My main goal is to do squats, bench presses and deadlifts with progressive and ultimately heavy weights. I spent on a quality Olympic bar and a weight set of pairs of 2.5 kg, 5 kg, 10 kg, 15 kg and 20 kg.
THE PRODUCT
I bought the 20-kg Olympic bar and weight set for ₱15,500 from an Instagram store.
The Olympic bar is 7 feet and 20 kilograms of solid build. Portion of the bar for plates is ribbed to prevent slipping.
When first unboxed, the rubber smell is strong, but this is a comfort to me since it was telling me that these are more quiet and safer plates.
BUYING GUIDE
Choose the right bar for your purposes. Note how bars have weights, so you end up with a default weight already without any plates. The weight of bar also usually means it can carry more weight from plates you will load on it. The Olympic bars have a "safety feature" where they won't tip over on the rack when you load one side. Since you will usually load one side first, if you put a 20 kg on one side of a standard bar, it is going to tip over. The 20kg Olympic bar has more room for error: you can load a 20kg plate on one side without fear of having it tip over.
This carries over to how it feels on you. Personally, a 20kg olympic bar feels more stable on a squat or bench press because there's weight on both sides already.
|
|
Max Weight |
Hole size |
Approximate Price |
|
Standard barbell
bar |
90 |
1-inch hole |
₱900 |
|
15kg olympic bar |
120 |
2-inch hole |
₱2000 |
|
20 kg olympic
bar |
200 |
2-inch hole |
₱3,200 |
There are also many kinds of plates, and you'll also have to choose what suits you best. To explain, bumper plates are known to be the safest to drop. They are all the same diameter, so all the weights would hit the floor at the same time. Plates with different diameters stress the bar unevenly. However, bumper plates often don't have grips.
|
|
Advantages |
Disadvantages |
Approximate
Price* (5, 10, 15, 20-kg set) |
|
Bumper
Plate |
Rubberized, generally
safer since can be dropped, not noisy |
Harder to
carry since all weights are the same diameter |
₱ 12,500 |
|
Tri-grip
Rubber Plates |
Rubberized,
easy to carry due to grips, lighter weights are smaller, not noisy |
Slightly less
safe to drop since not the same size |
₱ 10,000 |
|
Cast Iron |
Cheap, lighter weights are smaller |
less safe to drop
since not the same size, noisy, no rubber means it can scratch |
₱ 8,000 |
ANG OKAY
Olympic bar is quality. It feels very stable on my shoulders during squats, and there's less risk of tipping over when loading.
Plates are quiet and feel safe and softer due to rubber coating.
Ordering as a package was convenient as they were delivered together and come out cheaper.
ANG HINDI OKAY
Bumper plates usually don't have handles so you'll have to squeeze-grip them to hold them. I would also have preferred colored plates.
VERDICT
■■■■ Good buy
This is a straightforward verdict as the bar and the plates fulfill my needs exactly. Color and grips are just not a priority.
Online Shopping Link: https://www.instagram.com/ineed_ph/