Is there anything wrong with using standard barbells?

megagents

People overwhelmingly favor Olympic barbells over standard ones. Some people even hate that they refer to standard bars as "standard". But no one ever talks about how they affect your workout. Will standard bars somehow hinder your workout? I'm leaning towards standard bars because I can't afford to get an Olympic bar. And the cheaper Olympic ones I find always have some defect like being a curling bar or having weird ridges or are made of chrome which apparently "chips" over time. Will a standard bar at least help me out while I save up for an Olympic set?

Shaky44

I think it's just a question of weight capacity. Check to see the maximums for what you are planning to buy.

biffmon

I wouldn't worry too much about it.

I use just regular old dumbbells for everything I do. It's not so much about the equipment you have but how you use it and the type of exercises you do. I've lost a little over 40 lbs over the past year doing a combination of body weight exercises along with dumbbells. I did purchase a decent bench that inclines but I haven't spent a lot of money. I also use tension bands as well.

Don't get bogged down in the details around the "best" equipment. Get something that works and start using it. As you get fitter and stronger you will probably want to graduate to different equipment for different types of exercises as you go.

Take it from one who hasn't invested a ton of money in gear but is still getting results.

Hope that helps and I wish you well!