Rewritten in 2022 with a number of extra present bars.
A typical powerlifting bar has options geared in the direction of the large 3 lifts: squat, deadlift, and bench press. Most outstanding among the many bar options is aggressive knurling. The bars featured right here keep on with your palms like no common bar will.
Anybody doing energy coaching centered on gradual, managed workout routines would profit from one in every of these bars as an alternative of 1 tailor-made in the direction of the quick, explosive clean-and-jerk and snatch workout routines of olympic weightlifting.
Fast Options Comparability Chart
Scroll proper to see all of them.
The Specs Defined
End
The end utilized to a bar makes a distinction within the sturdiness of a bar and the way cheesy/grippy it feels.
Chrome – Chrome plating seems to be good and wears nicely from repeated banging on a rack. And it will possibly take some time for chrome to start out rusting. However there are downsides. The smoothness of chrome makes it form of slippery when your palms get sweaty, even over good knurling. Chrome can form of get a nasty rep as a result of a lot of the financial system 300lb weight units embody an affordable chrome bar, and on actually low cost bars the chrome plating can begin chipping off, however that gained’t occur with the nice chrome plated bars listed right here.
Black Oxide – It is a skinny coating that feels virtually like naked metal. It’s skinny sufficient that it doesn’t fill in any of the depth of the knurling like chrome or zinc plating does. It additionally provides a greater grip than chrome. And it helps stop rust (anti-corrosion), however the anti-corrosion properties of black oxide are activated by oil, so it’s important to oil it infrequently. It scratches extra simply than different finishes, so a bar utilized in a rack will instantly present indicators of use from the metal-on-metal contact. It will possibly additionally put on off merely from the abrasion of your palms towards it.
Brilliant or Black Zinc – Like black oxide, it supplies grip and is anti-corrosion. Zinc plating has a sure thickness to it, so it does fill within the knurling barely, the way in which chrome does.
Stainless – Not a end, however a kind of metal. Chrome steel is definitely essentially the most proof against rust, and also you get grip on the metal bar even with sweaty palms. Similar really feel as non-stainless naked metal, beneath.
Naked Metal – A really feel very like stainless, however the carbon metal is cheaper to make. Naked carbon metal provides you an important, strong grip. The draw back is it can rust shortly when you don’t oil it. A fascinating patina can develop on it over time, which is a skinny layer of inactive rust that inhibits energetic rust from forming and doesn’t rub off in your palms.
All finishes can finally begin rusting with publicity to sufficient moisture (sweat) that you simply don’t wipe off, and when you don’t apply oil to the floor to guard it, however it will possibly take some time.
The coating of the sleeves (versus the shaft) doesn’t matter as a lot, functionally talking. Black oxide and black zinc will get essentially the most noticeably scratched up from sliding plates over it. Chrome is an effective selection. Naked metal sleeves additionally work nicely, being not as inclined to corrosion as a result of they don’t get very uncovered to your pores and skin and sweat.
Shaft Diameter
To not be confused with the scale of the sleeve the place the weights go, which is at all times about 49.8mm-50mm (2″) on a top quality bar. We’re speaking in regards to the shaft that you simply grip. A shaft diameter of 28-28.5mm (1 1/16”) is ideal for pulling motions like deadlifts. 29mm (1 1/8”) or thicker is nice for bench presses, and 30-32mm ( 1 1/4”) for squats. A bigger diameter additionally means it’s going to be stiffer, so very sturdy lifters like a thick squat bar so it doesn’t wobble round on them throughout heavy squats that they should keep in full management of. Nonetheless, a bar with a stiff (excessive carbon) metal alloy will even serve that objective. I’ve listed solely 28-29mm bars right here which might be good as all-around powerlifting bars.
PSI / Tensile Energy
The energy of the metal, measured in PSI, kilos per sq. inch. With a given bar diameter, this serves as a comparability of how a lot drive will be utilized earlier than a bar breaks or bends completely. The upper the quantity, the stronger it’s.
Static Take a look at
The static check energy is what you see generally marketed because the “capability” or “weight restrict” or “check” of a bar, corresponding to 1200lb, 1500lb, and so on. What, you don’t see this within the chart above? That’s proper, we eliminated them. They don’t imply something. The numbers are decided other ways by totally different producers. It doesn’t imply it can maintain as much as anybody loading 1500lbs on it and dropping it badly (in the event that they had been theoretically even capable of carry such a weight). It’s a static score. The producer determines it by maybe loading the bar to 1500 lbs and seeing if it has a everlasting bend in just a few hours, or utilizing a machine to press on the middle of the bar with 1500 lbs of drive, or who is aware of. All of them might do it in a different way. Keep in mind that the dynamic drive is way better throughout heavy squats as a result of excessive torque from momentum reversal. And when a bar is dropped on a rack or the ground it will possibly incur fairly a shock load that could be very tough to estimate, relying on how evenly it ws dropped. So despite the fact that I do know you’re on the lookout for this quantity to match the energy of bars, don’t fall for it. It’s a quantity utilized by corporations who’re attempting to mislead you. If you wish to know the energy of the bar, check out the PSI and the diameter. The thicker it’s and the denser it’s, the stronger it’s.
