How to Take Care of Your Olympic Bar
Quality Olympic lifting bars represent an investment. Good Olympic bars start at $400, while the top-end bars used at the actual Olympics cost several thousand dollars. Since the average lifter does not have a budget that allows him to replace the bar, several things should be done to maintain the bar's functionality. The two most important things a lifter can do to take care of an Olympic bar is to use bumper plates and a lifting platform.
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Instructions
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Caring for an Olympic Barbell
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Buy bumper plates. If there is one thing that can keep an Olympic bar functioning like it should, it is the use of bumper plates. Bumper plates are rubberized weight plates that help absorb and minimize the transfer of energy from the plates to the bar. This reduces the wear and tear on the bushings and ball bearings that allow the Olympic barbell's sleeves to rotate freely.
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Buy or build an Olympic lifting platform. An Olympic lifting platform serves much the same purpose as bumper plates in that it absorbs and minimizes the transfer of energy from the loaded barbell hitting the ground. An Olympic lifting platform can be built by purchasing three 4-foot-by-8-foot sheets of plywood and one 4-foot-by-8-foot piece of rubber matting that is the same thickness as the plywood. Place two of the sheets of plywood side by side so it forms an 8 foot by 8 foot square. Center the third sheet of plywood in the middle of the square and secure it to the two other pieces with glue and wood screws. Cut the rubber matting in half so you have two pieces that are 2 foot by 8 foot and glue one onto each side of the center piece of plywood that you secured on top of the other two pieces of plywood. This creates a thick, level platform that can absorb the repeated shock of dropped barbells.
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Spray the cloth rag with WD-40 and periodically wipe off the sleeves of the Olympic barbell. Do not use any oil or other lubricants on the sleeve because of the potential for the lubricant to get into the internal bushings, collect dust and dirt and reduce the sleeves' ability to rotate freely.
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Tips & Warnings
Bumper plates are much like Olympic barbells in that they greatly range in price. For training purposes, a 230-pound set can be purchased for around $500. Alternatively, a precisely calibrated set, like the ones used in the Olympics, costs several thousand dollars.
