Barbell

exercise · strength training · sports equipment

What it looks like. A barbell has a long metal shaft in the middle with circular weight plates that slide onto each end, kind of like a see-saw but much heavier and used for lifting.

Weights slide on. The plates on a barbell can be added or removed depending on how strong you are, so beginners might use lighter plates while athletes doing competitions use much heavier ones.

Builds serious strength. People use barbells to lift heavy weights repeatedly, which makes their muscles grow bigger and stronger over time through a process called strength training.

Used in competitions. Weightlifters and powerlifters compete in events where they lift barbells as heavy as possible to show who is the strongest, with world records for the biggest lifts.

Different for different lifts. Olympic weightlifting barbells are a specific weight and size, while powerlifting barbells might be slightly different, and they're all designed so athletes can safely lift huge amounts of weight.