gottabend Posted October 3, 2005 Share Posted October 3, 2005 I acquired my first thick bar this weekend - a 7' length of 2" diameter, cold-rolled steel. It's got real heft. Weighs a little more than 70 lbs without the collars. I read several years ago in Dinosaur Training about the benefits of thick bar work but unfortunately, didn't pay it much heed. I've read repeatedly on this forum about how many of you use thick-handled dumbbells and a 2" bar. Didn't have much time last night but did bent rows, stiff-legged deadlifts, and squats using same. I had assumed I wouldn't be able to pull half of what I could with a regular bar but was wrong. I added 10lbs to my rows last night. Had to go from 3x8 to 5x5 as didn't feel confident I could hold it for many reps yet. Am anxious to try deadlift with it and see what I can pull. I absolutely loved squatting with it. I don't pad and the additional surface area of the 2" bar was a huge improvement over the oly bar digging into the traps. Question: Have any of you observed carry-over to pinch or cruch from doing thick-bar work? When finished with rows and stiff-legged deads, I felt the same connective tissue pull in the back of my forewarms as when I work with the Blob. One more... should I combine 2" and oly bar deadlifts? Reason is that I can lift much more with the oly bar than with the thick bar. I'm thinking that I will continue to pull more and more weight with the oly and at the same time, add a set ot two with the big boy and try to progress as well. Your thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sybersnott Posted October 4, 2005 Share Posted October 4, 2005 Question: Have any of you observed carry-over to pinch or cruch from doing thick-bar work? ← I have. Both my crush and my pinch have improved dramatically. One more... should I combine 2" and oly bar deadlifts? Reason is that I can lift much more with the oly bar than with the thick bar. I'm thinking that I will continue to pull more and more weight with the oly and at the same time, add a set ot two with the big boy and try to progress as well. Your thoughts? Sure, why not? EXPERIMENT. Try it one way for a week, and the other way another week. I've felt that DL'ing is better for me with a thick bar once the weight gets to be towards your max. The Oly bar digs into the hands and makes it feel uncomfortable and with the thick bar you don't have that problem. Again, this is me - YMMV. Try it both ways and see what results you get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikael Siversson Posted October 5, 2005 Share Posted October 5, 2005 Question: Have any of you observed carry-over to pinch or cruch from doing thick-bar work? ← I have. Both my crush and my pinch have improved dramatically. Agree. My crush and pinch go up when I do thickbars. There is an initial, brief drop in crushing strength though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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