One choice piece of equipment that Dave and I are particularly fond of is the barbell. Yes, we also love medicine balls, dumbbells, kettlebells and rings, but there is just something extra special about those bars…
One thing that makes them so special is their versatility. There are literally hundreds of different exercises you can do with them – all the deadlifts, the squats, the presses… these only scratch the surface. With our “geek trainer” brains and a little bit of applied creativity, it wouldn’t be hard to list 50+ different barbell exercises to hit every muscle in your body in different ways.
Another thing about barbells is that they build strength like crazy. I’m not just talking about the powerlifter kind of strength where you can pick up heavy objects… I’m talking about ALL kinds of strength – core stabilization, cardio strength (stamina & endurance), speed strength, balance strength and athletic strength to name a few. The Olympic lifts for example (clean & jerk, snatch, etc.) build total-body “speed-strength” that sprinters and basketball players find particularly helpful in improving their performance.
With a wingspan of 7’ and weighing in at 45 pounds, however, the barbell is an awkwardly sized piece. This is one reason they are rarely included in our classes. The other, more important reason is technique. Learning to execute the main lifts safely requires hours of repetition and practice. Once learned, however, the barbell will quickly become one of your favorite tools in the gym – guaranteed.
It is our dream to have everyone at Fulcrum doing overhead squats, cleans and push jerks like the pro’s. We highly encourage you to sign-up for any of the upcoming Saturday clinics. If the clinic times don’t work for you, get with Dave or myself for a couple personal training sessions where we can teach you those movements one on one.
All my best,
-Trevor Hollingsworth, C-PT
I truly hope there are a lot more posts like this one your blog; we need to get the bands out there.
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