How much weight can a cheap barbell handle?

[Keith Crone]

Say, one you buy in a 300lb set for $99 at a sporting goods store.

Can I put 600 or 700lbs on it without it breaking?

[JEFF VANCO]

Do yourself a favor buddy, and spend your money on a good bar. You can get a Texas Power bar or a Jesup Power Bar for around 150 bucks.

Those fitness store bars are shit, order on-line. Like they say at Ironmind, your bar is the most important piece of equipment you will ever buy.

[Keith Crone]

Yeah well, I will when I have a rack to go with it.

I'm asking more about the bars I use at the LifeTime fitness I workout at. Just trying to think worst case. Assuming they didn't spend alot of money on the equipment, what kind of weight could a cheap bar handle?

[JEFF VANCO]

5, 600 at the most. Load one up for rack pulls and see what happens :mad:

[ClayEdgin]

True story - I've broken the loading sleeve off one cheapo barbell when I dropped it after doing curls with 135. The other cheapo barbell I have has held a 645 deadlift and 800 rack pull without any visible warping. The first one that broke was a Sears model that was part of a 300lb set and the second one was a Walmart bar. The Walmart bar has decent knurling too.

I only break out the Jesup power bar when I'm doing stupid heavy stuff.

[Mike Gill]

Ive got a cheapo and I load it up to 700 for rack pulls all the time. I don't drop it though, as I never drop my weights.

Ive had no issues with it at 500lbs for squats either. No warping, stays tight.

BAck in the early 90's I worked at a true bodybuilding/powerlifitng dungeon. The guy who owned it had zero money and was cheap! All the free weights were $99 300lb type things. Guys would trash that stuff and we never broke one barbell.

[Jeff Bach]

Likely to see bending more then breaking. Definetely suggest a good power bar for heavy work.

[Garrick Daft]

True story - I've broken the loading sleeve off one cheapo barbell when I dropped it after doing curls with 135.
That's what is happening to my cheapo!...I wondered if it was a defect of a sort. There is a bolt that I think is supposed to hold that sleeve on ...but it seems like the pocket is stripped cuz' I can turn that bolt all day and it doesn't tighten up the sleeve.

Anyone know where to get a nice heavy-duty barbell? Websites?

Thanks, and Jeff Vanco the 5600lb comment was too funny...I laughed for quite a while on that one.
:LOL:

[FredHarrington]

well this is what happened to my cheap bar last night during 150kg deadlifts


please ignore retard face :D
http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/9895/dsci09558xz.jpg

[Mike Gill]

well this is what happened to my cheap bar last night during 150kg deadlifts



You can still get standard bars and plates? Wow, thats like a time warp.

[FredHarrington]

lmao, i know, im getting an oly set soon

[SqeezeMasterFlash]

I've got one bar from a 300lbs/$99 set that bent at around 700. I've got a CAP brand barbell that I got used and it bent at 455.

[christopher smith]

I would say no. because I bought one and when I used it at the gym I only had 600 lbs on it and when I went to push up to start my squats the weights didn't move but the bar sure did. I ended up with a gym made bow all i had to do was go and get some arrows and then I would have been all set. You need to ask the person that sells them what the weight capicity is before you buy it.
Chris
Say, one you buy in a 300lb set for $99 at a sporting goods store.

Can I put 600 or 700lbs on it without it breaking?

[SqeezeMasterFlash]

Take what they tell you is the weight capacity with a grain of salt. I've had 700lb test bars bend with far less on them.