Does anyone know of anybody that makes handles that you can add to a normal straight bar to make the grip thicker for doing things like bench, shrugs, deadlifts, holds etc as if you had a Thick bar. My gym has many things, but a thick bar is not one of them. I would love to be able to attach something to it where i am gripping to get the feeling of having a thick bar on certain exersizes. Thanks ahead of time for any help.
a pretty cheap option is to bring a towel with you and wrap it around the bar. not the greatest but better than nothing.
An old trick is to cut a piece of PVC pipe to the right length, take the end of the bar off with an allen wrench and slide the pipe over. But I don’t know how well that would go over in a commercial gym.
Magarhe told me about using PVC pipe to slide over the bars. It sounds like a good idea to me. Going to pick up a few lengths PVC with different gauges (I think that the right word for the diameter of a pipe).
I use a pair of those velcro-foam -“I don’t wanna hurt my neck” bar pads some people use for squats. Even though they squish a bit when you use them, they’re nice and thick. They’ve got to be at least 2 inches around.
Many gyms have them stashed in the corner. Otherwise, you should be able to find them for around $30 each at sporting goods stores.
Another option is to buy foam insulation that is used for pipes. Simply affix it on the bar and wrap athletic or duct tape around it.
For commerical gym use, slice it down the middle so you can easily attach and unattach it as you please.
With the foam, you can cut it to different lengths for DB or a barbell.