55 Pound Barbell?

There’s a “rumor” at my gym saying that the barbells are 55 pounds… only have 4 of them used for, 2 flat benches, 1 incline bench, and the squat rack. Anyway, a personal trainer and a staff member from the front desk claimed that the barbells are 55 pounds, making my 285 bench a 295 bench (had to say it). Is it common for gyms to sometimes have 55 pound BB???

Discuss.

Weigh the goddamn thing.

Just put it on the scale. Dont know why it would weigh 55lbs, seems like it would just confuse people and not be worth the trouble.

Squat bars meant to handle 1000 lbs squats and above weigh 55 lbs.

Doubt your bench bar is 55 lbs though.

If its a thick bar it could be heavier.

What is there to discuss?

Weigh it and see.

I’m a member of two gyms, one has calibrated competition bars, so I KNOW they’re 20kg. The other has two different types of bars. One’s 20kg (44lb) and the other’s 23/24kg (50/52lb).

How did I find that out… I weighed them!!

Decent squat bars are usually 55 lbs. However, if you compare one to a regular 45 lb or 20kg bar (for example, a texas power bar or an ivanko), there is no mistaking one for the other. A squat bar is usually a little longer between the sleeves, the sleeves are a little longer and the bar is noticably thicker. If you put 700 on a 55 lb squat bar it will just barely flex andwill have very little whip to it. A 45 lb bar- especially an Ivanko- will whip like a motherfucker with that kind of weight.

[quote]Pinto wrote:
Decent squat bars are usually 55 lbs. However, if you compare one to a regular 45 lb or 20kg bar (for example, a texas power bar or an ivanko), there is no mistaking one for the other. A squat bar is usually a little longer between the sleeves, the sleeves are a little longer and the bar is noticably thicker. If you put 700 on a 55 lb squat bar it will just barely flex andwill have very little whip to it. A 45 lb bar- especially an Ivanko- will whip like a motherfucker with that kind of weight. [/quote]

Right, I have a 20kg ivanko bar. It whips a lot. When you squat big, it feels like the bar is just wings on your back and you’re flapping your wings to take off!

(Well, not that bad, but its a nice visual)

[quote]alocubano1110 wrote:
Making my 285 bench a 295 bench (had to say it). [/quote]

Is that you struggling to hold the bar steady in your avatar?

Yeah, you bench 285, er 295. (Had to say it).

[quote]Synthetickiller wrote:
Pinto wrote:
Decent squat bars are usually 55 lbs. However, if you compare one to a regular 45 lb or 20kg bar (for example, a texas power bar or an ivanko), there is no mistaking one for the other. A squat bar is usually a little longer between the sleeves, the sleeves are a little longer and the bar is noticably thicker. If you put 700 on a 55 lb squat bar it will just barely flex andwill have very little whip to it. A 45 lb bar- especially an Ivanko- will whip like a motherfucker with that kind of weight.

Right, I have a 20kg ivanko bar. It whips a lot. When you squat big, it feels like the bar is just wings on your back and you’re flapping your wings to take off!

(Well, not that bad, but its a nice visual)[/quote]

I have to say, I really don’t like squatting with the Ivanko bar. It’s a complete dream to pull with, but a disaster to squat with, imo.

The best all round bar that I’ve used are the Leoko comp. and training bars!

[quote]Synthetickiller wrote:
Right, I have a 20kg ivanko bar. It whips a lot. When you squat big, it feels like the bar is just wings on your back and you’re flapping your wings to take off!

(Well, not that bad, but its a nice visual)[/quote]

The whip of the smaller bars was the exact reason I bought a squat bar for our gym. Even the TX power bar has a pretty bad whip with anything over 500, we’ve had 715 on our squat bar and it gets just the slightest bow.

Well, the USAPL is using the Q Bar for a lot of competitions now. It is apparently much less whippy for heavy squats, but harder to pull with. I’ve heard that little folks with narrow grips have trouble pulling with it because the knurling is too wide.

I squat light enough right now whipping isn’t a big deal for me, but I think the lack of deadlift flex is going to suck.

OP - Grab a 45lb plate in one hand, the bar in the other, and see if you tilt.

Not a fan of the Q bar or the fact that they’re trying to force this bar on us (at least in usapl). The Q bar is a squat bar that quest is trying to pass off as an all-around 3 lift bar, which it’s not. i hope usapl just sticks with the ivanko and eleiko bars.

Yea the whip can be a bitch but its manageable. I’ve also heard good things about the leoko bars but have never used one.

Has anybody used a Mastodon bar? I think Elite sells them. In my last meet, that was the bar on the platform for squats. I can’t say that I liked it a lot.

It is so thick that it doesn’t really sink in, so you have to carry the bar a little higher to keep it from rolling. It felt like carrying a log across my back like in one of those passion play things big churches put on around Easter. A friend of mine that spotted/loaded said that bar had almost zero flex- even with 1000+ on the bar.

[quote]Pinto wrote:
Has anybody used a Mastodon bar? I think Elite sells them. In my last meet, that was the bar on the platform for squats. I can’t say that I liked it a lot.

It is so thick that it doesn’t really sink in, so you have to carry the bar a little higher to keep it from rolling. It felt like carrying a log across my back like in one of those passion play things big churches put on around Easter. A friend of mine that spotted/loaded said that bar had almost zero flex- even with 1000+ on the bar.[/quote]

The bar we have is the same diameter as the Mastodon. I agree it is much harder to squat with.

The plus for me, is that it is tougher with the heavy weights so when I hit the meet (where it has always been the TX squat bar) the bar seats in my back perfect and feels 100lbs lighter. I would not dig having to use it at a meet.

I have the s-cubed bar which is same diameter as the mastodon and about the same length minus a couple inches. its not so bad when working raw but when you have a suit on, the thickness of the straps plus the thickness of the bar makes it very difficult to position the bar on my traps.

I suppose bigger guys with a lot of excess body mass would probably find the bar comfortable but for smaller guys it’s kind of a bust

[quote]Polish Rifle wrote:
alocubano1110 wrote:
Making my 285 bench a 295 bench (had to say it).

Is that you struggling to hold the bar steady in your avatar?

Yeah, you bench 285, er 295. (Had to say it).[/quote]

hm probably man. that’s a picture of when my max was 270 and the weight there is 215, thanks though.

[quote]pushmepullme wrote:
Well, the USAPL is using the Q Bar for a lot of competitions now. It is apparently much less whippy for heavy squats, but harder to pull with. I’ve heard that little folks with narrow grips have trouble pulling with it because the knurling is too wide.

I squat light enough right now whipping isn’t a big deal for me, but I think the lack of deadlift flex is going to suck.

OP - Grab a 45lb plate in one hand, the bar in the other, and see if you tilt.[/quote]

good idea. im going to try this and also weigh the bar when i go to the gym today.

[quote]Hanley wrote:
What is there to discuss?

Weigh it and see.

I’m a member of two gyms, one has calibrated competition bars, so I KNOW they’re 20kg. The other has two different types of bars. One’s 20kg (44lb) and the other’s 23/24kg (50/52lb).

How did I find that out… I weighed them!![/quote]

thanks for the response, as always. I weighed the bar and it read 51 pounds…

did you check the scale on wight “0” first to see if the scale is balanced correctly?