Men’s Olympic Bar Vs. Women’s Olympic Bar

What is an Olympic bar?

An Olympic bar (or barbell) is stronger and more durable than a standard weight lifting bar. A bar is used to load weight plates onto it from each side and then the bar is lifted and lowered for different exercises. Olympic bars use higher quality steel and can carry much heavier weight loads. Only Olympic weight plates can be loaded on Olympic bars. This type of bar also comes with a few options - a bench press Olympic bar is smooth in the middle whereas the squatting Olympic bar has ridges in the middle that help with grip.

What’s the difference between a men’s Olympic bar and a women’s Olympic bar?

The men’s Olympic bar and the women’s Olympic bar also have slight differences. Perhaps made to accommodate biological differences in the physiques of men and women, both bars are used by lifters of both genders. A smaller male lifter can benefit from the women’s Olympic bar and a larger female lifter can use the men’s Olympic bar for more proportionate weight distribution. In the same way, a beginner lifter can start off with a women’s Olympic bar to prevent injury and then graduate to a men’s Olympic bar. 

In terms of the actual differences between the bars, a men’s Olympic bar is heavier, longer, and thicker. A women’s Olympic bar is lighter, shorter, and smaller in diameter. Both bars have incredible tensile strength - the maximum load a bar can withstand under pressure. Anything over 160,000 PSI (pounds per square inch) is decent tensile strength.  

Whether you buy a men’s Olympic bar or a women’s Olympic bar depends on where you are in your working out journey and your own physique. For your first barbell, it’s a great idea to invest in a good-quality Olympic bar as opposed to a standard barbell since it will last you a long time. And an Olympic bar will open the door to Olympic lifting which has some amazing exercises!