Women’s vs men’s barbell
- Thread starter truthtellah
- Start date
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- Tags
- crossfit
@chapelmusicworship Yes but they’ll do ANYTHING to squeeze extra money out of their affiliates 
truthtellah
New member
@truthtellah Buy your own bar and leave it at the gym. Many gyms I’ve been to have an area for personal bars
chinyereukoha
New member
@truthtellah Any chance they have an extra training bar (like 10kg) you could use?
Otherwise it sounds like hook grip will become even more important. Maybe some extra tape and breaks/reduced reps to help with fatigue. At least it won't impact every movement.
Otherwise it sounds like hook grip will become even more important. Maybe some extra tape and breaks/reduced reps to help with fatigue. At least it won't impact every movement.
@truthtellah Buy your own! Don't let the hoarders get it either
@truthtellah That's the most basic of equipment- you need a new gym
@truthtellah All the CF gyms I've been to always had the same amount of women's bars as men's, if not more. Sheesh, sounds like you identified the first of what could be many problems for you down the line.
@truthtellah Barbells are the basics of a gym, being a past owner, you need to have as many if not more 15Kg bars, demographics of your membership is probably 60/40 women vs men. This owner is out to lunch if they don’t have these BBs. Find another gym .
@truthtellah Just joining the chorus of "find another gym." You're paying a LOT for membership, and if they only have mens barbells, you aren't getting access to the necessary equipment. I drop in at a lot of gyms, and even the tiniest gyms with old equipment still had enough women's bars.
If you love the community and really want to stay, I'd get my own. I have this one and I LOVE it:
https://www.fringesport.com/collect.../wonder-woman-bar-15kg-womens-olympic-barbell
If you love the community and really want to stay, I'd get my own. I have this one and I LOVE it:
https://www.fringesport.com/collect.../wonder-woman-bar-15kg-womens-olympic-barbell
@truthtellah Dang.. that’s a no for me. I’ve never been to a gym that doesn’t have a good amount of both. Mine has 20 of each. Our gym is over 70% female… it wouldn’t fly
@truthtellah What kind of owner skimps on women’s BB’s? Do they only have 24in boxes and are like “sucks for you “ to anyone who can’t jump 24? Or only 20&14 wallballs (hopefully both )
inquiring_mind
New member
@truthtellah Being on here reading these wild stories, I feel lucky to be in my box. I would just take my money elsewhere if I could to be honest. And state your reason for leaving clearly so they know it is real, for the sake of the members that stay behind.
oldregularbaptist
New member
@truthtellah The gym owner is showing how much she values her female members. Maybe you should believe her..
Another option is to keep an eye on fb marketplace for your own barbell and get the coaches to store it in the office when youre not there
Another option is to keep an eye on fb marketplace for your own barbell and get the coaches to store it in the office when youre not there
@truthtellah little pet peeve of mine is calling them men's and women's bars (opposed to 20kg and 15kg bars), but that is just me, and is beside the point.
I have been a member at quite a few gyms and this has never been the case -- they always have plenty. I can only think of one time where there were not enough 15kg bars for all who wanted them, and it was a huge class where people needed two barbells for the strength piece (deadlifts and split squats) and me and a friend shared a 20kg split squat bar and everyone else had their own. Not a big deal at all. One 15kg bar for the whole gym is a huge red flag and you should find a new gym, and let your owner know why you are leaving
I have been a member at quite a few gyms and this has never been the case -- they always have plenty. I can only think of one time where there were not enough 15kg bars for all who wanted them, and it was a huge class where people needed two barbells for the strength piece (deadlifts and split squats) and me and a friend shared a 20kg split squat bar and everyone else had their own. Not a big deal at all. One 15kg bar for the whole gym is a huge red flag and you should find a new gym, and let your owner know why you are leaving
@nice19
They exist because of the men's and women's divisions of weightlifting, and are designed to be different handle diameters and whippiness. The difference in weight is a side effect.
There exist, in this world, 15kg bars that are not women's bars. Big difference. If you have trouble snatching on a men's bar you would have just as much trouble snatching on a 15kg shorty bar, which tend to have the same handle diameter as regular men's bars.
Anyway, agreed about the huge red flag. Women's bar is a piece of standard equipment in Crossfit, not supplying it is pretty f'd up.
They exist because of the men's and women's divisions of weightlifting, and are designed to be different handle diameters and whippiness. The difference in weight is a side effect.
There exist, in this world, 15kg bars that are not women's bars. Big difference. If you have trouble snatching on a men's bar you would have just as much trouble snatching on a 15kg shorty bar, which tend to have the same handle diameter as regular men's bars.
Anyway, agreed about the huge red flag. Women's bar is a piece of standard equipment in Crossfit, not supplying it is pretty f'd up.
kaitlynturner
New member
@truthtellah Point and counterpoint
That sucks as CrossFit specifically loads using gendered loading parameters. Part of that requires a 15kg bar and in Olympic Weightlifting a 15kg for females is a standard
However - the vast majority of commercial gyms only have 20kg bars. In powerlifting or strongman, the 20kg bar is the standard for all athletes (I’m deliberately ignoring squat and deadlift specific bars). Plenty of females get on just fine with them and excel with them.
The balance is, if they are a CrossFit gym, they should have female bar but you should be fine in the long run.
That sucks as CrossFit specifically loads using gendered loading parameters. Part of that requires a 15kg bar and in Olympic Weightlifting a 15kg for females is a standard
However - the vast majority of commercial gyms only have 20kg bars. In powerlifting or strongman, the 20kg bar is the standard for all athletes (I’m deliberately ignoring squat and deadlift specific bars). Plenty of females get on just fine with them and excel with them.
The balance is, if they are a CrossFit gym, they should have female bar but you should be fine in the long run.
@kaitlynturner I take your point - though I suspect that the difficulties people with small hands would encounter using a thicker 20kg bar wouldn't usually be felt in strongman or powerlifting.
I think it would become more of an issue in oly lifting where you are changing your grip in the course of a lift, and would be particularly an issue in Crossfit when you are doing so repeatedly for higher volume reps (ie barbell cycling).
I think it would become more of an issue in oly lifting where you are changing your grip in the course of a lift, and would be particularly an issue in Crossfit when you are doing so repeatedly for higher volume reps (ie barbell cycling).