Good Bumper Plates?

[jacob cloud]

Why would you need bumpers for deadlifts? It looks cool, but there's few cases where rubber is better than iron for deads.

[Tom Campitelli]

I don't really care what he is wearing to work out, it does not excuse sloppy form.

I would argue that he is not doing anything wildly different from what Steph describes as a correct drop. His hands don't leave the bar until it is close to waist height and the bar impacts the floor pretty close to evenly. He's not exactly guiding the bar gently to the floor, but he is not actively throwing it down either. The problem comes when the bar bounces again. This is a product of the light weight on the bar and the bouncy plates. I still think that if you drop the bar the same way with 80 kg on there that it would probably look okay and not bounce all over the place like that.

[stef]

You'd be wrong.

And you don't drop weights this light. Unless you're 6.

s.

[stronger]

Why would you need bumpers for deadlifts? It looks cool, but there's few cases where rubber is better than iron for deads.

but is it any worse? I say this because I intend to buy all bumpers (save for 10s, 5s, and 2.5s) to cut costs and save space. Since I do powercleans, and also plan to do the snatch and the olympic lifts, bumpers are the only real option there. I can't see any disadvantages to preforming the slow lifts with bumpers, unless size gets to be an issue, in which case I'll gladly buy a few iron plates once I get strong enough.

[jacob cloud]

Size is the main problem, yes. If you've ever tried squatting or deadlifting with over 450, it gets ridiculous. I wouldn't waste money on anything but a couple pairs of 45lb/20kg bumpers, personally. Everything else can be done with iron for an adult male.

[Tom Campitelli]

You'd be wrong.

And you don't drop weights this light. Unless you're 6.

s.

Point taken.

[gman]

I would argue that he is not doing anything wildly different from what Steph describes as a correct drop. His hands don't leave the bar until it is close to waist height and the bar impacts the floor pretty close to evenly. He's not exactly guiding the bar gently to the floor, but he is not actively throwing it down either. The problem comes when the bar bounces again. This is a product of the light weight on the bar and the bouncy plates. I still think that if you drop the bar the same way with 80 kg on there that it would probably look okay and not bounce all over the place like that.

If you look at the youtube video of Mr. Fireman at 57 sec. or so, I see someone basically let the bar go at around shoulder height, with the bar bouncing all over the place. His hands may still be touching the bar, but there is no evidence of him controlling the bar on the descent, and he actually looks like he is throwing the bar down.
Now, contrast this to some of the videos on the crossfit website that show proper technique

http://www.crossfit.com/cf-info/excercise.html

I've looked at a few, but lets choose the jerk and clean & jerk (you'll have to click on them individually as they are wmv. The girl has complete control all the way to the ground. The bar still bounces somewhat, but not 3 feet off of the ground. Do you not see the difference?

[stronger]

Size is the main problem, yes. If you've ever tried squatting or deadlifting with over 450, it gets ridiculous. I wouldn't waste money on anything but a couple pairs of 45lb/20kg bumpers, personally. Everything else can be done with iron for an adult male.

I think sizes on bumpers vary widely, because I've seen pictures of a bar loaded with maybe 300lbs and was almost full. At the gym I lift at, they have nice Ivanko bumpers that aren't overly bulky. But I think you make a good point and I might reconsider. Iron is also cheaper, so that's nice. I suppose I can always load a 405lb deadlift with 2 bumpers and 2 irons.

That's legal right? :P

[MAD9692]

Again, unless you are planning on spending a signifigant amount of time on the OLY lifts - Iron is the way to go. I feel like I wasted cash buying my bumpers when I could have bought a cage, Iron, a good bar, and a good belt w/ the same money.

[RobertFontaine]

I prefer bumpers for deadlifts because when I drop 435 pounds of steel plates my wife screams like a banshee.