70 year old mother Starting Strength

[Matthew Spicka]

Hello,
So I worked out with my 70 year old mother on the squat, dead, press, bench and row. She loved it and felt great the next day. She is not strong enough to use a 20kg bar for the, squat, press and bench. She used my kids 10kg bar and she was fine. She is going to build her own home gym. Would you suggest I buy her Jr bar or is there something else you suggest? Thank you in advance.

[Mark Rippetoe]

What is "Jr bar"?

[Matthew Spicka]

What is "Jr bar"?

https://www.roguefitness.com/rogue-10kg-junior-bar

[Leanne M. Lloyd]

I have the 10kg junior bar from Rogue and it is probably going to be fine for a while, but eventually the loading capacity will be surpassed due to the short sleeves - you may be able to get your plates on, but collaring them would be difficult to impossible. Given her age, it may take long enough to get there to make it worthwhile. However, if she can get away with a 15kg women's bar, that would be a better option because the sleeves are of normal length and she will likely never outrun the loading capacity.

[Mark Rippetoe]

If she's already used one and you know it is something she can handle, she needs to own one. Is this a question?

[Matthew Spicka]

If she's already used one and you know it is something she can handle, she needs to own one. Is this a question?

I guess its not.

I have the 10kg junior bar from Rogue and it is probably going to be fine for a while, but eventually the loading capacity will be surpassed due to the short sleeves - you may be able to get your plates on, but collaring them would be difficult to impossible. Given her age, it may take long enough to get there to make it worthwhile. However, if she can get away with a 15kg women's bar, that would be a better option because the sleeves are of normal length and she will likely never outrun the loading capacity.

Thank you Leanne. This makes a lot of sense. I think I will look at buying her both a 10kg and a 15kg. She can work her way out of the 10kg and use the 15kg on her deadlifts right away.

[m_sporkboy]

I guess its not.

Thank you Leanne. This makes a lot of sense. I think I will look at buying her both a 10kg and a 15kg. She can work her way out of the 10kg and use the 15kg on her deadlifts right away.

Rep fitness makes a pretty nice 15lb aluminum technique bar with longer sleeves than the rogue. I think I paid about $130 for mine.

[crc]

I guess its not.

Thank you Leanne. This makes a lot of sense. I think I will look at buying her both a 10kg and a 15kg. She can work her way out of the 10kg and use the 15kg on her deadlifts right away.

The loadable sleeve length of the Jr bar is listed at 6 5/8". It should be easy enough to look up the plate widths, do a little math, and figure out if your mom is going to need anything more.

[Leanne M. Lloyd]

The loadable sleeve length of the Jr bar is listed at 6 5/8". It should be easy enough to look up the plate widths, do a little math, and figure out if your mom is going to need anything more.

25 lb bumper plates are 2.75" wide. 25 lb plates are about 1.5"; 10 lbs ~1"; 5 & 2.5 lbs ~ .5. So at a load of 107 lbs, with the best plate economy possible, you've used 4.75" inches before the collars. Good collars are about 2" and the spring collars are a nightmare to fasten to a <2" space.

I would also like to mention to the OP that the women's bar has drawbacks as well that I didn't think about mentioning until just now - it's made with the oly lifts in mind. Most of them will have whip and no center knurl.

I have all three bar types at home. The jr bar is used a lot for my teenager and my 70 year old mother - I still occasionally use it to press with if I want to set up my deadlifts with the men's bar while pressing. Since I got the women's bar, I mostly only use it for Power Snatches when they are in my programming.

The women's bar is used mostly by my best friend and oldest daughter, but I sometimes use it to bench/press.

The men's bar is used for squatting and deadlifting by everyone but my mom and teenager who aren't yet consistent enough to have gained any traction with their training.

If you're buying two bars probably best to go with the jr bar and a B&R men's bar. That's my recommendation, but I really like a center knurling for squats and I prefer to train deadlift with a stiff bar. Your mileage may vary.

[Matthew Spicka]

25 lb bumper plates are 2.75" wide. 25 lb plates are about 1.5"; 10 lbs ~1"; 5 & 2.5 lbs ~ .5. So at a load of 107 lbs, with the best plate economy possible, you've used 4.75" inches before the collars. Good collars are about 2" and the spring collars are a nightmare to fasten to a <2" space.

I would also like to mention to the OP that the women's bar has drawbacks as well that I didn't think about mentioning until just now - it's made with the oly lifts in mind. Most of them will have whip and no center knurl.

I have all three bar types at home. The jr bar is used a lot for my teenager and my 70 year old mother - I still occasionally use it to press with if I want to set up my deadlifts with the men's bar while pressing. Since I got the women's bar, I mostly only use it for Power Snatches when they are in my programming.

The women's bar is used mostly by my best friend and oldest daughter, but I sometimes use it to bench/press.

The men's bar is used for squatting and deadlifting by everyone but my mom and teenager who aren't yet consistent enough to have gained any traction with their training.

If you're buying two bars probably best to go with the jr bar and a B&R men's bar. That's my recommendation, but I really like a center knurling for squats and I prefer to train deadlift with a stiff bar. Your mileage may vary.

Thank you for the comments. Thus has been helpful.