Best Barbells of 2024
GQ RecommendsThe most versatile tool in your home gym, bar none.By Jennifer HeimlichNovember 21, 2024Ames LeeKingSave this storySaveSave this storySaveAll products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.Owning the best barbell isn’t just a flex: It’s also the fastest way to get stronger. "As far as putting the most mechanical stress on your body, there's nothing really that can compete with a barbell," says Kyle Firmstone, CPT, CSCS, an assistant fitness manager at Crunch Fitness and licensed weightlifting coach. "Bang for your buck, if you know how to use it, I don't think there's really a comparison." With a barbell, you’ve got the opportunity to lift massive amounts of weight, and challenge all those little stabilizer muscles at the same time. Read: Regular barbell workouts can make you Hulk out in no time.As more people catch on to the benefits of strength training, there’s been an explosion of barbells to choose from. If you’re feeling lost in all the online barbell reviews, don’t sweat it. We quite literally did the heavy lifting for you, testing out tons of options to find the best barbell for your home gym.Our Favorite Barbells OverallThe Olympic Weightlifting Bar from Bells of Steel dominated our list with its seamless spin and peppy whip, plus a whopping 240,000 PSI tensile strength. And baby’s got range: Although it follows the International Weightlifting Federation specs, this bar is versatile enough to use for powerlifting, too—all at a surprisingly modest price.The Best Barbells, At a GlanceGet ready to get ripped by picking up any of these barbells.Best Barbells Overall: Bells of Steel Olympic Weightlifting BarBest Multipurpose Barbell: Iron Bull Strength Competition BarbellBest Barbell on Amazon: Nordic Lifting Barbell 7' Olympic for CrossFit & WeightliftingBest Budget Barbell: Major Fitness Home Gym BarbellBest Barbell for CrossFit: Fringe Sport Wonder Bar Olympic BarbellBest Barbell for Weightlifting: REP Fitness Alpine Weightlifting BarBest Safety Squat Bar: Titan Safety Squat Olympic BarBest Barbell for Powerlifting: Rogue Fitness Ohio Power BarHow We Chose the Best BarbellsAccordionItemContainerButtonLargeChevronWe got our sweaty hands on dozens of the best barbells over the course of hours of testing. We then finalized our picks by weighing how grippy—or painful— the knurling felt in our hands, how much of an assist we got from the whip, and how well each bar stood up to being dropped and thrown around the weight room. Why? So we can confidently stand behind each of these picks as the best barbells for home gym setups.Looking for Something Specific?AccordionItemContainerButtonLargeChevronLet’s Compare the Costs of The Best BarbellsHow We Tested the Best BarbellsBenefits of Weight Lifting with a BarbellWhat to Look for in the Best BarbellFAQAbout the ExpertsBest Barbell Overall: Bells of Steel Olympic Weightlifting BarBells of SteelBells of Steel Olympic Weightlifting Bar$290 Bells of SteelPros & ConsAccordionItemContainerButtonLargeChevronProsMassive tensile strengthGreat spinPeppy whipLimited lifetime warrantyConsHard chrome finish isn’t the most durableNot approved for competitionThe Bells of Steel Olympic Weightlifting Bar offers top-of-the-line quality at a remarkably reasonable price. Although it's designed for weightlifting, it’s also versatile enough to let you hit a new powerlifting PR.Product Features1,500-pound weight capacity240,000 PSI tensile strengthFour needle bearingsWeightlifting and powerlifting markings in the knurlingOur Tester’s TakeYou can snatch and clean and jerk like a pro with this weightlifting bar—literally. It fits the standards of the Olympic Weightlifting Federation, making it an ideal practice bar for competitions. Even if you’re not planning to hop on a platform yourself anytime soon, this barbell can be a ticket to making massive gains right from home.Our testers were most impressed by the whopping 240,000 PSI tensile strength, which measures how much force a bar can take before breaking and in this case is among the best you’ll find in Olympic lifting bars. The four needle bearings and snap rings also mean you get a great spin while the 28mm shaft provides a solid whip. And as you get stronger, you have plenty of room to progress—the weight capacity is 1,500 pounds.Although it’s technically designed for Olympic lifts, this bar’s got dual knurling markings, so you’re also easily able to use it for your squats, bench presses, and deadlifts. Altogether, that’s a lot of value for a barbell that’s less than $300.Best Multipurpose Barbell: Iron Bull Strength Competition BarbellIron BullIron Bull Strength Competition Barbell$300 Iron BullPros & ConsAccordionItemContainerButtonLargeChevronProsVersatile enough for lots of liftsDurableComfortable gripFree shippingConsKnurling can be too passive for powerliftingCan only handle a limited amount of weightThe Iron Bull Strength Competition Bar lets you l
