With the popularity of home gyms these days, those that are interested in weight lifting would be accustomed to using an olympic barbell. At your local gym you can see a wide variety of olympic barbells, but if your in the market for an olympic barbell, which one to buy?

Olympic barbells are rated by their lifting capacity, actual weight and other features which are important to consider when buying an olympic barbell. 

Lifting Capacity

Olympic barbells will show a lifting capacity in pounds (lb). A couple of examples include the Renegade 700lb Olympic Barbell or the Renegade 2000lb Olympic Barbell. 

From the above, we can see that 700lb equates to roughly 320kgs (lb/2.2=kg). That means that this barbell has a safe load limit of 320kgs. 

Actual Weight

Olympic barbells can be purchased that weight 10kg, 15kg or 20kg. The Renegade 700lb Olympic Barbell weighs 20kg.

Other Features

Bearings: Some types of olympic barbells will incorporate bearings that allow the barbell to spin more smoothly & consistently. An example of an olympic barbell with needle bearings is the Renegade 2000lb Olympic Barbell. This feature would be useful for advanced olympic lifts when you are lifting the barbell from the ground to an overhead position.

Knurling: To improve grip, that rough surface on an olympic barbell is called the knurling.