Lightweight Barbell

[Dexter Wolf]

Rip,

Do you know where I can find a barbell that's less than standard weights (<20lb) but can still be loaded somewhat (up to a few hundred pounds)? Im looking for my 60 y/o parents.

The light bars I've found claim to not be able to handle weights in excess of 45lb, and a standard barbell is too heavy to start with.

Thanks,
Dexter

[Mark Rippetoe]

I have an idea. Get your elderly parents a light bar, and then when they get strong enough to use a 45-pound bar, let them use a 45-pound bar. That way, they can load the heavier weights on the 45-pound bar.

[AndrewLewis]

Rip,

Do you know where I can find a barbell that's less than standard weights (<20lb) but can still be loaded somewhat (up to a few hundred pounds)? Im looking for my 60 y/o parents.

The light bars I've found claim to not be able to handle weights in excess of 45lb, and a standard barbell is too heavy to start with.

Thanks,
Dexter

0-15lb: use an oak dowel with clamps to prevent plate motion
15-45lb: tech aluminum bar ($120 from rogue or Again Faster, tolerates up to 130lb)
45lb+: normal bar

[I_iz_a_fatass]

Rip,

Do you know where I can find a barbell that's less than standard weights (<20lb) but can still be loaded somewhat (up to a few hundred pounds)? Im looking for my 60 y/o parents.

The light bars I've found claim to not be able to handle weights in excess of 45lb, and a standard barbell is too heavy to start with.

The OB73-AL is the lightest full-size bar Cap-branded bar at 7.5kg and is fully the size of an olympic bar. Rated for 150 lbs.

[Dexter Wolf]

Gee, Thanks! I never thought of that! Can you hold my hand while I do that? (I, too, enjoy being a sarcastic smart-ass!)

I understand you get a lot of stupid questions from stupid people. They're a frequent source of entertainment.

I was just trying to avoid buying a light bar that will be made useless in a just a few months time. I'm still skeptical of an aluminum bar not being sturdy enough to hold 50lb, but then again I'm not a barbell manufacturer. I digress.

If there's no alternative, then that's what I'll have to do. No big deal. My parents being too strong for a bar will be a good problem to have.

Thanks for your time (mumbles under breath: 'At least I didn't ask about a 'structurodysfunctional leg discrepancy'')

[Mark Rippetoe]

I understand you get a lot of stupid questions from stupid people. They're a frequent source of entertainment.

I was just trying to avoid buying a light bar that will be made useless in a just a few months time. I'm still skeptical of an aluminum bar not being sturdy enough to hold 50lb, but then again I'm not a barbell manufacturer.

Your elderly mother will use it for warmups. If becomes a storage problem, you can donate it to some other needy elderly person.

[Dexter Wolf]

Thanks everyone!

[tertius]

Your elderly mother will use it for warmups. If becomes a storage problem, you can donate it to some other needy elderly person.

This struck me immediately as the proper course of action... of course, as leftist, I'm always looking for ways to give away other people's stuff.

[Scaldrew]

I see a handful a women do this all the time: use a shorter, lighter bar on the first few warmups of a bench or press and take out the big guns instead of loading the short bar to weigh 95lbs. Some guy somewhere said that "there's a weight that you can start at" and I think that applies here. Even if it's only to get you started, it's worth the small investment if it means squatting 135 a few months down the road where otherwise the person wouldn't be squatting at all. We all start somewhere.

[Clay Simczyk]

1" plates will fit on a standard 3/4" black iron pipe, available in the plumbing department at any big box store. They will even cut it to any length you desire.