All products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Owning the best barbell isn’t just a flex: It’s also the fastest way to get stronger. "As far as putting the most mechanical stress on your body, there's nothing really that can compete with a barbell," says Kyle Firmstone, CPT, CSCS, an assistant fitness manager at Crunch Fitness and licensed weightlifting coach. "Bang for your buck, if you know how to use it, I don't think there's really a comparison." With a barbell, you’ve got the opportunity to lift massive amounts of weight, and challenge all those little stabilizer muscles at the same time. Read: Regular barbell workouts can make you Hulk out in no time.
As more people catch on to the benefits of strength training, there’s been an explosion of barbells to choose from. If you’re feeling lost in all the online barbell reviews, don’t sweat it. We quite literally did the heavy lifting for you, testing out tons of options to find the best barbell for your home gym.
Our Favorite Barbells Overall
The Olympic Weightlifting Bar from Bells of Steel dominated our list with its seamless spin and peppy whip, plus a whopping 240,000 PSI tensile strength. And baby’s got range: Although it follows the International Weightlifting Federation specs, this bar is versatile enough to use for powerlifting, too—all at a surprisingly modest price.
The Best Barbells, At a Glance
Get ready to get ripped by picking up any of these barbells.
- Best Barbells Overall: Bells of Steel Olympic Weightlifting Bar
- Best Multipurpose Barbell: Iron Bull Strength Competition Barbell
- Best Barbell on Amazon: Nordic Lifting Barbell 7' Olympic for CrossFit & Weightlifting
- Best Budget Barbell: Major Fitness Home Gym Barbell
- Best Barbell for CrossFit: Fringe Sport Wonder Bar Olympic Barbell
- Best Barbell for Weightlifting: REP Fitness Alpine Weightlifting Bar
- Best Safety Squat Bar: Titan Safety Squat Olympic Bar
- Best Barbell for Powerlifting: Rogue Fitness Ohio Power Bar
How We Chose the Best Barbells
We got our sweaty hands on dozens of the best barbells over the course of hours of testing. We then finalized our picks by weighing how grippy—or painful— the knurling felt in our hands, how much of an assist we got from the whip, and how well each bar stood up to being dropped and thrown around the weight room. Why? So we can confidently stand behind each of these picks as the best barbells for home gym setups.
Best Barbell Overall: Bells of Steel Olympic Weightlifting Bar
The Bells of Steel Olympic Weightlifting Bar offers top-of-the-line quality at a remarkably reasonable price. Although it's designed for weightlifting, it’s also versatile enough to let you hit a new powerlifting PR.
You can snatch and clean and jerk like a pro with this weightlifting bar—literally. It fits the standards of the Olympic Weightlifting Federation, making it an ideal practice bar for competitions. Even if you’re not planning to hop on a platform yourself anytime soon, this barbell can be a ticket to making massive gains right from home.
Our testers were most impressed by the whopping 240,000 PSI tensile strength, which measures how much force a bar can take before breaking and in this case is among the best you’ll find in Olympic lifting bars. The four needle bearings and snap rings also mean you get a great spin while the 28mm shaft provides a solid whip. And as you get stronger, you have plenty of room to progress—the weight capacity is 1,500 pounds.
Although it’s technically designed for Olympic lifts, this bar’s got dual knurling markings, so you’re also easily able to use it for your squats, bench presses, and deadlifts. Altogether, that’s a lot of value for a barbell that’s less than $300.
