How do you guys and girls feel about their products? Think this is a wise investment? http://www.thesportsauthority.com/product/index.jsp?productId=122957

It's a good buy. I've been using that barbell for about 3 weeks now and I like it.

I don't know if the price is good or bad. But I've made some bad choices with equipment, and it's been due to the fact that I didn't think what I'd be using it for, or with what.

It has a lot of plates, but depending on how you like to work out, and how much you're into it, you might consider getting fixed weight dumbbells instead. Also, I doubt the bar is an Olympic 45 pounder. The weight that come with it might not be compatible with, say, an EZ curl bar you might get later on, unless you get the same kind.


Can you tell what weights you get with it? You might have to buy more. Depending on how much you lift, it might be enough.

Not sure about this, but I think bars are weights are also classified as to how much weight you can put on them. So if you can squat really heavy, this one might not be for.

My 2 cents. I don't have tons and tons of experience on equipment, so if you get different opinions than mine, you know why.

Im more of a slim build, so it's gonna be a LONG time before I'll bench more than 160 pounds. Right now in gym class, Im benching 95 for warm up and then 115 for last 2 sets. As for squats, I really cant squat that much. And I find that lunges are more effective. When I squat, I get a little soar. When I do lunges, I get holy crap my legs are on fire.....soar. And you dont do lunges with as much weight as you squat, so I think Ill be ok. I might be wrong though.

Im more of a slim build, so it's gonna be a LONG time before I'll bench more than 160 pounds. Right now in gym class, Im benching 95 for warm up and then 115 for last 2 sets. As for squats, I really cant squat that much. And I find that lunges are more effective. When I squat, I get a little soar. When I do lunges, I get holy crap my legs are on fire.....soar. And you dont do lunges with as much weight as you squat, so I think Ill be ok. I might be wrong though.

Whoops, sorry. Guess I shoulda looked at your age. Man, I wish I was 15 again.....

that barbell set is a waste of cash... check this out...


http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=spartan+olympic+weight+set&scoring=p

you can get a 300 lb Olympic Weight Set by Spartan for $139... and hell, Kmart, Sports Authority, and Dicks Sporting Goods carry it! Spend the extra 40 bones, and get the extra 140 pounds!

that barbell set is a waste of cash... check this out...


http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=spartan+olympic+weight+set&scoring=p

you can get a 300 lb Olympic Weight Set by Spartan for $139... and hell, Kmart, Sports Authority, and Dicks Sporting Goods carry it! Spend the extra 40 bones, and get the extra 140 pounds!
i just realized you might be preferring the cap barbell package because its standard, not olympic, and comes with dumbbell handles... oh well... olympic for me baby!

Will I ever "Max" out the standard bar? I mean, do I really have to worry about it?
and comes with dumbbell handles
Yea, thats another reason why I want this set.

How do you guys and girls feel about their products? Think this is a wise investment? http://www.thesportsauthority.com/product/index.jsp?productId=122957

Looks fine to me, but you might be able to save a little if you shop around a bit. (Sears has a Weider 160 lb set (http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=FIT&pid=00615747000) that's pretty much identical, on sale for $80 right now, for example.)

I actually got that same Weider set in-store at Sears for $60 back in September. It's served me well, and although I'm getting ready to move up to an Olympic-size set for bench press & squats, the standard dumbbells will always be handy, and I'll still keep the standard barbell around for barbell curls, bent rows and the like.

How much weight can you put on a standard bar? Im not gonna buy a weight set and then buy a new one a year later. If thats gonna be the case, Ill start with an Olympic set.

How much weight can you put on a standard bar? Im not gonna buy a weight set and then buy a new one a year later. If thats gonna be the case, Ill start with an Olympic set.

Some of the Olympic bars will be have 400 lb capacity, but they go all the way up to 1500 lbs!

I know you said you wouldn't be lifting massive poundages right away, but I'm sure you'd outgrow a 17 lb bar. But I think it might be worth it to save money in the short run.

Just keep in mind that an Olympic set is more expensive, and the bar can be 7 feet long. The bar is heavier, so you'd need less plates, but you couldn't go less than 45 lbs, the weight of the bar. The plates would also be more expensive (sorry , don't know the cost), and because the holes for the plates are bigger for an Olympic bar, some plates aren't compatible. You might have to start buying plates again.

Hope this helps.

Today, I just bought a 7-foot Oly bar with 300 lbs of Oly weights for $119.00 from a place called "Play it again Sports". Most of there stuff is used sporting equipment but they do carry new items also which my equipment was. I also bought a Powerhouse 6 1/2 rack, bench, leg curls, and lat tower for $240. Pretty good deal for around here. This store is in Pleasant Hill, CA. Maybe you have one around your area?

Thanks for all the help guys, but how much weight can I put on a Standard bar?

Thanks for all the help guys, but how much weight can I put on a Standard bar?


Total capacity for a standard bar doesn't really seem to be advertised much. Depending on the bar and the quality I would guess it is on the order of 250lbs or so. If you put enough weight on the bar to bend it and that bend doesn't reverse itself when you remove the weight then its too much...

Coincidentally I just bought that 160lb set. I dont foresee having a need for more than about 200lbs of capacity any time soon, and I needed the slightly smaller length of the standard bar to accomodate my limited work out space. If I have to upgrade to the Olympic in a couple years then so be it...

250 is plenty of weight for my needs.

Ive decided to go with an olympic weight set. They are not outrageous in price. And I figure these types of things should last a limetime so I dont want to end up buying a new set in a year or 2. Im going to go with the following
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=FIT&pid=00615748000

Some additional things you might want to think about:

Looking at different bars, the olympic weight bars tend to have a larger diameter where your hands grip (not just the size of the bar where the weights hang). This might make the bar more comfortable when benching (providing that your hands are large enough that the bar doesn't feel too thick for you, the extra thickness helps make it not feel like it's cutting into your hands).

Another shopping option for weights is Wal-Mart. They sell separate pieces there. They are very cheap, although it still might wind up costing more than buying a set. Wal-Mart sells olympic weights with handle cutouts that make them easier to pick up.

An advantage of buying the weights separately is that you can buy weights of the denomination that you want. For example, you can make the heaviest weights you buy 25 pounders so that you don't have to load/unload 45 pounders from the bar (just more 25 pounders).

I know the point of lifting weights is to build muscle, however:
After you have finished lifting and are tired, you might find removing a 45 pound weight from the bar to be a little difficult/awkward. You don't want to injure yourself accidentally. Injuries that force you to take a break from lifting when you are making progress are very frustrating.

Of course, when you are strong enough that liftings 45's is no big deal then the above does not apply. From your post, I think you might find moving 45's around a little difficult still.

For reference:
I think both sizes are useful in the long run.

Right now I have lots of standard size plates that I use both on a shrug bar and on spin-lock dumbell handles. I prefer spin-lock dumbell handles because I think they feel a lot safer (no worries of a weight sliding off and hitting you on the head). I've never seen olympic-size spin-lock handles and I don't know if anyone makes them.

I should be getting a power rack next month, at which point I will also get a olympic bar and weights for it. I'll probably be sticking to 25's as the maximum plate weights I'll be using (at least until I'm a lot stronger).

Hope this helps.