The Vulcan Elite is a 28 mm bushing bar designed specifically for Olympic weightlifting. It is the more affordable “training” version of the $600 Vulcan Professional Bearing Bar, with the biggest differences being the use of bushings instead of bearings, and of course, the price.
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This is a review for the newest adaptation of the Again Faster Team Bar, the new 2.0. Just a heads up, I have no hands-on experience with the previous Team Bars, so there won’t be any comparisons between the original bar or version 1.2. Just consider this a stand alone review for the 2.0.
This is a review for what is now the fourth Vulcan bar that I’ll review here at Garage Gyms; the Vulcan Standard 28.5 mm Olympic Bar; or what I think of as the Box Bar. Previously I reviewed the Vulcan Elite, the One Basic, and the Bearing Training Bar, and I think that it’s safe to say that the Elite and this Standard are my two favorites so far. Granted, these two are the more expensive of the four so it’s not a complete surprise that it would work out that way, but it is what it is.
We are only three full months into 2015, but there has already been a lot of really cool new releases in the strength training, Olympic weightlifting, and CrossFit world; especially when it comes to bumpers and weights. Whenever a good half dozen or more cool new pieces of equipment pile up, I like to do a quick post that highlights them just in case anyone missed their release. Most of this stuff is serious equipment, but I tend to add fun things as well.
If you’re looking to add a Glute Ham Developer (GHD) to your home or garage gym, that’s great! The GHD is an fantastic piece of equipment to have in your arsenal, as owning one opens the door to many important exercises that are difficult to replicate without either the glute ham developer or the various commercial hamstring machines.
If you’re setting up your own garage gym, there’s a pretty good chance that you’ll end up in the market for a flat utility bench. You can easily spend a small fortune on a well-built, non-adjustable utility bench, but this isn’t the piece of equipment that really requires you to go all out and spend a third of your salary. One of the better, more affordable options out there is the Rogue Utility Bench, and it just so happens to be the one I ended up with.
I was seeing some chatter about Rogue adding some competition-style, kilogram change plates going back a couple months and it looks like they are finally available for sale. How exciting!
Rogue Fitness has already done a superb job in offering affordable, professional Olympic WL equipment. They sell competition/training bumper plates, high-end Olympic WL bearing bars and affordable training bars, technique plates, and even lifting platforms, but they have been missing change plates and 2.5 kg pro collars. With one of the last pieces of the puzzle now available, is it true that Rogue also plans to seek IWF-certification?
This is a review for the Vulcan 28.5 mm Training Bearing Bar – which is practically identical to the previous Vulcan bar that I reviewed, the Vulcan One. The primary difference between these two bars is that the Vulcan One Basic is a bushing bar, and the 28.5 mm Training Bar is a needle bearing bar.
For the last three years or so I’ve had a Rogue R4 power rack in my garage gym (many of you have no doubt seen my glowing review for the R4), and in that time I have had not one issue, problem, or complaint with or about the R4. It has served me well. I even purchased many accessories for it; all of which work wonderfully and get used regularly. All that being said, despite my respect for the R4, I’ve replaced it with the smaller Rogue R3 Power Rack.
Aside from prices, one of the biggest factors that people consider when shopping for basic bumper plates is how durable the lighter, 10-pound plates are. Anyone with a decent chunk of Olympic lifting experience knows that those 10’s are the first plates to end up in the trash due to warping and/or steel inserts popping out. People want to know that whatever brand they end up with is going to include resilient 10-pound bumpers (and to a lesser extent, the 15-pound plates) that can withstand some decent abuse before turning into a taco shell.
Well maybe Olympic collars aren’t the most important piece of equipment ever, but I didn’t want a boring title for a somewhat boring article. Sue me!
This is a guide to the great number of our Olympic collar options, and boy are there many! Other than to mention that I cover both the basic, mostly weightless Olympic collars and an assortment of weighted, professional Olympic collars (all 50 mm, or ~2″ collars), this guide really does not need much of an introduction.
This article features no Standard 1″ collars, it is purely Olympic-sized collars.
There are a lot of different barbells out there. There are bars intended for the Olympic lifts; bars for powerlifting; and even bars simply for learning and practicing technique. But what about CrossFit barbells?
My garage gym has only a single, three-bar gun rack, and I own more than three bars. I’ve been carefully leaning bars against the walls and even leaving some in an unused corner on the floor (rubber floors, don’t worry!) Since I like to keep my gym looking nice and clean, not having a place to put these bars was getting on my nerves, so I decided to make myself my own DIY barbell rack.
This is a review of what is now officially the most magnificent and functional Olympic bar in my garage gym, the American Barbell Stainless Steel Olympic Bar. In addition to taking an awfully close look at this stainless steel beast over the last 45-days, I have asked American Barbell a lot of technical questions regarding construction as well. I have made every effort to be thorough in this review, and I am quite confident that by the time you finish this review you will know all there is to know about this American-made product.
Before I start this review for the Matt Chan Bar let me start off by saying that I am extremely excited about this particular bar review. I am excited because it looks like this will be one of those rare articles in which I do not need to have a section for listing the negatives; or cons. I think this one will be entirely positive.
