Barbells & Attachments

Enhance Your Strength Training With Barbells

If you're interested in improving your power and muscle tone, consider getting a barbell or a set of barbells that are on sale on eBay for affordable prices. This type of fitness gear can be a key component of your weight lifting routine.

The size of affordable barbell you purchase on eBay depends on your current abilities and where you see yourself in the future. Barbells are usually between 1.22 and 2.44 metres in length. Barbells over 2.13 metres are usually workout equipment used by accomplished powerlifters.

In terms of diametre of the centre portion, the bar is usually between 2.5 and 5 centimetres, and some may be up to 7.5 centimetres in diametre. It's mainly a personal preference as to what thickness you use. Thick bars can be more difficult to grasp, especially if you have smaller hands. Some people prefer thick bars because they feel that they activate more muscles in their upper arms and forearms. See the manufacturer site for details.

To give you a reference, a standard Olympic barbell weighs 20 kilogrammes, is 2.13 metres long, and has a diametre just over 2.5 centimetres thick.

The amount of weight a barbell can hold is an important factor in their effectiveness as a piece of gym equipment. Generally, strong barbells are more expensive, but this might not be the case if you look for used items. Strength is often measured in two ways:

• Tensile strength: This indicates how heavy of a load your bar can support without breaking. Tensile strength ratings are given in pounds per square inch (psi). Anything above 200,000 psi is a very strong piece of fitness equipment. Equipment with between 175,000 and 200,000 psi would likely be adequate for most lifters.
• Yield strength: This refers to how much weight the bar can hold before it gets deformed and altered from a straight line.

You may also see descriptions that say how many kilogrammes they can carry. This capacity could start at around 45 kilogrammes and go up to 450 kilogrammes or higher.

The knurl is the pattern placed on the bar in order to improve grip. Knurl is pressed via machine onto the metal, and it could vary in texture. If you wear gloves and/or put the bar against your skin on certain moves, you may want to get a smooth knurl. If you want to feel the texture against your hands as you are doing bar curls or other types of exercises with your weights, consider getting a rough knurl. In addition, the knurl can be limited in width or it can extend all the way to the sleeves.