Barbell sizes?

tcxyz2011
tcxyz2011 Posts: 29 Member
So today I went into the weight room and there are multiple barbells on racks and I got so overwhelmed by which one to use. There was one welded onto the rack and then the was a squat rack with a barbell already on it but I am not for sure if it's 45 lbs. I know it sounds silly but how do I know which barbell to use since they do not have sizes imprinted on the bar. And there was nobody in there to ask which one was 45 lbs otherwise I probably would have.

Replies

  • Llamapants86
    Llamapants86 Posts: 1,221 Member
    Generally, if the end is 2 inches in diameter, it is going to be 45 lbs, unless it is an ultra light one made of aluminum which you should be able to tell right away. Standard bars are a little harder to judge as they can range in weight. They are the ones with the 1 inch diameter ends (smaller hole on the plates than an oly bar).
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    i was puzzled by the same thing. if all else fails . . . i'm sure your gym has a scale somewehre. weigh yourself with the bar, and then just weigh yourself.

    if there's no-one around to just ask, then there's no-one around to notice you figuring it out for yourself :wink: not that there's anything wrong with not knowing either.

    my way of sorting them out at my rec centre is:

    the one that's taller than my own head is 45 pounds, give or take a pound or two. the one that's somewhere around my own height (5'4") or maybe a little taller or shorter . . . that one is 30. and the little short-short one with the kinks in the middle of it is a curl bar, and it weighs 20 pounds.

    i kind of suspect that if a bar fits in the squat rack ('collar' parts at the ends outside of the pins of the rack) then it's 45 pounds. unless your gym has special racks that take shorter bars, it might be the same where you are.