Best Multipurpose Barbell: Iron Bull Strength Competition Barbell
The Iron Bull Strength Competition Bar lets you lift to your heart’s desire, with major versatility and top-notch durability.
Deadlifts, hip thrusts, rows, clean and jerks—it’s all on the menu with the multipurpose Iron Bull Strength Competition Bar. Our tester found the eight needle bearings in the loading sleeves minimized the torque on his wrists when the bar was rotating. "Bearings tend to [create] a cleaner, faster, smoother spin," Firmstone explains.
No matter what kinds of lifts he was doing, our tester found the grip comfortable. The barbell uses moderate volcano-style knurling that doesn’t rip up your hands, even during high-rep movements.
Available in five finishes and two lengths, we found this barbell to be super durable. It held up with no more than a little scuffing on the sleeves even after being thrown around and dropped for months on end. (One note: Although Iron Bull Strength doesn’t publish a weight capacity, our tester says that the bar warped slightly after he hit 535 pounds. That said, that’s plenty of weight for beginners to play around with.)
Best Barbell on Amazon: Nordic Lifting Barbell 7' Olympic for CrossFit & Weightlifting
The Nordic Lifting Barbell 7' Olympic for CrossFit & Weightlifting gets five out of five stars from our team and Amazon reviewers—and for good reason. It’s a well-built do-it-all bar you can use for weightlifting, powerlifting, and CrossFit alike.
Trawling the thousands of barbell options on Amazon can be a mind-numbing process. Instead, we recommend just clicking on this Olympic barbell from Nordic Lifting. It has a 190,000-PSI tensile strength and dual knurl marks for weightlifting and powerlifting, making it plenty versatile. And it’ll last you for years: The graphite bushings keep this bar durable and low-maintenance while the 1500-pound weight limit lets you lift as heavy as you'd like.
Best Budget Barbell: Major Fitness Home Gym Barbell
The Major Fitness Home Gym Barbell is a smart value for everyday lifters, with smooth rotations and a medium-level grip that won’t leave your skin in shreds. The weight limit might not be the most impressive number on this list, but it’s all most of us need.
We found this budget-friendly barbell pretty damn comparable to what you’d find in a commercial gym. Yeah, it maxes out at 750 pounds, which is on the lower end of this list, but that’s high enough for most of us everyday lifters who aren’t planning to become elites or squeeze into a mulit-ply squat suit. With dual knurl marks, you can use this bar for powerlifting or Olympic weight lifting, though the smooth spin created by the needle bearings make it ideal for snatches and clean and jerks. The medium-depth knurling kept our grip secure without shredding up our hands, though you might prefer something a little more aggressive when you’re going for your one-rep max on any of the big three.
Best Barbell for CrossFit: Fringe Sport Wonder Bar Olympic Barbell
The Fringe Sport Wonder Bar is simply an outstanding bar, with speedy and smooth rotations. We’re not surprised fans of the bar have nicknamed it "Black Magic," according to Fringe Sport.
Of all the barbells we’ve tested, the multipurpose Wonder Bar is what we reach for when it’s time for our CrossFit WOD. High rep schemes and dynamic lifts just feel a little more doable with this sleek bar, thanks to its speedy, seamless spin. Although Fringe Sport may not be super well-known outside of CrossFit and functional fitness circles, don’t sleep on the brand—it offers top-notch customer service, and it’s selling this bar for an amazing price. Not to put too fine a point on it, but our tester admitted to us that with this bar in his hands, he felt confident and powerful—exactly what you want to feel when you step in a box.
Best Barbell for Weightlifting: REP Fitness Alpine Weightlifting Bar
Olympic lifters will love the REP Fitness Alpine Weightlifting Bar for its silky smooth spin and satisfying whip.
This Olympic bar is downright ideal for your snatches and clean and jerks. Although it’s not certified by the International Weightlifting Federation (which helps to keep the price down) the diameter and knurl markings do follow IWF specifications. "REP Fitness makes a lot of good barbells," Firmstone says. "They’ve become a big home outfitter."
