Bars Are Tools For Everyone Regardless of Your Goals

I truly believe that specialty barbells are often overlooked, or misinterpreted by many. I have met many lifters and coaches who see them as purposeless. I don’t believe that type of thinking has any validity to it, and you can see the value they provide in the array of exercise selections and modifications if you are open minded to a new way of seeing and doing things. Many are married to the barbell, in which none of us meatheads blame them as it’s what most of us fell in love with in the first place and still hold near and dear to our hearts. But, bars are tools that we are fortunate enough to have at our disposal that serve a multitude of purposes. Such as:

• Different stimulus, hits muscles from different angles which is going to place us in different positions mechanically

• Provides the ability to work around injuries or limitations

• Different pattern of movement to build strength in a variety of ways

• The variety of each bar allows us to keep things fresh and potentially prevent injuries, plateaus or boredom

• Placement of load on the body

• Efficiency

I can think of a million examples as to why specialty bars are so important, but to name a few that are relevant to my training and coaching experience and with others; The injured lifter who’s in a sling or the older adult who struggles with shoulder external rotation, no worries if there’s an SSB or Marrs Bar on deck to get in squats, reverse lunges and good mornings. A football bar with angled grips turned around is like a reverse grip, which is great to utilize for offensive lineman because that mimics the arm and hand angle/position they are taught to block with. This allows us to get stronger in a specific position. A football bar, as well as a fat bar, are also great tools to work around wrist/elbow/shoulder issues, which I have had to exercise in my own training with a previous shoulder and elbow injury. Cambered bars help place the load in a different area on the body, alleviating pressure in other areas of the body that would typically be loaded with a traditional barbell, but it also adds in a huge stability component due to the nature of the bar wanting to swing. This can be great during a lifter’s offseason, a deload week, or utilized for athletes and tactical personnel to get stronger in different positions which directly transfers to their sport/career. 

When we think of longevity in our respected sport, in life, or even the aspect of training general population adults as well as older adults, specialty bars should be one of the first things in mind. I’m a big believer in not relying on machines and pure muscle isolation training, instead I’d rather build movement to strengthen our bodies to prepare for the everyday demands of life. Machines have their place for sure, and I don’t avoid them entirely, but functional and foundational movements are the key in my eyes to building a strong, resilient body. Specialty bars can give us an opportunity to incorporate traditional, foundational movements more frequently while minimizing wear and tear, while also providing new and creative ways to perform exercises that can also serve as a way to keep things mentally fresh so we can continue attacking and improving, longer. 

Bars are also a tremendous tool for those of us that have home gyms. Machines are expensive and can take up a lot of space, plus most of them are limited in their use as they are designed to isolate specific muscles of the body. But getting a couple additional barbells can truly amplify your training and add tons of variety to what you can do in a limited space. Adding in a safety squat bar (SSB), a football bar and a trap bar can really do wonders for a home gym. 

There are no absolutes in training. While I love the barbell, and never stray from utilizing it in training, it is not the end all be all in my opinion. If we can mimic similar patterns with different implements/tools that will result in the same result that we’re after - carryover to everyday life and overall muscle and balance improvement - then why not utilize them? Especially if it’s going to give us the same result, in an easier fashion and potentially reduce the risk of injury, or even work around injury. I believe that there are many different ways to achieve similar results when training and it doesn’t always need to involve the same things for most people. Don’t be afraid to try something new and think outside the box. Bars are an investment and a tool that can bring us, as well as others, closer to our goals.