New barbell on the way..

[Lost and Found]

What you *don't* want to do (for purposes of not damaging your equipment) is to mix different size plates. All of the force is then transmitted to the barbell via just the contact area of only the largest diameter plate. This puts unnecessary pressure on one small section of the bearing rather than distributing it along the entire length. That's a recipe for the sleeves no longer spinning smoothly.

Since you already have 3 sets of the 45s, if pulling the extra inch bothers you (you still haven't mentioned your height), put a piece of stall mat or puzzle mat or even some 1" thick boards underneath the plates when you deadlift.

At some point, if your deadlift gets much about 385, you will have to decide if you want to buy another set of the Fitness Gear 45s (hopefully you can get them used for cheap) or sell the ones you have and buy four sets of proper 45s.

Ed: Are the stresses on the bar you mentioned just occurring during the deadlift as the plate(s) hits the floor at the end of the rep?

I'm sure I'm wrong but it seems that stress would be much less (assuming you aren't just dropping a deadlift from lockout) than the stress on bars during Olympic lifts or Crossfit stuff even with bumper plates. The plates don't ever all hit at the same time when lowered/dropped from a deadlift or a snatch.

I would imagine that crashing weights on a good bushing bar would be bad too but I've never been convinced that pricier needle bearing bars are needed for non-Olympic lifting.

[EdTice]

Ed: Are the stresses on the bar you mentioned just occurring during the deadlift as the plate(s) hits the floor at the end of the rep?

I'm sure I'm wrong but it seems that stress would be much less (assuming you aren't just dropping a deadlift from lockout) than the stress on bars during Olympic lifts or Crossfit stuff even with bumper plates. The plates don't ever all hit at the same time when lowered/dropped from a deadlift or a snatch.

I would imagine that crashing weights on a good bushing bar would be bad too but I've never been convinced that pricier needle bearing bars are needed for non-Olympic lifting.

Not just when the plates are put down but also when the bar is sitting loaded between sets. But its mostly when the weights are put down.

The stress on the bar is higher from the Olympic lifts even though you do them with less weight. Prior to the invention of bumper plates, barbells bending and/or breaking during Olympic weightlifting competitions was common. And platforms tended to get damaged too. That's *why* the bumper plates were invented. The earliest ones tended to break a lot but at least the barbells and platforms were intact. Now bumper plates have gotten so good that they tend to last a lifetime. A quality barbell and a good set of bumpers should now outlast the owner. That wasn't always the case!

Even on a four inch thick wooden lifting platform a failed snatch or jerk with any type of iron plates is a recipe for damaging something. You can lower a power clean safely (Google's for Mark's video "The Iron Problem") using iron plates but you shouldn't drop it.

When bumpers land unevenly (as they are apt to do when dropped from a height), there is some elasticity to the collision. It's been too long since I did physics for me to comment any further.

You can add some iron to a barbell loaded with bumpers (the change plates all tend to be iron and smaller diameter). But 1x45 bumper + 3x45 bumpers per side is not something I would do to a barbell I liked.

In strongman they have pulling wheels that raise the height of the bar and then they add iron outside of it. But I'm not even sure they use barbells that have bearings. I've never done strongman. For those purposes you could use an axle (no bearing) barbell.

If you live somewhere that houses are built without basements (like here in Florida) you had better be extra careful about this stuff. What breaks easier than a barbell? Plumbing that's right underneath a concrete slab and the repair is a big job!

You can't fit more than about 500lbs of cost-effective training bumpers on a barbell. Competition bumpers ($$$$$) you will get much more at a huge cost. So that's another factor to consider if expecting to deadlift very far north of 500.

I know of no barbell nor bumper plate manufacturer that would honor the warranty if a single 45lb bumper per side were mixed with multiple 45lb iron plates.

[aschaul10]

I am 27, 5/ 10", 210lbs.

My next investment will likely be bumper plates for olympic lifts, but that's probably 6 months or more out at this point.

If I don't make any changes at all, is there anything all that wrong with continuing to increase my deadlifts using the plates I have that are a little but shorter than "regulation" ? Mostly just worried about getting hurt, no plans on competing or anything like that, so if I can continue to deadlift this way safely, I will probably just stick to it until I get bumpers.

Thanks for all the input!

[Farmer]

I am 27, 5/ 10", 210lbs.

My next investment will likely be bumper plates for olympic lifts, but that's probably 6 months or more out at this point.

If I don't make any changes at all, is there anything all that wrong with continuing to increase my deadlifts using the plates I have that are a little but shorter than "regulation" ? Mostly just worried about getting hurt, no plans on competing or anything like that, so if I can continue to deadlift this way safely, I will probably just stick to it until I get bumpers.

Thanks for all the input!

That bar, being of high quality, should be able to EASILY withstand the mix matched plates for the loads you are using (300-400#)...
... for the program you are on (1x5 deadlifts once per week, and some light powercleans, etc),
... for a short while you await a set of uniform plates.

Two layers of plywood set down in a alternate fashion should suffice. (a piece of top rubber would be nice, but not necessary yet)
Maybe, and JUST MAYBE, you might have to rotate the plywood sheets around if a dimpled area is created in the wood.
So think about that as your lifting, and set up your deadlift sets so you can rotate things around later.

I've seen much shittier bars in high school gyms, with all kinds of mix matched plates, been abused to all hell, and they survive fine .... sure, there are one or two bent ones here or there, but I don't even think that's from mix-matching of plates, or dropping heavy deads onto the concrete. (its from slamming rack pulls into the pins, and/or failed squats onto safeties that were set way to low).

If it doesn't, its an absolute shit bar.

Lower your deadlifts just a little bit kinda sorta controlled (which you are already probably doing).

And I'm not casting any shade here, but your powerclean loads are probably not crazy heavy yet.
Note in the iron plate problem video, what if the trainee shown only had iron plates, and does the fast controlled lowering with 220 lbs (45+35+5+2-1/2) ?
OMG all that extra force landing on the one set of 45's ???? AHHHHHHH!!!! AnD hURtInG My sLEeVeS AnD BEaRinGs!!!!!
(you are only going to have one 45 per side for a long time)

[EdTice]

I am 27, 5/ 10", 210lbs.

My next investment will likely be bumper plates for olympic lifts, but that's probably 6 months or more out at this point.

If I don't make any changes at all, is there anything all that wrong with continuing to increase my deadlifts using the plates I have that are a little but shorter than "regulation" ? Mostly just worried about getting hurt, no plans on competing or anything like that, so if I can continue to deadlift this way safely, I will probably just stick to it until I get bumpers.

Thanks for all the input!

There is no safety issue deficit deadlifting. The mechanics of a deficit deadlift aren't much different than a snatch-grip deadlift or the position that many Olympic lifters use for their cleans. I am not qualified to comment on the efficacy. But you won't hurt yourself if you are making an honest attempt to do the lift correctly.