Thick Bars...

[coolcolj]

you can wrap a towel around bar for some things to get the same effect

 

[zackdarnell]

I bought a straight piece of Schedule 80 steel and got 2 collars from PDA equipment. Those made for good stop collars and they tightly screw down to the bar and never move.

The piece of steel was about $30 and the collars were about that also...

B True

How much does the bar itself weigh, B?

 

[b fold the truth]

you can wrap a towel around bar for some things to get the same effect

It is not the "same effect" at all really... A thick non-revolving bar is something completely different...

I believe that it weighs like 33 pounds or something. I always put a pair of 5.5's and a pair of 2.75's on there and call it 45 pounds.

B True

 

[zackdarnell]

I believe that it weighs like 33 pounds or something. I always put a pair of 5.5's and a pair of 2.75's on there and call it 45 pounds.

B True

Interesting...I figured it would weigh more than that. Is it hollow or solid?

 

[b fold the truth]

Hollow...

 

[zackdarnell]

Hollow...

Ok, that explains it. For some reason I thought it would be solid.

 

[coolcolj]

It is not the "same effect" at all really... A thick non-revolving bar is something completely different...

I believe that it weighs like 33 pounds or something. I always put a pair of 5.5's and a pair of 2.75's on there and call it 45 pounds.

B True

true but as far as grip and neural benefits go the same thing applies, the bigger grip diameter requirements are still met

a tightly wrapped towel will not revolve and does a nice job on working your forearns while you wrap it

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Training with Thick Bars

This may surprise you, but the grip diameter on dumbbells and barbells is quite important. I am a proponent of using extra-thick dumbbells and barbells. At my training facility we have extra-thick dumbbells handles ranging from 10 pounds to 195 pounds and going up in 2 -pound increments. My colleagues Chad Ikea and Fletcher Brooks also have thick grips dumbbells as a tool to building forearms and grip strength rapidly.

The idea of using thick handles is not entirely new. Alan Calvert, one of the fathers of weight training, recommended it in 1924 in his book Super-Strength. I advocate the use of thick handles for the following reasons:

Use of thick handles increases motor unit activation. Although this needs to be investigated more rigorously, my colleague Jerry Telle has shown electrical activity in movements using thick handles to be higher than in movements using standard dumbbells. The more motor units you recruit and the higher their firing rate, the faster you gain strength. One of the factors that might well account for enhanced recruitment with thick handles is fear. When performing a bench press with a 3-inch diameter bar, for example, fear of dropping the bar tends to concentrate the mind. As my health consultant friend Howie Young puts it, you can't do any reps on "mental auto-pilot" when you are using thick handles. Everybody I know who trains with thick handles has found that they can handle 10-12% more weight when they go back to using standard handles. I have asked some chiropractors and neurologists what specific mechanism is responsible for this strength increase. The best explanation I have heard is that working with thick handles and then returning to standard handles may suppress an inhibitory reflex that would normally kick in when using standard handles.

Use of thick handles builds functional strength. In real life, when you push or pull something, what you are gripping usually has a diameter larger than 1 inches, the standard grip diameter for dumbbells. In strongman competition, grip strength is often the limiting factor in performance. In judo, many fighters fail to take control of their opponents in the standing position because they cannot effectively retain their grip.

Use of thick handles takes care of your grip and forearm work. Everyone I have put on thick-handle training has experienced increases in grip strength and forearm development. The larger diameter is more challenging to the fingers, thumb, wrist, and forearms. You will find, for example, that the muscles that adduct the thumbs will become quite sore when you start using thick handles. Increased grip strength will enable you forgo the use of straps for chins and rows. The strength that you develop from these exercises will therefore be more functional. Vic Boff and his colleagues from the Oldtime Barbell and Strongmen group have said repeatedly that one of the major differences between the "oldtimers" and folks today is grip strength.
I highly recommend thick dumbbells and barbells for all upper-body exercises and even for deadlifts. For thick-bar pressing movements (seated press, incline press, bench press, etc.), I advise you to do the exercises in a power rack with safety pins, as you may drop the bar at first. If you have never used thick handles, you can rest assured that you will experience increases in strength and mass.

Thick dumbbells and barbells are available from various sources. For gym owners, commercial-type thick dumbbells are available from Grace Fitness 800 842-6637. You can specify the grip diameter, and you can order dumbbells that go up in increments of 2.5 pounds. Grace Fitness offers thick bars (2- or 3-inch diameter) that hold Olympic Plates. The advantage of the Grace Fitness thick bars is they revolve like any other great quality bar.

--Charles Poliquin

 

[skaman607]

how long is it? I have a 6 foot bar, and when people always talk about pinkies on the rings being a wide grip, it seems fairly narrow to me, it could be because my bar is 6 ft and other people's bars are 7 ft

 

[jeremys]

pinkys on the bar are pretty narrow, in most instances

 

[skaman607]

i don't think I understand, my pinkies are always on the bar