How to Pick a Lightweight Training Barbell

The Problem

Normal 7ft olympic bars weigh 45 lbs / 20 kg. This is too high of a starting weight for many exercises for women, non-athletic men, seniors, kids, and even somewhat trained athletes learning complex movements like the clean or snatch.

Luckily, it’s easy to get all kinds of lighter bars!

Here’s how to pick the best type/model of a light weight bar. These bars are all around 5-6 ft long, compared to a full-size 7 ft long, 45 lb bar.

Rackable Solid Steel Bars

These solid steel shortie bars come in two types that are important to distinguish: Rackable and non-rackable.

These and the non-rackable solid steel bars (below) are among the heaviest of the bars here, around 30-33 lbs. Keep moving on down this page if that’s still to heavy for your purposes.

This means they’ll fit on a full sized power rack or squat rack, because they have the same long 52″ or so between the inside collars as 7ft bars do, with shortened sleeves on the ends. With shorter sleeves you can’t fit as much weight, but that isn’t really an issue here because the whole point is you want it light.

This also makes them the right size for practicing snatches, for tall or long-armed athletes who need the full width, or close to it. Bars with shorter shafts would present an issue with getting a wide enough grip.

Best for: For training olympic lifts, or general training with a lower starting weight

Women’s Olympic Bars

These are a lot like the above but with a thin 25mm shaft compared to 28mm+. They are all exactly 15kg / 33 lb.

They’re specifically used for women’s olympic lifting, which call for the thinner bar that fits a woman’s hands better. Some men find them nice to use too. Yes, there are colors other than pink.

Best For: Women’s olympic lifting

Non-Rackable Solid Steel Bars

This 6ft bar is a lot like the rackable solid steel bars further above, but a shorter shaft. This one is 35 lbs.

The main thing to keep in mind is the shaft is in the range of 39″ to 43″, making it not fit a power rack or squat rack, and it won’t work for practicing snatches or very wide grip presses.

Best for: Very tight spaces or doing accessory exercises

Aluminum Bars

Now we start to get to the really light ones. Aluminum is super light, about 40% the weight of steel, making for a light 15 lb bar. 

They can be used on a rack if you’re careful not to drop it, and these have the same dimensions as the “rackable” steel bars mentioned above, full 52″ shaft length. Just don’t put more than a 45lb plate on each side, preferably less, or you could damage it if you’re rough with it.

Some of these come in a 5 lb “junior” version, and so far that’s an extreme specialty item. See the OSO Mini Bar, a 4ft long version with a thin 22mm shaft, made for young kids’ small hands and small frame.

Best For: Training olympic lifts, or for young kids

Solid Steel Standard Bars

Standard bars are a whole different animal, totally incompatible with olympic weights. 

Standard bars with 1″ diameter ends are becoming less and less common all the time, as everyone switches to olympic bars with 2″ diameter ends. Olympic is by far the best, with the variety, quality and versatility of the bars and plates. 

If you’ve got a setup with standard weights, these bars can be pretty light, around 15-20 lbs. They’re 1″ from end to end and therefore don’t carry the extra weight of the rotating sleeves. Also, they tend to be exactly 1″ (25mm) diameter, which is thinner than 28mm+ olympic bars.

Best For: Home gyms using standard weights

Hollow Standard Bars

Like the solid steel standard bars further above, these hollow bars have only 1″ diameter ends and won’t take olympic weights. They’re used in group cardio classes like BodyPump, and each person adds what ever amount of weight to the 5 lb bar that’s appropriate for them. These are only made to take about 40 lbs and aren’t meant to be used on a rack because the thin steel pipes can get dented.

The bars by themselves can be sometimes hard to find. They’re normally sold as part of a set as pictured.

Best For: Group cardio classes

That’s about it! Let me know if I can clarify the above choices or if there’s something I missed!