Lifemaxx barbell bars

Why choose Lifemaxx barbell bars?

In this category Lifemaxx is the brand of the exercise-specific bar. Where other brands build breadth in plain Olympic bars, here you get a row of bars that each exist for one movement: a safety squat bar with shoulder pads and handles at the front, a gently cambered buffalo bar, an Olympic hex bar that lets you deadlift with your hands beside your body, a twisted Olympic V-bar of 1250 mm and an Olympic EZ bar of 1200 mm. These are not premium versions of the same bar, they are five different answers to five different complaints.

A number of those bars carry the Crossmaxx name, the line Lifemaxx aims at crossfit and functional training. The strongman log bar and the farmer's walk handle set belong to it as well, two items you are more likely to meet in a box than in a regular gym. It is the same thinking you see from this line elsewhere in the shop: equipment that matches a way of training, rather than a series that only differs in kilos. Also take a look at the other fitness equipment from Lifemaxx.

The second side of this brand sits a long way from that. For group classes and for light high-repetition work, Lifemaxx supplies bars with the weight already fixed in place: straight and EZ bars of 16 kg, PU straight bars of 35 kg and PU EZ bars of 25 kg, plus a Body Pump Bar of 140 cm and a Studio Pump set. You lift one off the rack, do your set and put it back without touching a single plate. Two very different kinds of buyer, then, and it helps a lot to know which of the two you are.

The range of barbell bars from Lifemaxx

Nineteen items, spread across five groups plus the collars that go with them:

• Olympic 50 mm bars: 1500 mm for smaller racks and home use, 2200 mm for a power rack with normal inside width, and a competition version at 2200 mm for heavy lifting. You buy these bare and load them yourself.
• Exercise-specific bars: safety squat bar, Crossmaxx buffalo bar, Olympic hex bar, twisted Olympic V-bar of 1250 mm and Olympic EZ bar of 1200 mm. Each of them changes the angle your hands or your shoulders sit at.
• Strongman equipment: the Crossmaxx strongman log bar and the Crossmaxx farmer's walk handle set. Thick, awkward and built for carrying and pressing rather than for neat sets in a rack.
• Fixed-weight bars: a straight bar of 16 kg, an EZ bar of 16 kg, PU straight bars of 35 kg and PU EZ bars of 25 kg. The load is permanent, so you need neither plates nor collars.
• Class bars: a Body Pump Bar of 140 cm and a Studio Pump set. Light in weight and made for sessions where you string dozens of repetitions together.
• Collars in two sizes: a Crossmaxx Fast Lock collar set and Olympic spring clip collars for 50 mm bars, plus spring clip collars for 30 mm bars. Those two sizes are not interchangeable.

Which Lifemaxx barbell bar suits you?

Because nearly every bar here exists for one thing, your choice starts with the exercise and not with the weight.

Your squat is limited by your shoulders: take the safety squat bar. The pads carry the bar on your shoulders and neck and the handles sit at the front, so you never have to rotate your shoulders back to hold on. With stiff shoulders or an old injury in that area, that is the difference between squatting and not squatting.

Your lower back takes more than you want on deadlifts: the Olympic hex bar. You stand inside the frame with your hands beside your body instead of in front of it, so the load hangs directly under your centre of gravity and your torso stays more upright.

Your wrists complain during biceps work: the Olympic EZ bar of 1200 mm or the twisted V-bar of 1250 mm. Both set your hands at an angle instead of flat, which removes exactly the rotation in your forearm that a straight bar makes painful.

You have a small rack or you train at home: start with the Olympic bar of 1500 mm. Measure the inside width between the uprights of your power rack first, because a 2200 mm bar will not simply drop into it.

You train in a box or on a crossfit floor: the Crossmaxx bars are made for that, from the buffalo bar to the log bar and the farmer's walk handles. That equipment matches the crossfit rigs such a floor is usually built around.

You teach group classes or work at high repetitions: the Body Pump Bar of 140 cm or the Studio Pump set. Light bars that people pick up and put back without changing plates, which is exactly what you need in a class of twenty.

What should you look for when buying Lifemaxx barbell bars?

50 mm or 30 mm: check your plates first

This is the mistake made most often in the whole strength category. 50 mm is the Olympic size, 30 mm the standard size, and a plate in one size will not go on a bar in the other. Every bar from this brand is 50 mm, and the collars make the difference concrete: there are collars for 50 mm and collars for 30 mm, because the first belong to these bars and the second to a standard bar you may already own. Check which hole size your existing weight plates have before you pay for anything.

Length against the inside width of your rack

The Olympic bars come in 1500 mm and 2200 mm. A 2200 mm bar is the size a normal power rack is designed around and gives you room for a wide grip on bench press and squats. 1500 mm is meant for smaller racks, for a corner of the garage and for anyone short on space. Measure between the uprights before choosing the longest bar, because a few centimetres too little makes it useless in your rack.

Loading plates yourself or lifting a fixed weight

This is the most important split in this brand and also the most confusing one. An Olympic bar arrives empty: you add plates, lock them with collars and decide the weight yourself. A fixed bar, such as the straight and EZ bars of 16 kg or the PU bars of 35 and 25 kg, has the load built in permanently and never changes. You buy those by weight rather than by bar, and no plates or collars are involved. If you want progression in small steps you need an Olympic bar; if you want speed and convenience in a studio, a fixed bar.

