Okay For Men To Use The Women's Bar?

UCDVet

Title says it all. I'm a guy, and today I grabbed a women's bar at the gym (didn't even know they existed before this). I guess I've got small hands, but this felt much better. I know it's 15kg instead of 20kg, but even still, I set new personal records using this bar and, like I said, just felt more natural.

The thing is, I've never stumbled across this bar before, so I think it might be the only one at the gym. Is it rude/inappropriate for a guy to use the 'women's bar'?

DylanJM

What exercises were you using the bar for?

DylanJM

I suppose if there is nobody else looking to use it then I guess there isn't really anything wrong with using it but it isn't really the done thing if you know what I mean. Tbh I'd just stick to using a men's bar, especially if there is only one ladies bar in the gym.

WHIP IT!

What's a Ladies Bar??

DylanJM

WHIP IT! wrote: »

What's a Ladies Bar??

In Olympic weightlifting there are different bars for the men and women. The mens bar is 28mm in diameter and the womens bar is 25mm. The womens bar is slightly shorter too.

dastardly00

You learn something new everyday!

WHIP IT!

DylanJM wrote: »

In Olympic weightlifting there are different bars for the men and women. The mens bar is 28mm in diameter and the womens bar is 25mm. The womens bar is slightly shorter too.

Holy Moly! I'm weighing all the bars in my gym tomorrow! Thanks

Stench Blossoms

DylanJM wrote: »

I suppose if there is nobody else looking to use it then I guess there isn't really anything wrong with using it but it isn't really the done thing if you know what I mean. Tbh I'd just stick to using a men's bar, especially if there is only one ladies bar in the gym.

Don't agree.

She'd want to be some c*nt of a woman to ask you to give her the bar.

Alf Veedersane

WHIP IT! wrote: »

Holy Moly! I'm weighing all the bars in my gym tomorrow! Thanks

They're noticeably shorter. You'd know looking at them.

WHIP IT!

Stench Blossoms wrote: »

Don't agree.

She'd want to be some c*nt of a woman to ask you to give her the bar.

:D:D

SB straight in with the C-Bomb, nay a bother to her... don't mess with this Chick!

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

They're noticeably shorter. You'd know looking at them.

Ah right, like just a six-foot Oly bar? There's one in my gym but didn't know it was for the womens only... very sexist. When are us lads gonna get a fair shake in this crazy, mixed-up world

Alf Veedersane

WHIP IT! wrote: »

Ah right, like just a six-foot Oly bar? There's one in my gym but didn't know it was for the womens only... very sexist. When are us lads gonna get a fair shake in this crazy, mixed-up world

It's about 8 inches shorter so bit more than 6 foot.

Just go for the biggest bar you can see

gymfreak

Stench Blossoms wrote: »

Don't agree.

She'd want to be some c*nt of a woman to ask you to give her the bar.

That's not true.

If I went to the gym and there was only 1 ladies bar and a dude was using it I'd be a bit frustrated as there is always far more mens bars to womens.

Obviously I'd ask to work in with him but the problem is that that bar is specifically made for women to weightlift on. It's shorter in length and the diameter is thinner. I wouldn't be able to train on a mens bar as my hands wouldn't fit around it to hook grip it.

I'm not saying I'd be rude to the dude, I'd politely ask to work in but say a woman is a c*nt is a bit much imo

gymfreak

WHIP IT! wrote: »

:D:D]


Ah right, like just a six-foot Oly bar? There's one in my gym but didn't know it was for the womens only... very sexist. When are us lads gonna get a fair shake in this crazy, mixed-up world

In weightlifting there are mens bars and ladies bars..so it aint sexist;)

They're different to powerbars.

Alf Veedersane

gymfreak wrote: »

They're different to powerbars.

Slightly less tasty

Scuba Ste

DylanJM wrote: »

In Olympic weightlifting there are different bars for the men and women. The mens bar is 28mm in diameter and the womens bar is 25mm. The womens bar is slightly shorter too.

It's also lighter. The women's bar is 15kg compared to a 20kg men's bar.

I wouldn't worry about using it. Most people don't know the difference anyway. And people can ask for it if they do.

I had originally posted to ask what a women's bar was! I am glad I wasn't the only one. I don't think we have any in the gym I'm in. That or I haven't noticed them...

Scuba Ste

bluewolf wrote: »

I had originally posted to ask what a women's bar was! I am glad I wasn't the only one. I don't think we have any in the gym I'm in. That or I haven't noticed them...

