If we are making dead weight with 200 kilos and we release the bar from above, the force that is supporting that bar is, the 200 kilos plus the weight generated by the fall, so we recommend training with bars with a free load capacity if we are going to work heavy.
For CrossfitIf you are looking for bars with a load capacity of approx. 450 kg/ 1000 LBs, we will look for bars with a load capacity of approx. 450 kg/ 1000 LBs.
OTHER ASPECTS TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT WHEN CHOOSING AN OLYMPIC BAR
- Less important than the above, but what will help us predict how our bar will age is knowing your cover:
- Bare steel (without lid, "bare steel"),
- Zinc coating ("Brilliant zinc" and "Black zinc")
- Chromed ("Satin Chrome")
The premium bars are chrome-plated.
The vast majority are covered with zinc to avoid rust problems.
There will also be those without cover, they do their job but they deteriorate faster.
One thing to consider is whether the bars are certified by the IWF (International Weightlifting Federation) or some other federation.
I repeat that it is a relative advantage, since there are many that meet all the quality standards to receive this quality mark but the mark decides not to pay the price that would cost this type of certification, other times, a mark has the quality mark but only for some of its products.
It is better to review the options described above and judge for yourself the quality of the bar.
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN OLYMPIC BAR AND A BODYBUILDING BAR?
The bars that we usually find in gyms are thinner bars, which usually weigh less, more rigid, without the whipping that weightlifting or powerlifting bars have.
In addition, its ends are thinner, the discs of bodybuilding gyms have a diameter of 30 mm, as we said the weightlifting discs have a diameter of 50 mm.
-
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HIP AND OLYMPIC MOVEMENTS IN WEIGHTLIFTING
Hip posture in weightlifting would require a comprehensive article to address the importance of this topic, so a small introduction.
In weightlifting we have 2 Olympic movements: the tearing and the cleaning and the shaking.
- In order to improve our brands, the way we perform the extension is of fundamental importance: on the one hand the American school is more focused on the "hip" technique and the European and Asian school on the vertical extension.da CronosFit we advise you to use the vertical extension technique and avoid hyperextension of the hip. Vertical extension is more efficient and less harmful; it is a more natural movement. The hip can be seen subtly in professionals who have been training for many years and lifting weights close to their MR.
HOW HIGH DOES THE TOTAL WEIGHT GO? DO WE COUNT THE BAR?
Simple, is the rod heavy? ...the rod is counted.
When you see the official signs on the total weights, the 20 kilos that the weighing bar weighs are included.
It seems a bit obvious, but I've seen that in some forums and social networks related to bodybuilding and weightlifting this doubt arises.
MAINTENANCE OF THE OLYMPIC BAR
The most important thing is to prevent the appearance of rust, this problem is minimized with chrome or zinc bars, even so it is important to try not to use brushing to remove magnesium that remains between the knurling as we can remove part of the coating.
What brands recommend is to use a cloth with some degreaser and rust protection at specific times, the bar will be clean and like new.
PREVENTION OF WRIST INJURIES IN BAR EXERCISES
If we talk about prevention we have to start by trying to warm up and gain elasticity in the wrists, this will be fundamental for the prevention of injuries.
Having little movement in the wrists means that when working with weight both the bar and force the joint to the point of support, for example (depending on the exercise) in the shoulders, this will cause strain and pain.
Working with a bar will require a period of adaptation so that our wrists hurt less and less, but in the long term the incidence of injuries will definitely decrease.
CONCLUSIONS
If you have already decided to buy an Olympic weightlifting bar don't forget to review our conclusions:
- More is not better, considering the quality of the materials
- What are the characteristics of the bar? Diameter, weight, margin of error and load capacity
- What are bearings: bushings or needle roller bearings?
- Material: rigid bar or flexible cover made of steel, zinc or chrome?
- IWF or any kind of certificate?
Innovate in your training and move to the weightlifting bar, you'll realize that in addition to strength, you'll also get explosiveness.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- G. Remiro Álvarez, M.E. Da Silva Grigoletto, J.M. García Manso. (2013) Weightlifting applied to sportThe teaching, use and application. Wanceulen S.L.
- International Weightlifting Federation. Regulations of the International Weightlifting Federation
- Poliquin, C. (2011). Thick Bar Training... Because training with a fat grip is the way to go. http://www.poliquingroup.com/
Source: C. F. Galache / CronosFit
- Less important than the above, but what will help us predict how our bar will age is knowing your cover:
Categories:
Crossfit
Products
- T-shirt Verde S 24,50€
- T-shirt Blu corporativa Uomo XL 22,00€
- T-shirt Blu corporativa Uomo M 22,00€
- T-shirt Blu corporativa Uomo L 22,00€
- T-shirt Azzurra logo nero S 24,50€
Comrade
Most viewed
Partner
[instagram-feed]