question about olympic free weights

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SkinnyJoe

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What's the reason for using a 2 inch hole instead of a standard 1 inch?

If anything, leaving more material (as with the 1 inch) makes for a more compact plate, of the same weight.

If the idea is to distribute (reduce) the pressure on the bar and the plate, I kinda doubt the weights involved are anywhere near enough to cause those kinds of stresses. By the way, are the ends of an olympic bar hollow?


Thanks for clarifying, and pardon my ignorance.
 
That is an interesting question.

I suspect it is more a matter of world standardization than for any mechanical reason.

Most "olympic" bars are solid, with a collar used to achieve the diameter of the plate holes. The bars themselves vary in diameter a bit. And, since we are discussing lifting weights, why would one go to the expense to hollow a bar, since the mass is pretty small.
 
All standard bars [bench press, olympic, etc.] weigh 20 kg - AFAIK. The bars are solid. The ends are most likely larger to facilitate loading of heavy plates and there's more surface area for the cuff to 'grip' the bar. It's just a more robust and efficient connection ... even for storage of weights on racks. A rack may have a few hundred kilos stacked-up on a cantilevered, welded piece of steel. I have never seen a 1" bar end ... perhaps on a cheap home gym set-up, but most bars at gyms have 2" ends, including easy-curl bars etc.
 
All my Olympic bars are solid thru and thru. My young son who just started lifting with me has not progressed past the bar weight for some exercises.

I find that the diameter helps keep the weight from sliding on the bars. When I bench press, press overhead and squat I do not use collars, and the weights do not move. That being said - I have been lifting for a long time so I am able to easily keep the bar level during those activities.

Without the collars I can easily add or take weight off.

That doesn't seem to work as well for the non-Olympic weights.

I'm not sure if that is the "official" reason, but it sounded good, right?:D
 
orthogonal1 said:
"Standard" bars are one-inch.
Click to expand...
Actually, it says:

The central portion varies in diameter, but is close to one inch (2.54 cm), and is engraved with a knurled crosshatch pattern to help lifters get a good grip.

The ends of all the professional quality barbells and dumbells I have seen in gyms have had larger end sections where the plates are fitted.

barbells.jpg


The only bars I have seen with a uniform diamater from end to end have been on inexpensive home equipment.
 
The 2(actually 1.97" on quality bars) inch end on Olympic bars has been the standard for 85 plus years, as to why that diameter was chosen, I do not know.

Olympic bars are not solid. The actual bar is 28 mm" (or a bit bigger or smaller depending on quality, if it's a men's or women's bar, a Power bar or a olympic lifting bar, etc.....) from there, the heavy inside collars, the bearing or bushing assembly, the sleeve, and outside collar are fitted. The actual sleeves are heavy oem like tubing.

Standard bars were standardized at 1 1/16" till the 60's-70's, when 1" was deemed the new "standard". One might also run into a 1 1/8 bar.These were sold by some companies as a "power" standard bar.

From a lifting standpoint, a quality standard bar will serve well for most lifting. In fact, up until the advent of cheap imported sets, most heavy lifting was done on quality standard bars. The Olympic bar was left for competition or used sparingly in training. A good olympic set in the 60's started at $125 and moved up quickly from there.

The big problem now is finding a quality standard bar, I only know of two manufactuers that still handle them, there isn't a market anymore. Most folks make their own.

The one place were the Olympic bar shines is the Olympic lifts:). The spinning nature of the bar helps take stress off the wrists when doing those quick lifts.
 
i have personally seen a guy bend a olympic bar doing deadlifts with 600 or so so i dont think the 1" bars would hold up at all with serious lifters,
 
The metric (olympic) bar is only a few thousandths over one inch in diameter. Fat bars are available but they're not allowed in competition. For lifting heavy weights something stronger than mild steel is needed, and a bar made of alloy steel costs a little more than the cheapest bars on the market.
 
It depends on the quality of the steel involved, the older high grade standard bars and most old and new quality Olympic bars use(d) 1144 Stressproof steel. It's good stuff, you'll see mild bending, but it will spring back.
 
Ever see the snatch? The bar has to rotate very quickly, much faster than the lifter could ever rotate the weights. Hence, the sleaved ends have bearings (or bushings) that allow it to spin.

Even in the bench press, if the wrists need to twist, the turning of the bar while the weights do not rotate, helps prevent injury.
 
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