Bumper Plates..

When i use bumper plates for deadlift its way harder to lift. I can do 495 with 45 lb steel plates easily but when i load up the bar with 455 with the bumper plates i can barely lift it at all… do you use bumber plates in pl competition or steel 45s? Why is it harder to lift with the bumper plates?

That doesn’t make sense to me at all. Probably a mental thing. I don’t compete but I know they don’t use bumper plates in competition.

Just to double check, both types of plates are the same diameter, right? The only thing I can think of is if the iron plates are of a smaller diameter so you’re essentially lifting from a deficit.

No they are the same diameter but they are thicker. It feels heavier to me. I feel that maybe because the weight is more spread out over the bar it makes it harder to lift. Also with the bumper plates the bar feels as if it bends way more than with steel plates- maybe this could play a roll on breaking it off the floor ?

If it feels heavier, and the bar is bending more, significantly enough to notice, theres no way the plates weigh the same. Grab a scale and find out.

most training plates are underweight, 5% is not uncommon, yours could be more,

plates can be overweight, but much rarer

Yeah this is weird. I know lots of people that PREFER bumpers. As you said, they can cause more bend in the bar, which tends to make deadlifts easier. Also, they rattle around less so sometimes they feel better on the joints. But metal plates feeling easier? never heard of that. All I can think of is that the metal plates are a different size (which you said they’re not), that they are a different weight, which could be (even though it’s weird), or that you just have a mental block.

Either way, they always use metal plates in competitions that are not crossfit lol. So you should be fine.

Thanks alot everyone im gonna weigh them to make sure. Im glad someone else noticed way more bend in the bar also. I think the bend is what screws me up. It also could be a mental block since 455 looks like 800 lol. But im still convinced the extra bend in the bar had something to do with dispensing the weight over a greater range.

[quote]jkondash89 wrote:
Thanks alot everyone im gonna weigh them to make sure. Im glad someone else noticed way more bend in the bar also. I think the bend is what screws me up. It also could be a mental block since 455 looks like 800 lol. But im still convinced the extra bend in the bar had something to do with dispensing the weight over a greater range.[/quote]

The further you have weight out on the bar - the more bend you will get. It is easier to bend a longer piece of steel rather than a shorter piece of the same thickness.

But I don’t think the bend would hurt you. So if you pull the slack out of 500 with normal plates, and the bar doesn’t bend, it’s 500 the whole way up. But, with a bar loaded with bumpers, that bends more, you pull the slack out and say the bar bends quite a bit. So for the first inch of the lift, you are pulling less than 500 lbs, until you break the weight from the floor completely. I suppose the bend could mess with your setup a little… But aside from the fact that the bend isn’t all that crazy with 500 unless you are using a very whippy bar, I feel like the bend would help you, if it had any affect at all.

You are comparing 20 kilo plates correct? Bumpers come in 25 kilos so just be aware. I always have to do the math correctly when switching back and forth.

No 45 lbs plates And 45 lbs bumpers we are not using kilos lol
Although I don’t see why not most of them world is. Its an easier less complex way of measuring.

[quote]GoCal wrote:
You are comparing 20 kilo plates correct? Bumpers come in 25 kilos so just be aware. I always have to do the math correctly when switching back and forth.[/quote]
That’s exactly what I was thinking. Wondering if he was accidentally loading up 25 kilo plates lol.

Haha on a side note most of the people at my gym prefer deadlifting with bumpers, atleast the few that actually deadlift. I’ve walked by a few times and been like shit thats a legit amount of weight and then realized they’re 35’s on either side haha. Gets me almost everytime

I know I’m late, but the width of the plates and the bar could be the issue. If you have a bar with no flex (ohio power bar) and anything more than 315 with bumpers, it might feel heavier. 405 with bumpers takes up the same amount of space as 9 45’s. I’m going through the same thing. No slack in the Ohio bar and once I pit more than 3 plates on, it just feels like a big heavy shit. When I transition to the competition bar and weights, they feel like toys.