standard vs olympic?

[Mischievousjoe]

I've recently been pricing a weight bench and set - and have been wondering whether it matters which of these i get - the olympic obviously takes up quite a bit more space - so i'd like to think the standard would be ok, but I suspect I'd regret it in the long run. anyone have experience with both of these to compare/contrast? can one do olympic style lifts with the standard bar still? (squats, cleans etc)

[bushido_man96]

I think that the Olympic-style equipment is just better in the long run. It does take up more space, but it is usually heavier duty equipment, and will give long life. Also, the barbells are the standard 45 lbs. in weight, and are nicer for lifting, I think. You can use the same bar for bench, squat, clean, etc.

[Mischievousjoe]

This is what I suspected - Been trying to convince myself that the standard would be fine, but probly for my lifting needs olympic makes more sense. (I guess this makes good logical sense - olympic lifts need olympic equip? heh)

[Rainbow_Warrior]

Olympic pros

1) The bar is thick. It improves your grip power

2) The bar can do a rotation move ,a must for weightlifting.

3) It looks better .

4) It last longer...as bushido said.

[Mischievousjoe]

Rainbow warior; can you go into more detail for the rotation move thing you stated? Do you mean for like power lifts (cleans, jerks stuff like that)

[Rainbow_Warrior]

Sure.....In both olympic liftings , the rotation of the bar is needed to get an eficient use of the strenght and the logenvity of your wrist . Try to clean-jerk any weight you can handle well with a male standard olympic bar , and try the same with a cheap non rotative bar... your wrist may not feel very confortable ....

In the competitions the rotative bar is not just about confort..it is a rule.

Another problem of the thin bars..is that some people might think they lift more than they can.. because the bar weights around the half....

[Mischievousjoe]

oh, this might be the kicker for me, my wrists are both pretty messed up right now. Can't put any pressure on the left one thats not straight ahead without it screaming. ahh well.

[gbells]

with standard weights you may become limited in the amount of weight you can use in a safe manner.