Most gyms don't have them. They're usually specific to weightlifting and places you can snatch or clean and jerk.

Are you sure the bar wasn't just a thinner 20kg bar? This one could be a 28mm weightlifting bar and the one you're used to could have been a 30mm "standard" bar. I've seen standard barbells with still smaller diameters too, despite being 20kg in weight and 7ft in length.

Edit:
For instance, my gym has these: 32mm. It also has 28mm bars. Both are the same weight and length, but there's a huge difference in feel.

jive

gymfreak wrote: »

That's not true.

If I went to the gym and there was only 1 ladies bar and a dude was using it I'd be a bit frustrated as there is always far more mens bars to womens.

Obviously I'd ask to work in with him but the problem is that that bar is specifically made for women to weightlift on. It's shorter in length and the diameter is thinner. I wouldn't be able to train on a mens bar as my hands wouldn't fit around it to hook grip it.

Maybe he is built like a lady and has the same issues. All equipment in the gym is fair game, if he wants to have a go on that machine that all the pregnant women have a go on then he can do that too. First come, first served! But obviously yeah work in like normal human beings

discus

Why are they sexualised anyway? Looking at some of the women on the Irish Ladies Rugby Team, the male bar would be better suited to them than to most blokes, cracking atheletes the lot of them!

Inspector Coptoor

discus wrote: »

Why are they sexualised anyway? Looking at some of the women on the Irish Ladies Rugby Team, the male bar would be better suited to them than to most blokes, cracking atheletes the lot of them!

They aren't sexualised.

There are differences between men and women.

A noticeable one is that most women have smaller hands than men, which is why Eleiko, Ivanko, Rogue and other decent barbell manufacturers cater to their needs by making thinner bars.

This does NOT have anything to do with strength, it's an anatomical thing.

I fail to see how the Irish ladies rugby team and their athletic prowess comes into this discussion.

Stench Blossoms wrote: »

Don't agree.

She'd want to be some c*nt of a woman to ask you to give her the bar.

If it was a proper weightlifting gym and a girl wanted to use the bar, that's the bar she should be allowed use.
the clue is in the name - Ladies Bar

discus

Sorry, on a buzz lately with the ladies rugby!

But I can't see why it's ladies vs mens, I'd far prefer a thinner bar to squat/press with*.

*soz, preposition ending a sentence.

DylanJM

discus wrote: »

Sorry, on a buzz lately with the ladies rugby!

But I can't see why it's ladies vs mens, I'd far prefer a thinner bar to squat/press with*.

*soz, preposition ending a sentence.

Because in weightlifting you use a hookgrip. Women tend to have smaller hands and would struggle to have a secure grip on a 28mm bar. Even the lighter weight male lifters, 56kg or 62kg lifters, sometimes struggle to get a good hookgrip.

IIRC women's competitions originally used a 20kg 28mm bar up until 1997 so there was obviously enough call to switch to a smaller diameter bar. There is some argument for introducing using a 28mm bar for the heavier female classes (75kg and 75kg+) because the 25mm bar oscillates too much during the clean and jerk with the weights the top level lifters are using nowadays. They could probably grip a 28mm bar fine as well.

DylanJM

bluewolf wrote: »

I had originally posted to ask what a women's bar was! I am glad I wasn't the only one. I don't think we have any in the gym I'm in. That or I haven't noticed them...

I know. I saw your post and typed out an answer but when I posted your post was gone and it just looked like I was nuts so I had to go back and edit

dylbert

I think in a regular gym it doesn't matter though I agree that women should get preference on the bar. In weightlifting it makes no sense for a man to use a ladies bar because you don't get the option to use one in competition.

In crossfit men will sometimes use a ladies bar, one of the WOD's in the open this year had 35kg touch 'n go snatches, was handier to use a ladies bar with two 10kg bumpers rather than a mans bar two 5kg's and two 2.5kg, it was easier on the grip too.

Mellor

I thought I posted here earlier.

My gym has (older) standard bars, power bars, and ladies oly bars. I use the power bars usually, but I use the ladies Oly bar for cleans, snatches. I do t think there's anything wrong with that.
Reason being, the power bar isn't an Oly bar. It makes sense to use a dedicated Oly bar if it's there. Plus my hands aren't the biggest, I find it more comfirtable.
There's more than one if them so can see it being an issue.

cletus van damme

i've small slim hands.:(

I never knew of this ladies bar though.

runawaybishop

Inspector Coptoor wrote: »

If it was a proper weightlifting gym and a girl wanted to use the bar, that's the bar she should be allowed use.
the clue is in the name - Ladies Bar

Sexist bastards. It should be called the SmallHands bar.

rubadub

UCDVet wrote: »

Is it rude/inappropriate for a guy to use the 'women's bar'?