Grip, knurling and where the bar touches you

Knurling is the rough crosshatched grip zone. Aggressive knurling gives grip on heavy pulls but chafes over many repetitions, and a centre knurl keeps the bar from sliding on your back during squats. On the competition version at 2200 mm that grip zone is the most precisely finished, because that bar is intended for heavy lifting. On the special bars the comfort sits elsewhere: in the pads of the safety squat bar, in the camber of the buffalo bar and in the angle of the EZ and V-bars.

Collars: which ones and how many

An Olympic bar is not finished without collars. Spring clip collars are the simplest and cheapest option and are enough for most sets. The Crossmaxx Fast Lock collar set grips harder and opens and closes faster, which counts if you change weight a lot between sets or if the bar regularly ends up on the floor. Budget one set per bar and mind the size: 50 mm for the bars from this brand, 30 mm only if you still have a standard bar at home.

Our advice: start with the exercise you cannot currently perform well. If your squat is stuck, the safety squat bar gives you the most back; if deadlifts are the problem, the hex bar; if your wrists join in on curls, the EZ bar or the twisted V-bar. If you have no bar at all yet, take an Olympic bar in the length that fits your rack with a set of 50 mm collars first, and add the special bars later as your training asks for them.

Who are Lifemaxx barbell bars suitable for?

• Crossfitters and functional athletes: the Crossmaxx bars, from the buffalo bar to the log bar and the farmer's walk handles, are built for this work and cover the carrying and pressing you never do in a regular gym.
• Anyone training around an injury: the safety squat bar, the hex bar and the two curl bars exist to keep a movement possible that hurts with a straight bar.
• Home lifters with a compact corner: an Olympic bar of 1500 mm, 50 mm plates and a set of collars make a complete strength base that fits in a garage.
• Heavy lifters: the competition version at 2200 mm is the bar you work towards for heavy squats, bench press and deadlifts, and that is where maximum load as a separate specification really starts to matter.
• Studios and instructors: the Body Pump Bar of 140 cm and the Studio Pump set are made for classes, and the fixed PU bars round that out for small groups. Once several bars stand side by side, storage systems keep them in place and off the floor.

Less suitable if you are looking for breadth in plain Olympic bars or want a complete set with plates included, because that is not what this brand aims at: you get three straight bars and otherwise mostly special ones. If you work with 30 mm standard plates, you will only find collars in that size here and no bar, because every bar is Olympic. And anyone hoping for one bar that does everything gets little out of a range that deliberately splits by exercise.

Need help choosing?

Would you like to buy Lifemaxx barbell bars but are you not quite sure which diameter, which length or which type of bar suits you? We are happy to help. You can reach our fitness specialists by phone on +31 85 773 00 57, send an email or visit our fitness store in Volkel, the Netherlands.

Frequently asked questions about Lifemaxx barbell bars

What is the difference between 30 mm and 50 mm?

That is the diameter of the sleeve at the end of the bar where the plates go. 50 mm is the Olympic size and 30 mm the standard size, and they are not interchangeable. An Olympic plate drops loosely around a standard bar and will not stay put, and a standard plate simply will not slide over an Olympic sleeve. Every bar from this brand is 50 mm, while the collars here come in both sizes, because plenty of people still have a standard bar at home. So look at the hole in your plates and not at the bar you like the look of.

What do you use a safety squat bar for?

For squats where you do not want to, or cannot, rotate your shoulders far back. The bar has pads that rest on your shoulders and neck and handles that sit at the front, so you hold it in front of you instead of behind you. That makes squatting possible with stiff shoulders, with a shoulder or elbow injury, and for anyone who cannot get a regular bar to sit stable on their back. Because the load is distributed slightly differently, the same kilo also feels heavier on your upper back, which is a training stimulus in itself.

Is a hex bar better than a straight bar for deadlifts?

Not better, but different. With a hex bar you stand inside the frame with your hands beside your body, so the load hangs directly under your centre of gravity and your torso stays more upright. That reduces the load on your lower back and makes the movement easier to perform with good technique. A straight bar loads your posterior chain harder and is what you need if you train the classic deadlift specifically. Plenty of people use both: the hex bar for volume and the straight bar for the heavy sets.

Can I add plates to a fixed PU bar later?

No. On a fixed bar the weight is part of the bar: it is permanently attached and there are no free sleeves for plates. That is exactly what separates it from an Olympic bar, which you buy bare and load yourself. If you want to move up in small steps, buy an Olympic bar and plates. If you want to grab a fixed weight quickly in a class or a studio and put it straight back, the fixed straight and EZ bars are the faster answer.

Do I need collars if I already have a bar?

Yes, unless your bar was supplied with them. Without collars your plates slide outwards during a set, which costs you your balance and your floor. Take the size that matches your bar: 50 mm for an Olympic bar, 30 mm for a standard bar. Spring clip collars are the simple choice, and the Crossmaxx Fast Lock collar set grips tighter and changes faster, which is mainly welcome if you switch weight often.