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Sports & Fitness vocabulary · Gym & Equipment

Barbell

Meaning in sports & fitness, with examples

/ˈbɑrbel/nounCore term

In sports & fitness, barbell means: A long metal bar with weight plates added at each end, held with both hands for exercises such as squats, deadlifts and bench presses.

In Turkish: bar, halter, barbell

How it is used

The main tool of strength training and weightlifting. You load the barbell with plates, secure them with collars, and unrack and rack the bar. Lifters often just say the bar: "How much is on the bar?" A standard men's Olympic bar weighs 20 kg.

Example sentences

  1. Load the barbell with two 20-kilo plates and check that the collars are tight.

  2. She squats with a barbell twice a week.

Common collocations

  • load the barbell
  • barbell squat
  • barbell row
  • Olympic barbell
  • empty barbell
  • dumbbellA short bar with a weight at each end, held in one hand; used singly or in pairs for exercises such as curls, presses and rows.
  • deadliftA lift in which you pick up a loaded barbell from the floor until you are standing upright, mainly working the back, glutes and hamstrings.
  • bench pressAn exercise in which you lie on a flat bench and push a barbell or dumbbells up from your chest until your arms are straight.
  • squatAn exercise in which you bend your knees and hips to lower your body as if sitting down, then stand up again; done with body weight or a load.
  • free weightsWeights that are not attached to a machine, such as dumbbells, barbells and kettlebells, so the user has to control and balance them.

More terms: Gym & Equipment

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