Olympic Weight Set Types To Consider Buying?
An increasing number of people are becoming interested in and are using olympic weight sets at home to strengthen their bodies, build muscle and get the definition they desire. Whether you are a basic lifter, a power lifter or into crossfit, this guide will help you determine the Best Olympic set which has the features to suit your training needs.
The most common Olympic weight sets come in a 300lb weight and are really popular in home gyms or commercial gyms. The varieties of sets available differ slightly in terms of the design features of the plates, the grips on the plates and bars, as well as the intended use.
The olympic weight sets are commonly sold in sets along with a barbell, however they can be purchased individually or in pairs and used as replacement plates for damaged, worn or warped plates from a previous set.
Some weight plates have special design features which allow them to be securely gripped for placement onto the barbell or to be used without a metal bar. The barbells are designed to be used with safety collars to secure the weight plates in place and also have cross hatched diagonal lines on the handles for firm and secure gripping during lifting.
Some weights are used for regular weight lifting, bench pressing, dead lifting or in crossfit. The best sets for use in crossfit are the ones which have low bounce and / or rubberized weight plates.
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Review of the Best Home Weight Set
Best Olympic Weight Set Reviews 2021
#7 Body-Solid Rubber Grip Weight Set
The Body Solid Rubber Grip Olympic Weight Set is a 300 pound set. It does come with a standard 7 ft olympic bar that weighs 45 lbs as you would expect.
It comes with rubber coated olympic weighted plates which is great for not scratching the floor or walls. The holes are the standard 2″ holes so you can use these on other bars or use other weights for the olympic bar if you have them. To secure the weights they come with spring collars to keep the weight on.
What’s a little unique on these is that there are 4 opens to grab the plate with and there are indentions on the plate that your fingers will fit into to make sure you get a solid grip. The writing on the plate is black if that does matter to some.
The 300 pound set comes with the standard weight increments. the 400 pound set adds two extra 45 pound plates and an extra two 5 pound plates. This is a very nice heavy duty rubber plated set that you do not have to worry about flaking or rusting.
Note: These are price and top of the line. More for you serious folks.
Olympic Weight Set Defined
Olympic style plates have been crafted according to the rigorous standards of the International Olympic Association (IOC). They are designed to match up to the same sizes, dimensions and weights as the ones used to compete internationally.
The one key difference between Olympic regulation weight plates and the ones designed for use at home is that they do not all have the protective rubber coating.
If this was added to your home gym olympic set, it would push the cost up so high, that it would become impractical to purchase. Instead, the plates are coated with alternative surface protectants, like rubber and vinyl, which prevents them from rusting or becoming easily damaged.
The plate sets are made of iron and range in weight from 2 ½ pounds up to 45 pounds each. I would highly recommend using them if you do a lot of bench press workouts, hang cleans and dead lifts.
Olympic Weight Set Buying Factors To Consider
Naturally your choice with this type of equipment, will depend on the type of weight training you intend to engage in. The features you will need to take into consideration are broken down below:
Design
Olympic weights were designed out of the box to be sturdy and tough. They have one purpose in mind and that is to allow you to lift weights while adding a lot of weight with ease.
Almost all of them come with a standard 2″ hole that fits the standard 6 and 7 foot olympic bars. They all simply slide on to the bar and are secured by some type of collar.
Most of them will be made out of cast iron and there are some that are rubber.
The set is designed for people who want to do exercises like bench press, dead lifts, curls, clean and jerks, military press and several other exercises. This makes it a very durable piece of equipment and value for money.
The material composition of the bar as well as the presence of knurling on the bar whether in two positions on either side or in the center, will determine the type of bar you choose.
The type of collar the weights set comes with also makes a difference in the way some people choose their sets. The collars comes in a variety of forms, some which include the common spring collar, muscle clamps, lockjaw collars and strap barbell collars, to name a few.
Note: The regular steel clamps with no handle cover are the cheapest collars and they tend to loose the tightness over time to hold the weights in place. Try to get the spring collar with rubber clamps or step up to the high end and grab a pair of locking clamps. You can get these in various colors as well to top it off.
Finish
To obtain a durable set of weighted olympic plates, the type of protective coating is important for the durability and protects it from chipping, rust and other damage from the elements. Most Olympic weight plates are made of cast iron metal. Some sets have metal bars which are made of steel. So, as time goes on you might see some wear on them.
For anyone who is going to workout side with them I would highly recommend using the rubber bumper plates so you don’t worry about any rust issues. The rubber plates are also recommend for those who are dropping the weights like in power lifting exercises or crossfit exercises.
Handling of the Weights
This could be a deal breaker for some. I have been using olympic weights for years and I do have a strong opinion about this buying factor. For handling the smaller 5-10 pound plates handling them is really irrelevant. When you start handling the 25-45 pound plates you really want a solid grip and you want it to be easy to handle.
You will see standard Cast iron plates that basically have a small lip on the outer edge you grab the plate with. So you are grabbing the 45 lb plate and holding it with your finger tips to put it on the bar. It’s not a big deal if you are strong enough to do it.
For me personally I would prefer the weighted plate that actually has a cut out to grab the plate with your full hand. It’s more like a handle per say and it is much easier and safer to carry the weight to put on the olympic bar.
Olympic Barbell
The standard Olympic weight bar length is 7 feet and weighs 45 pounds. Other weight bars come as 6 foot long bars. There are different weight capacities that are offered by different olympic weight bar makers. That standard is 300 pound weight capacity. This will suffice for most people.
For those of you that are going to get into that 400-800 pound mark when exercising you will obviously want a bar that is geared toward that amount of weight specifically.
There are two bars that I would recommend looking at that have a high weight capacity. One is the cap barbell olympic 7′ bar and the other one is the Rep Gladiator Olympic bar that has a 1500 pound capacity. These will fit perfectly on your home weight bench too.
Training Use
The best Olympic weight set for use in crossfit needs to have plates which produce low bounce and may also be rubberized to prevent damage to you or the floor when dropped.
Power lifters or basic at home lifters do not necessarily need that feature and have a wider range of options to choose from to find the best Olympic style set for their weight training goals.
Best Olympic Quality Weights for All Purposes
This is the perfect all around set if you do not want to restrict yourself to a specialized type of weights. It has a stainless steel, bar low bounce thinner plates and goes up to 500 pounds.
The CAP Barbell 300-Pound Olympic Set with Bar & collars comes with 300 pounds of solid cast iron plates which have grip holes. A standard 7 ft Olympic bar and spring clips to hold the weights one.
Whatever your weight lifting demands, there is a set of weights for you and you may choose to scale up or down in weight capacity as the need arises. You will find that the most popular is the 300 pound Olympic weight set, even though there are a few for which the standard weight is much less.
CAP Barbell 300-Pound Olympic Set
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