Barbell

A barbell is a piece of exercise equipment used in weight training, bodybuilding, weightlifting and powerlifting, consisting of a long bar with weights attached at each end.

Barbells range in length from 4 feet (1.2 m) to above 8 feet (2.4 m), although bars longer than 2.2 metres (7.2 ft) are used primarily by powerlifters and are not commonplace. The central portion of the bar varies in diameter from 25 millimetres (0.98 in) to 2 inches (51 mm) (e.g. Apollon's Axle), and is often engraved with a knurled crosshatch pattern to help lifters maintain a solid grip. Disc weights (plates) are slid onto the outer portions of the bar to increase or decrease the desired total weight. These weights are often secured with collars to prevent them from sliding off during the exercise, which can result in injuries, or flinging the unevenly loaded barbell through the air.