Test Bar

The Compact Olympic Barbell Standard 1000 is equipped with a solid 5 year warranty, ensuring that your weight training program is safe and worry-free.

The Compact Barbell 1000 has precision integrated needle bearing sleeves for silk smooth sleeve spin for your entire weight training routine.

The Barbell Standard 1000 Compact Barbell is constructed from the same 188,000 PSI tensile strength steel as the Barbell 1500 Olympic Barbell series. Rated for 1,000 pounds static load, this Compact barbell provides a stable foundation for heavy lifting with a balanced whip for your most explosive Olympic movements.

This Compact Barbell is finished with a light 1.0 knurl to provide a secure grip without the abrasion, and features both IPF and IWF knurl marks with no center knurl.

The sleeves and shaft are coated in corrosion-resistant and durable bright-zinc to maintain its performance and appearance over years of heavy use.

Best Barbells for Bench, Deadlift, and Squats

• 200k+ PSI tensile strength and less whip
• Rougher knurling with bronze bushings
• See our Barbell 2000

Best All-Purpose Barbells

• 180k-200k PSI tensile strength and moderate whip
• Lighter knurling. Bushings and needle bearings
• See our Barbell 1500

Best Beginner and Lighter Weight Barbells

• 160k-180k PSI tensile strength and moderate whip
• Light knurling. Bushings and bearings
• See our Barbell 1000

People at the beginning of their weightlifting journey are recommended to start with a lighter 15kg barbell (35lb barbell), but you can consider going straight to a 45lb Barbell if you're sure that you'll stick with it for the longterm, because this is the type of bar that you'll eventually want to own.

You should look for a light to medium knurl, a bar with bushing and/or bearing in the sleeves, and snap-ring endcap design to ensure lifetime quality.

Our Barbell 1000 is a great option in the 15lb/35lb catgory, and our Barbell 1500 is designed as an all-purpose gym barbell.

Yield and tensile strength both refer to the maximum load a barbell can support.

Yield strength measures the maximum stress a barbell can sustain before it will permanently bend. Tensile strength is the maximum stress a barbell can handle before it breaks. Tensile is always larger than Yield - steel will deform before it snaps.

Quality barbells will have 160,000 PSI tensile strength or higher, and all Barbell Standard barbells fit the bill.

Barbell sleeves are attached to the ends of the main barbell shaft where the weights are loaded. Quality barbell sleeves include bushings, bearings, or both between the bar and the sleeves to keep the rotation smooth and consistent. Without bushings or bearings, the barbell sleeves will grind on the shaft leading to an inconsistent spin.

Bronze bushings provide a slow, steady, and reliable spin for heavier and slower lifts like squat and bench press. They are typically preferred in a powerlifting barbells, like our Powerlifting Barbell 2000 which are equipped with self lubricating bronze bushings to provide a slow and reliable spin for years to come.

Needles bearing are often preferred for olympic barbell lifting routines because they provide a quicker and more responsive spin for these explosive and technical lifts. Our Olympic Barbell 1500 is equipped with both needle bearings and bronze bushings to deliver an exceptional lifting experience, while our and Compact Barbell 1000 comes with integrated needle bearings.

The reason finish is applied to barbells is to prevent rust. The choice of finish will also impact the feel and grip of the barbell on your hands. Bare steel bars require continual maintenance though they are typically the most cost effective option you can find.

Black oxide finish is the next most economical option, but it offers only a slight improvement in rust prevention vs bare steel because it is only a fine oxide layer which can be easily scratched which allows rust to settle in and spread.

Zinc coating is a popular option for the excellent combination of rust protection and grip. Zinc has better rust protection than oxide and cerakote alternatives without substantially impacting grip.

Stainless steel is the most expensive option and offers the highest corrosion resistance and maintains a feel similar to bare steel.

Whip measures how much and how easily a barbell can flex without permanently bending. The more whip a bar has the more the bar will flex with momentum. Many factors influence how much whip a bar has, but the main factors are the material a barbell is made with and the diameter of the bar.

Stiffer barbells with less whip, like our Powerlifting Barbell 2000, are typically preferred for the core lifts that are most common exercises for home gym lifters, like bench, deadlines, squats, etc.

More whip is typically preferred for lifters that plan to focus on the highly technical explosive Olympic lifts like clean and jerk, power cleans, and snatches. Our Olympic Barbell 1500 is an example a higher whip barbell.

Barbell knurl is a cross-hatched textured applied to a barbell in the area a lifter grips the bar. Knurl is used to create more grip between your hands and the bar.

The most aggressive knurling is applied to deadlift bars, where the chance of losing grip of the bar is highest - we include a pair of lifting straps with every barbell as an alternative means of maintaining your grip without shredding your hands.

Knurl marks, or knurl rings, are thin knurl-free rings on the knurled section of a barbell. Knurl marks are typically placed at standardized distances from the middle of the bar based on Olympic lifting and Powerlifting standards.

Knurl in the very middle of the bar is typically reserved for powerlifting bars to increase grip between your neck and the barbell for squats.