It's as rude/inapproiate as a woman using the "mans" bar, i.e. not in the fucking slightest bit.

You'd swear its changing rooms people are going on about, or like its some legally defined term.

I would call a man a cunt if he told a woman to move off say a rowing machine with 28mm handles and tell her to use the one with 25mm handles as its the "womans machine".

If barbells were only designed today I doubt they would term them like this. They have been around ages so the term seems to have stuck to describe the different specs. It would make more sense to term them around their actual specification. In work we have work gloves, size 6, 8,9,10. The size 6 are often referred to as "the womens gloves", simply because they are small and people might not be familiar with sizing, but some women wear larger ones and some men wear the size 6.

I prefer working with a shorter bar myself, i.e. the plates closer together.

Inspector Coptoor wrote: »

A noticeable one is that most women have smaller hands than men, which is why Eleiko, Ivanko, Rogue and other decent barbell manufacturers cater to their needs by making thinner bars.

I would say they have catered to the needs of people with smaller hands, like the OP who said he has small hands. Just like the unisex work glove people did.

DylanJM

rubadub wrote: »

It's as rude/inapproiate as a woman using the "mans" bar, i.e. not in the fucking slightest bit.

It is inappropriate/rude if there is a women olympic weightlifter that cannot train because some guy is hogging the only women's bar in the gym because he won't use a regular bar.

It's as simple as this, women use a 25mm bar in competition and therefore should only use a 25mm bar in training. Men only use a 28mm bar in competition and therefore should only use a 28mm bar in training.

IMO women's bars should only ever be used for the olympic lifts, variations of the olympic lifts, pulls, squats, push presses and overhead presses. They shouldn't be used for anything else. They should especially not be used for benching, heavy deadlifting or god forbid curling.

I would say they have catered to the needs of people with smaller hands, like the OP who said he has small hands. Just like the unisex work glove people did.

No, they are specifically designed as women's barbells and are made to the spec outlined by the IWF. The IWF rulebook has spec for bboth a women's bar and a men's bar.

discus

cletus van damme wrote: »

i've small slim hands.:(

I never knew of this ladies bar though.

Aye, I've broken my thumbs so much that I can't use them for gripping fuck all. Ladies bar has been a godsend for this betafag

gymfreak

DylanJM wrote: »

It is inappropriate/rude if there is a women olympic weightlifter that cannot train because some guy is hogging the only women's bar in the gym because he won't use a regular bar.

It's as simple as this, women use a 25mm bar in competition and therefore should only use a 25mm bar in training. Men only use a 28mm bar in competition and therefore should only use a 28mm bar in training.

IMO women's bars should only ever be used for the olympic lifts, variations of the olympic lifts, pulls, squats, push presses and overhead presses. They shouldn't be used for anything else. They should especially not be used for benching, heavy deadlifting or god forbid curling.




No, they are specifically designed as women's barbells and are made to the spec outlined by the IWF. The IWF rulebook has spec for bboth a women's bar and a men's bar.

That pretty much sums up everything I was about to say.

Perhaps the point that people are missing here is the fact that it's a weightlifting bar.

WHIP IT!

rubadub wrote: »

It's as rude/inapproiate as a woman using the "mans" bar, i.e. not in the fucking slightest bit.

You'd swear its changing rooms people are going on about, or like its some legally defined term.

I would call a man a cunt if he told a woman to move off say a rowing machine with 28mm handles and tell her to use the one with 25mm handles as its the "womans machine".

If barbells were only designed today I doubt they would term them like this. They have been around ages so the term seems to have stuck to describe the different specs. It would make more sense to term them around their actual specification. In work we have work gloves, size 6, 8,9,10. The size 6 are often referred to as "the womens gloves", simply because they are small and people might not be familiar with sizing, but some women wear larger ones and some men wear the size 6.

I prefer working with a shorter bar myself, i.e. the plates closer together.

I would say they have catered to the needs of people with smaller hands, like the OP who said he has small hands. Just like the unisex work glove people did.

Hang on, Hang on, Hang on, I'm confused..... can I go into the Ladies' changing-rooms now or what??

