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Thread: Barbell Knurling

  1. #1
    Join Date
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    Default Barbell Knurling

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    Hi Mark, I remember this video where you mentioned the new Texas Power bar tears your hands up.



    I bought a Rogue Ohio Power bar and found the knurling to be even sharper than a Texas Power bar. It's ripping enough skin off of my hands on deadlifts to draw blood. Is this something I can eventually get used to or is ripping skin the point where I should consider buying another bar?

    I've used a Texas Power bar for a few months in the past and never got used to the sharpness of the knurl but it also never ripped skin off. Then again, that Texas Power bar was zinc coated and my Ohio power bar is in bare steel so it's not an apples to apples comparison. Additionally, I'm resuming training after some time off so my hands are probably no longer as calloused as they used to be.

  2. #2
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    Which bar do I recommend?

  3. #3
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    My question is if I should try to get used to my current bar or if ripping skin means I should immediately look for another bar.

    If I should look for another bar, your opinion on which bar you recommend would be useful.

  4. #4
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  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by strongnovice View Post
    I bought a Rogue Ohio Power bar and found the knurling to be even sharper than a Texas Power bar. It's ripping enough skin off of my hands on deadlifts to draw blood. Is this something I can eventually get used to or is ripping skin the point where I should consider buying another bar?
    Reviews of this bar state it's less sharp than the Texas Power bar. I wonder why you think differently.

    I have never used a Texas Power bar so I can't confirm this, but I own the Ohio bar and my skin doesn't rip off, and it's the stainless steel version with no coating. I've used sharper bars than this one.

    Are you holding it correctly? Mark Rippetoe, you may have heard of him, wrote:

    When you pull a heavy weight, the bar will migrate down from the palms of your hands into your fingers. Doesn't matter how hard you squeeze, the palm of your hand will not remain as the primary contact point of your grip in a deadlift – it's headed down for your fingers whether you want it to or not. So, the smart person will plan for this by starting with a grip that places the bar as low in the fingers as you can hold it.
    The Correct Place for the Bar in Your Hands in the Deadlift | Mark Rippetoe

  6. #6
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    I have three Rogue bars: an E-Coat Ohio Power Bar, a boneyard zinc deadlift bar, and grab bag bare steel Ohio bar. Although the coating on the Power bar and the deadlift bar moderates the knurling, the knurling on each of them is still more aggressive than that of the Ohio bar. Of the coatings, E-Coat would probably be the easiest on your hands.

    If either the Capps Starting Strength bar or the B&R bar had been available when gyms in my area closed last year, I would have probably gotten one.

  7. #7
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    I don’t understand how the monkey grip works, as compared to a regular double-overhand grip. FWIW, I use the hook grip.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Smyth View Post
    I don’t understand how the monkey grip works, as compared to a regular double-overhand grip. FWIW, I use the hook grip.
    Good point. I would like to know more about the monkey grip too. I might’ve used an approximation of it on some chins, when my grip was particularly strong from pulling heavy. But not on deadlifts, where it’s either DOH or hook.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Smyth View Post
    I don’t understand how the monkey grip works
    Not clear why you're asking about this, but it's more of a hold than a grip. You just curl your fingers, nestling the bar across the middle sections of the 4 fingers, and hold them in that shape. Very comfy as it allows a very relaxed arm whether double overhand or alternate grip.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by stef View Post
    Not clear why you're asking about this, but it's more of a hold than a grip. You just curl your fingers, nestling the bar across the middle sections of the 4 fingers, and hold them in that shape. Very comfy as it allows a very relaxed arm whether double overhand or alternate grip.
    I’m sorry stef, I wasn’t clear. I know how one does the grip, I just don’t really understand how one maintains the grip at very heavy weights, while I can see (and have experienced) how the hook grip does so. My guess is, it works at heavy weights as long as your “grip” is strong enough for your fingers to hold the heavy weights. I think mine stop being strong enough at about 225-245, thus, the hook grip. Thanks.

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