However how a lot weight can it take? – That is what you actually wish to know. We perceive that. Consider it this manner. Just about any bar is prone to bend when you load it up for heavy squats and drop it violently on the protection bars of an influence rack. A extremely high-end bar may take such a crash with out bending, however most definitely you bought fortunate, and I wouldn’t put my cash on it holding as much as repeated drops this manner. However, when you drop a top quality bar (with bumper plates) on the ground, or solely set it down solely form of arduous on a rack, it shouldn’t bend.
Knurling
All bars have knurling over a lot of the size of the shaft. Some bars have a piece of about six to 9 inches of knurling within the heart of the bar, whereas others are easy in that space. Heart knurling is primarily for heavy squats, to maintain the bar from slipping down your again, but it surely’s additionally helpful for another workout routines the place you grip the center. There’s additionally the problem of how deep the knurling is. Deep knurling is best for deadlifts as a result of superior grip. It will possibly additionally assist preserve it safe in your again for heavy squats. For presses it actually doesn’t matter that a lot. All in all, a single bar used for all these workout routines ought to have fairly aggressive knurling.
Ring Marokings
Each bar has a 1/4″ huge easy mark within the knurling the place you place your palms. IWF spaced markings are spaced for olympic weightlifting and are 910mm aside, whereas IPF markings for powerlifting are 810mm aside. Not a giant deal for non-competitors, but it surely’s good to know the place you’re inserting your palms when you’re used to a sure spacing. A whole lot of bars these days have each units of ring markings, making constant hand placement that a lot simpler.
My Suggestions
Rogue Ohio Power Bar
Since its launch by Rogue Health in 2014, the Ohio Energy Bar – shorthanded ‘OPB’ on-line – has been one of the common energy bars. The rationale for this isn’t simply due to Rogue’s advertising. Lifters who’ve tried many bars finally choose this one, together with myself.
The volcano sample of knurl doesn’t really feel as sharp because the mountain peak knurl on a number of different bars. The volcano knurl has extra peaks that keep on with your palms. Rogue truly makes most of their bars with a volcano knurl, however this one is lower deeper for a extra aggressive really feel than the common Ohio Bar, the Rogue Bar 2.0, or any of their others.
There are a number of variations of the OPB to select from: Naked carbon metal, naked stainless-steel, black zinc coated, and e-coat. Both of the 2 naked metal choices could have the perfect texture, whereas the coatings easy issues out a tad, negating the good thing about such good knurl.
On the draw back: It has grooved sleeves that trigger noise when you slide plates on. Some lifters don’t thoughts this and like the way in which the grooves preserve the plates from sliding.
In order for you a fair extra aggressive volcano knurl, see the 2X AGGRO model. It ought to make it easier to out together with your heavy deadlift grip and never tear up your palms as quickly as mountain knurl will.
The 3X AGGRO ditches the volcano knurl completely in favor of mountain knurl, and in that case you may as nicely think about one of many different mountain knurl bars right here.
American Barbell Elite Power Bar
American Barbell has a novel knurling course of that makes finer (closely-spaced) cuts, leading to extra peaks. This produces a sense extra like volcano knurl, despite the fact that it’s a mountain knurl. It doesn’t really feel unnecessarily sharp.
The standard of American Barbell is as constantly excessive as Rogue, additionally USA made, and I’ve discovered that the packaging is about as protecting as Rogue, whereas different manufacturers are inclined to have the bar sitting naked contained in the delivery tube and infrequently coming out. All American Barbell bars have a signature welded sleeve shoulder as proven above, immediately recognizable.
This one comes solely in stainless-steel. They’ve a pair others, the Mammoth Power Bar with a cerakote end and the cheaper Grizzly Power Bar with a chrome end.
The rationale you may select this bar over Rogue is the sleek sleeves, which have gotten arduous to search out on trendy bars. No undue noise or friction sliding plates on.
On the draw back: The Elite PB is $50 greater than Rogue’s comparable stainless-steel OPB.
Texas Power Bar
The Texas Power Bar or TPB, additionally USA-made like the 2 bars I featured above (not a coincidence – I’m attempting to function USA-made merchandise) was one of many very first bars to have extraordinarily aggressive knurl when it was launched in 1980. It has remained a traditional that’s nonetheless utilized in competitions as we speak.
On the draw back: As talked about within the video above, a thinner 28.5mm shaft and really giant shoulders that make the plates stick out additional, creating extra whip.
Credit score to Basement Brandon for stating these points with the TPB:
Different
The opposite bars I listed within the chart on the high of this text usually are not dangerous decisions! I listed them particularly as a result of I believed they should be proven, and there could be a purpose you will discover to purchase them. As with all of those guides, my very own preferences closely colour what I current because the “finest”. I welcome your personal views within the feedback beneath!
That’s it for the deep-bite energy bars! As one other sort of bar to contemplate, when you’re doing a number of heavy deadlifting and also you wish to get the very best specialty bar for it, you may think about a specialty 7.5ft deadlifting bar that has extra flex than a typical energy bar and a smaller 27mm shaft for a fair higher pulling grip.