DylanJM

gymfreak wrote: »

That pretty much sums up everything I was about to say.

Perhaps the point that people are missing here is the fact that it's a weightlifting bar.

Yes, I think you're right gymfreak.

rubadub

gymfreak wrote: »

Perhaps the point that people are missing here is the fact that it's a weightlifting bar.

I think many are missing the fact that the vast majority of people in gyms around the country who are using barbells are not competing in olympic weightlifting.

So to them it is primarily seen as a barbell suited to smaller hands. If it proves to be very popular then maybe, just maybe, the gym should consider buying another piece of that particular bit of equipment.

If the gym is very well recognised as a olympic weightlifting training gym then there is a bit more of an argument. But I would not think it crazy that someone training with competition in mind might prefer training with a different bar than what they will use in competition, be it smaller or bigger. Just like some might train using other devices or techniques etc which may be illegal in actual competition, in any sport.

Amirani

This "women on average have smaller hands than men" is beyond stupid. I don't see how that is in anyway relevant when a man with small hands or a woman with big hands is choosing a bar to use. People have a tendency to do this and it makes no sense - if you have perfect information on front of you i.e. the size of a person's hands, then why would you rely on some generalised imperfect information?

Obviously if this is some Olympic weightlifting gym, it's different. If it's just a regular gym though, people should use whatever makes them comfortable. I have smaller hands than my girlfriend, so I'm not sure why that bar would automatically be more appropriate for her.

Stench Blossoms

DylanJM wrote: »

It is inappropriate/rude if there is a women olympic weightlifter that cannot train because some guy is hogging the only women's bar in the gym because he won't use a regular bar.

What if a powerlifter wants to use the squat rack but there's a body builder in there doing bicep curls?

First come, first serve.

gymfreak

Stench Blossoms wrote: »

What if a powerlifter wants to use the squat rack but there's a body builder in there doing bicep curls?

First come, first serve.

There are plenty of bars in a gym.

There are less than plenty mens weightlifting bars in a gym.

And there is certainly far less that plenty female weightlifting bars in a gym.

It's a weightlifting bar, it's designed for snatches and cleans. A ladies bar is designed so that women can hook grip it. I can not hook grip a mens bar and therefore can't snatch or clean it.

I'd be very surprised if gyms around the country have a ladies weightlifting bar floating around the floor. I know UL arena has exactly one ladies bar, quite a few mens bar and then a lot of normal bars. I guess I'm pretty lucky that UL are informed enough to lock away all the weightlifting bars, but that they are available on request.
I have witnessed the staff at UL take the ladies bar away from people who werent using it for snatches/cleans.

In saying that I have absolutely no problem in sharing the bar with whoever and I'd assume most people would be very reasonable if I asked to train in with them.

Stench Blossoms

What if a guy has small hands and needs to use the ladies bar?

The question asked was "Is it rude/inappropriate for a guy to use the 'women's bar'?" and no I don't think it is. Like everything else in the gym it's just another piece of equipment.

Inspector Coptoor

This is going round in circles so I'll try 1 more time and then I'm out.

If you're not a girl who trains principally for weightlifting you shouldn't be using a women's WL bar.
It's thicker at 25mm and lighter at 15kg.

These bars are designed to be used on platforms and with bumper plates.

These bars should not be in any rack or bench as the knurling can be damaged.

This type of bar can be used in squat stands for front squat training to complement clean and jerk/snatch training.

Most cheaper bars in gyms are 32mm power bars, with less bearings in the sleeves meaning they don't spin as well, and are fine for squatting, benching and deadlifting.

Most people who use a proper "men's" 28mm bar after using a 32mm bar would comment on the difference and would think the women's bar is ridiculously thin.

This really is a moot point in 90% of gyms in the country as they wouldn't have a ladies bar, not would they spend the money on a proper one OR the bumpers and platforms to go with them.

rubadub

Stench Blossoms wrote: »

What if a guy has small hands and needs to use the ladies bar?

Maybe find another pastime, apparently everyone doing olympic lifting is planning to compete under rules. So even though the OP has small hands and is using a bar specifically designed for those small hands he shouldn't use it. Feels more natural to him, has improved his PBs -but should stick to the bigger one.

Same goes for a woman with no plans to compete with massive hands who finds the female bar "ridiculously thin", -just stick with what feels less natural & limits your enjoyment and capabilities.

