Barbell
A long bar loaded with weight plates for heavy strength training lifts.
Overview
A barbell is a long metal bar held with both hands, onto which weight plates are loaded at each end and secured with collars. It is the central tool for many big strength lifts performed with both arms together.
Because it can carry heavy loads across both hands, the barbell is a staple of powerlifting and weightlifting as well as general strength training.
Good to know
- Weight plates are loaded on each end and locked with collars.
- Held and lifted with both hands together.
- A staple of powerlifting and weightlifting.
Where it’s used
Sports that use barbell:
Powerlifting
A strength sport focused on lifting the heaviest weight you can across the squat, bench press and deadlift.
Weightlifting
A technical strength sport built around lifting a loaded barbell overhead with speed and control.
Fitness
Strength and general fitness training — the foundation that supports every other sport.
Bodybuilding
Resistance training focused on building muscle size, symmetry and definition through consistent effort.
How it connects
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Used with
Turns up alongside this across the same sports.
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Beginner guides
- Your First Fitness Session: What to Expect and How to Enjoy ItA friendly, no-pressure guide to walking into your first fitness session at a gym or studio, so you know what happens and can focus on moving well rather than lifting heavy.
- Your first football sessionA warm, practical picture of what actually happens when you turn up to your very first football session — how it runs, what surprises beginners, and how to enjoy it without any pressure.
- What to Bring to Your First SessionMost first sessions need far less than people expect — water, clothes you can move in, footwear that suits the surface and a few personal bits usually cover it, with any sport-specific kit noted on each sport's first-session page.
Exercises
- DeadliftA hinge movement where you lift a weight from the floor by driving your hips forward to stand tall.
- Romanian deadliftA hinge variation focused on the back of the legs, lowering the weight without returning it to the floor.
- Hip thrustA loaded hip-extension exercise with your upper back on a bench and a weight across the hips.
- Bench pressA pressing exercise lying on a bench, lowering a weight to the chest and pushing it back up.
- Overhead pressA standing press that drives a weight from the shoulders to overhead until the arms lock out.
Training methods
- Strength TrainingStrength training uses resistance — bodyweight, bands or weights — to challenge your muscles so they gradually adapt and get stronger over time.
- Hypertrophy TrainingHypertrophy training is resistance work structured to encourage muscle growth, typically using moderate repetitions and a steady, controlled tempo.
- Circuit TrainingCircuit training moves you through a series of stations back to back with little rest, blending strength and cardio into one time-efficient session.
- Progressive OverloadProgressive overload is the principle of gradually increasing the demand you place on your body so it keeps adapting and improving over time.
- Endurance Base TrainingEndurance base training is an extended phase of mostly easy, steady aerobic work that lays the aerobic foundation the rest of a training plan builds on.
Muscle groups
Training plans
- Beginner Strength WeekA general example week for someone learning the basic strength movements, built around a few short, technique-focused sessions with plenty of rest.
- Three-Day Split ExampleA general example of a simple three-day training split that divides the week into a few focused sessions with rest built in between.
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How this page is maintained
- Content type
- Equipment
- Provenance
- Tier A — evergreen educational
- Verified external sources
- 0
- Content updated
- 2026-07-09
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