WFH Superthread

Dtp1979 wrote: »

That’s a nice price. What’s the difference in these bars? I have a cheap bar that seems fine to me.

That's a great question.

The short answer is that the build quality of more expensive bars is significantly better. But how much that matters depends on the demands to be made upon the bar, and how long you expect it to last you.

If we compare the 2028 with the Ohio bar, for example, for the purposes... The 2028 is a great budget bar that I would have no problem buying myself. If someone can afford to spend more, though, then I think in the long term their experience is going to be better, but it's not essential.

The 2028 bar:-

- 28mm shaft is a strong selling point in comparison with other budget barbells that are often annoyingly chunky
- E-coat / black oxide finish is preferable to chrome in a lot of people's view when it comes to grip
- It may not be a true 20kg
- Sleeve construction is usually iffy and in the long term will loosen, become noisy and ultimately puts a lifespan on this bar compared to more expensive, better constructed options
- The sleeve construction and limited spin is also why they mention this bar is not suitable for Olympic lifts (and by extension, CrossFit style cross training)
- Recommended load of 250kg is decent but this is for static lifts like bench, squat and deadlift on appropriate surfaces with control. Because it's 'straight steel' it will warp in some circumstances over time.
- The limited 6 month warranty is worth bearing in mind in light of the above
- Although knurling is listed as 'coarse' it's stamped on, not cut into the bar, and is pretty passive. Not necessarily a bad thing for most people especially novices
- Strength Shop customer service is good and overall this is a great bar for novices and intermediates who are on a budget
- I would expect to either want to or have to replace this bar in about five years tops, however

The Rogue Ohio bar:-

- Made in the USA
- Lifetime warranty
- 28.5mm diamater also grand
- Sleeves will spin moderately well, making this a bar you can Olympic weightlift or do CrossFit style training with. A true Olympic weightlifting bar is going to be in a different price point so, IMO, not fair to be overly hard on the Ohio bar in terms of its sleeve rotation
- Knurling is deliberately fairly passive to accommodate Olympic lifts but is cut into the bar, not stamped, so it is uniform and better quality
- Sleeve construction and overall engineering of the bar and sleeves is such that it can withstand drops, Olympic lifts and is generally likely to last a significant amount of time in comparison with a budget bar. If not abused then certainly 10+ years
- Significantly better quality steel is used, load rating not an issue

For someone who is mainly practising the static lifts (bench, squat, press, deadlift) and is not going to ever use it for Olympic lifts or power cleans or any variation of them then I would also recommend looking at the Ohio Power bar over the regular Ohio bar, which is a stiffer bar again, with coarser knurling for a better grip, different sleeve construction and has centre knurling to improve stability on the back squat.

Price wise I would consider an Ohio bar to be upper middle of the bar market. It's actually not megabucks for what you get. If someone wants a bar for Olympic weightlifting they can expect to spend at least another couple of hundred euros again on top of that for what they are likely to want.

The guy behind the popular barbell linear progress program, Greyskull LP, has a free 60 page ebook with bodyweight home workout programming.

Skimmed it, it’s a solid option, and nicely varied.

Don’t be put off by his gangsta appearance, it’s smart programming.

https://quarantactics.gr8.com/

Can't tell if they're in that YouTube video above on band exercises, but for posterior chain options I would think banded pull throughs are probably one of the less fiddly options available.

You need a decent fixed point to attach the band to, of course, and probably ideally a band with a decent tension, which means quite a strong or heavy object like a sturdy fence railing or a post of some kind.

https://redefiningstrength.com/band-pull-thru/

https://drjohnrusin.com/pull-through/

Years ago I was at a seminar with Andy Bolton and he was trying to show seated banded leg curls and he couldn't get it properly set up himself, the band kept slipping off.