You'd think they could simply just give the choice in competitions. I see some contest rules where U13 year old boys were to specifiy which they prefer. Would most men be at an advantage using a ladies bar? if not then I doubt there would be much objection.

dylbert

To be fair I don't think anybody told the op he can't use the bar, we're just to explain how a ladies Olympic bar is a pretty spicific piece of equipment. All female weightlifters use ladies bars and it's not a simple case that they can just use a mans bar instead,

Mellor

rubadub wrote: »

I prefer working with a shorter bar myself, i.e. the plates closer together.

Just on this point.
The plates aren't closer together. The shaft is the same length (1310mm). The difference in length is made up in the sleeves. (415 vrs 320)

gymfreak wrote: »

Perhaps the point that people are missing here is the fact that it's a weightlifting bar.

I mentioned that was one on my reasons for using. Thoughts?

Mellor wrote:

My gym has (older) standard bars, power bars, and ladies oly bars. I use the power bars usually, but I use the ladies Oly bar for cleans, snatches. I do t think there's anything wrong with that.
Reason being, the power bar isn't an Oly bar. It makes sense to use a dedicated Oly bar if it's there. Plus my hands aren't the biggest, I find it more comfirtable.
There's more than one if them so can see it being an issue.

DylanJM wrote: »

It's as simple as this, women use a 25mm bar in competition and therefore should only use a 25mm bar in training. Men only use a 28mm bar in competition and therefore should only use a 28mm bar in training.

Yeah obviously. If somebody was training for comp, they should be using the comp bar. Completely agree.

IMO women's bars should only ever be used for the olympic lifts, variations of the olympic lifts, pulls, squats, push presses and overhead presses. They shouldn't be used for anything else. They should especially not be used for benching, heavy deadlifting or god forbid curling.

As I said, that's all I use them for is oly lifts. (On a platform, with bumpers)
I use that bar because it's a dedicated oly bar, with proper bearings. As opposed to the power bars.
This is in a chain of commerical gyms, not a weightlifting gym. The bars are there for an option for women generally, not weightlifting specifically. In case you are wondering why there are only womens oly bars.

UCDVet

I tried to have a look today to see how many of each bar they have, but I had a lot of trouble. I think there might only be one ladies bar in the whole gym. Today, it was a fairly big guy using the only one I saw.

Anyway, lots of good points, but given that I think there is only ONE in the gym, I'll go out of my way to avoid it (rather than waiting forever to wait for the bar to be available).

Still, it really did feel a lot nicer for deadlifting. I was able to get a lot more weight on before switching to the 'over-under' grip or whatever they call it (even after accounting for the bar being 10kg lighter). The whole thing felt a lot better. I've noticed a lot (well, a few) guys using chalk and/or straps when they deadlift. I wonder if they'd also find the ladies bar more comfortable.

Oh well. Thanks for the info everyone.

dylbert

UCDVet wrote: »

I tried to have a look today to see how many of each bar they have, but I had a lot of trouble. I think there might only be one ladies bar in the whole gym. Today, it was a fairly big guy using the only one I saw.

Anyway, lots of good points, but given that I think there is only ONE in the gym, I'll go out of my way to avoid it (rather than waiting forever to wait for the bar to be available).

Still, it really did feel a lot nicer for deadlifting. I was able to get a lot more weight on before switching to the 'over-under' grip or whatever they call it (even after accounting for the bar being 10kg lighter). The whole thing felt a lot better. I've noticed a lot (well, a few) guys using chalk and/or straps when they deadlift. I wonder if they'd also find the ladies bar more comfortable.

Oh well. Thanks for the info everyone.

A ladies bar is 5kg lighter.

Just a thought but maybe a ladies bar won't be training your grip as well as a men's bar anyway?

Mellor

dylbert wrote: »

A ladies bar is 5kg lighter.

Just a thought but maybe a ladies bar won't be training your grip as well as a men's bar anyway?

Probably wouldn't be.
Just based on the fact that fat bars and fat grips are one way to train your grip.

UCDVet

dylbert wrote: »

A ladies bar is 5kg lighter.

Just a thought but maybe a ladies bar won't be training your grip as well as a men's bar anyway?

Ahh - sorry. Yes - you are correct. 5kg, not 10!

Nervous Wreck

How come no ones made a dirty joke about women being able to "fit their hands around it"? You call yourselves sexist? Shenanigans.

Alf Veedersane

Nervous Wreck wrote: »

How come no ones made a dirty joke about women being able to "fit their hands around it"? You call yourselves sexist? Shenanigans.

'Cause it's the small bar...