What really makes this bar stand out are the hybrid needle bearing sleeves, which feature both inner-race bearings and standard needle bearings. That adds up to a quick but controlled spin to give you fluid lifts that won’t stress out your wrists. Meanwhile, it’s got just enough whip to offer up some healthy rebound action as you hoist it up off the floor.
However, while there is some passive knurling in the center to provide a bit of stick during back squats, we don’t think this is the best barbell for powerlifting. It’s really designed for explosive Olympic lifts—it doesn’t even have any powerlifting knurling marks. If you’re looking for a barbell that will be more multipurpose, we suggest checking out the Iron Bull Strength Competition Barbell instead.
Best Safety Squat Bar: Titan Safety Squat Olympic Bar
The Titan Safety Squat Olympic Bar is a specialty barbell that will make squats and lunges a whole lot less irritating on your upper body, thanks to thick padding around the shoulders and curved sleeves that lower your center of gravity.
Not everyone needs a specialty bar for joint-friendly squats and lunges. But when you do, you want the Titan Fitness Safety Squat Olympic Bar. We found it to be just as good as high-end safety squat bars that retail for a good $100 more. The firm padding kept our wrists and shoulders from complaining, and since it’s one solid piece of foam, it didn’t slide around on us at any point in our workout.
We also appreciate that this bar features Olympic sleeves so you can use a normal collar without having to buy an additional accessory. And even though this is a specialty bar, it’s got some range, since the handles are removable if you want to do movements like JM presses. With all this going for it, it doesn’t shock us to learn that it’s sometimes out of stock. Our advice? Be patient—it’s worth it.
Best Barbell for Powerlifting: Rogue Fitness Ohio Power Bar
The high-quality Rogue Fitness Ohio Power Bar is engineered to help you pull off the big three lifts—plus traditional barbell exercises and CrossFit moves—like a pro. Plus, it’ll last you for decades.
When we want to squat, bench press, and deadlift serious amounts of weight, the Ohio Power Bar is our go-to pick. The 20 KG version is even certified by the International Powerlifting Federation (though you’ll pay top dollar for those bragging rights). With basically zero whip and deep knurls, the super rigid steel shaft gives us both max stability and secure holds. Firmstone, who owns three different barbells at home, says he likes it for bench pressing in particular. "It’s a good knurl, and it’s dependable," he says.
Although everyone has their own preferences when it comes to knurling, our tester says this is the best he’s ever encountered in a power bar—it’s coarse enough to stay firmly in his hands, but still leaves his skin in one piece when he’s done. The shaft also features center knurling for those squats, which Firmstone says “is good for back squatting because it sticks to your back a little bit easier." (If you're looking for more stabilization and support, here are our best power rack picks.)
Let’s Compare the Costs of The Best Barbells
The best barbells are all going to set you back at least two or three hundred dollars, but to see exactly how they compare, check out this handy chart. Keep in mind that prices of each model can range based on details like the finish and coating you choose when multiple options are available.
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How We Tested the Best Barbells
You won’t find the best barbell—or rowing machine or kettlebell for that matter—just by listening to your beefy co-worker spouting the latest broscience. To make sure each of our picks will actually help you make the gains you’re after, we follow GQ’s detailed hands-on testing process that we use whenever we’re searching for the best home gym equipment. Yes, our team of certified personal trainers, USA Weightlifting coaches, elite athletes, and other experts took their time lifting all the barbells on this list. They dutifully noted how comfortable each one felt in their hands (or on their chest or back), what kind of spin and whip it produced, how well it lived up to its purported purpose—and whether it had some versatility—and how it handled hours of our manhandling around the weight room.
Once we found our favorites, we took a deep dive into specs like tensile strength, weight capacity, materials, and size as well as warranty and price—and compared all those against industry standards. Any that truly earned our title of "best barbell" not only gave us a super-effective workout, but did so at an excellent value for the cost.
Benefits of Weight Lifting with a Barbell
Lifting a barbell doesn’t just make you look like a badass. There’s a reason so many trainers and coaches rely on them.
Builds Strength
Because you can lift exceptionally heavy loads with a barbell, it’s basically your ticket to stronger muscles. Firmstone points out that you can lift a lot more weight on a barbell during exercises like bench presses, for example, than you could if you tried the same move with dumbbells. Think about it this way: The current (equipped) bench press record with a barbell is 1,401 pounds. "No one's benching that with dumbbells,” Firmstone says. Alternatively, if you move the same amount of weight on a chest press machine, you don’t activate the smaller stabilizer muscles since the machine moves in a fixed path that you don’t have to control yourself. That means you’re missing out on muscle strengthening that could be happening if you were using a barbell.
Versatile Training
A barbell might look like a simple tool. But it can serve many purposes: You can use it for Olympic lifts like snatches and clean and jerks, work on powerlifts like squats, deadlifts, and bench presses, and put it to use in CrossFit workouts. “You can use it like a landmine," Firmstone says. "You can put it on your back and do lunges. You can even use it as an ab wheel." The possibilities are far larger than most gym rookies can imagine, he says.
What to Look for in the Best Barbell
The best barbells can be a solid investment in your fitness—if you know what to consider before buying.
Training Style
If you’ll mainly be using your barbell for Olympic lifts, it can be helpful to get one with more whip, smoother spin, and a less abrasive knurl. For powerlifting, spin is less important, but you want a stiff shaft and a deeper knurl so that your grip feels solid. Center knurling can also be helpful for squats. CrossFitters, on the other hand, will probably want a multipurpose bar, Firmstone says, but should avoid center knurling so it doesn’t rip up their throat during fast, high-rep workouts.
Materials
Most barbells are made of steel, Firmstone says, but the coating and finish can vary. Stainless steel is often more expensive, but it will resist rust and corrosion better over time than cerakote, chrome, or black zinc coatings. It also typically has a higher PSI, making it more durable when you’re lifting heavy loads.
Budget
You can get a legit barbell for as little as $200. "Honestly, most people are not going to notice the intricate details [like] a little bit of more spin or a little bit more whip on the bar,” Firmstone says. But those seriously into lifting can pay more to get all the nuances just right, or even get a bar that’s approved for competitions.
Specs
Barbells are made in both men’s and women’s sizes. While a women’s bar is typically 15 kg (33 pounds), a traditional men’s bar will weigh 20 kg (44 pounds). A men’s bar will also usually extend 87 inches long with a 28 millimeter diameter, while a women’s bar will hit just 78 inches and have a 25 millimeter diameter.
FAQ
What brand makes the best barbells?
We found Bells of Steel’s Olympic Weightlifting Bar to be the best barbell you can get for your money, thanks to its versatility, impressive tensile strength, and great spin and whip.
How much do barbells cost?
You can get a quality barbell starting at about $200, though high-end barbells can cost more than $1,000.
What barbells do most gyms use?
Firmstone says that you’ll typically find a mix of different barbells at gyms like Crunch, though Rogue Fitness is one of the most common brands you’ll see.
Can you build more muscle with a barbell over dumbbells?
Firmstone says you can build similar amounts of muscle mass with barbells and dumbbells, if you know how to use both correctly. However, you can build more strength with a barbell since you can lift much heavier loads.
Are Olympic barbells better?
An Olympic barbell will be designed specifically for snatches and cleans and jerks, with weightlifting knurl marks, more whip, smoother spin, and less abrasive knurling. Those certified by the International Weightlifting Federation meet specific requirements for length, diameter, and weight. “I generally don't think people need an IWF-caliber barbell," Firmstone says. "You can still get similar results and learn the same things with a cheaper barbell."
Does whip matter in a barbell?
Whip matters because it can give you a bit of an assist during explosive lifts like snatches and clean and jerks, Firmstone says. But for powerlifts like squats, he says it’s better to have a solid shaft that doesn’t bend at all.
About the Experts
Kyle Firmstone, CPT, CSCS, is the assistant fitness manager at Crunch Fitness and a licensed weightlifting coach.
