The best barbells for your home gym
Seven fitness experts explain what to consider when shopping for a barbell — and their favorite picks.
Out of the seven trainers we spoke with, Rogue was by far the most namechecked brand. Savage said the brand “hands down [is] the best gym equipment” while Crouchelli said that “Roguecrushes the game in the barbell department” and “provides the best price to quality of product in the market.” Athayde called this model a “great barbell that’s multi-purpose and cost-friendly,” noting its durability and “great quality.” The Echo Bar 2.0 is a general-use style barbell and can support up to 1,000 pounds.
Athayde also favors this “great barbell” from American Barbell. “The mild knurling is great for your grip, the stainless steel finish looks incredible and it is a fantastic power bar for any gym,” he said. American Barbell claims this 20kg (44 pounds) barbell is durable and offers “very little flex.” The Echo Bar 2.0 is a powerlifting style barbell and can support up to 1,000 pounds.
Hodges is a fan of both Rogue and Sorinex and considers their suites of barbells “extremely durable.” We like this Olympic model because it is available in 10kg (22 pounds), 15kg (33 pounds) and 20kg (44 pounds) models, boasts a light-to-medium knurling and has a static load of 2,000 pounds. It also features Olympic and powerlifting knurl marks for convenience.
Beyond Rogue, Tomasso also recommended Titan Fitness due to their roster of “solid options with great access to customer service and help to find the right piece for you.” The multipurpose barbell clocks in at 20kg(44 pounds) and can handle up to 1,000 pounds.
On top of the above classic barbell options, you’ve got plenty of alternatives to consider, like adjustable barbells. Further, if you plan to grab a new barbell, you may want to consider pairing it with a cage. Here are some highly-rated options to help get you started.
Generally speaking, adjustable barbells are a good option if you’re working out at home and don’t have the room for an Olympic bar and bumper plates, Crouchelli said noting that in his experience with various smart barbells, they’re “always off” and not “as smooth as Olympic or power bars.”
The second generation Les Mills SMARTBAR comes equipped with a bar and three sets of weight plates: 1kg (2.2 pounds), 2.5kg (5.5 pounds) and 5kg (11 lb). Loading the weight plates is simple — slide the plate onto the bar until you hear it click. Overall, you can load up to three plates (18.7 pounds total) on each side of the bar. Les Mills says their bar boasts an ergonomic design and an ionized coating offering scratch protection.
This vibrant yellow 2-in-1 dumbbells and barbell is available in five weights: 22 pounds, 33 pounds, 44 pounds, 55 pounds and 66 pounds. Each model comes with a total of eight weight plates, enabling you to adjust the load to best meet your fitness needs. It is also highly-rated with a 4.3-star average rating from nearly 1,600 reviewers on Amazon.
Unlike the smooth, circular plates on the Nice C model, Kiss Gold’s option sports polygonal-shaped plates coated in rubber, which the brand claims prevent scrolling. If you live in a small space, then this highly-rated option from Kiss Gold might be a worthwhile choice because it’s relatively compact. After selecting either the 44 or 66-pound model, use each weight like dumbbells or attach the accompanying rod to transform them into a barbell.
After investing in a new barbell and weight plates, you’ll need to shift your focus to storage and training modules, and that’s where weight cages come into play. Crochelli called weight cages “great” but noted “they take up a ton of space.”
Fitness Reality created this top-rated power cage, which has earned a 4.7-star average rating from more than 7,000 reviewers on Amazon. The nearly seven-foot-tall cage is height adjustable (19 different options) and has a max load weight of 800 pounds. For an additional cost, you can opt for the cage-and-bench combo.
If you need a power cage with a heavier weight capacity, HulkFit’s Elite model offers a 1,000-pound limit. Unlike the brand’s Power Cage, the Elite also comes equipped with a lat pulldown attachment with a 500-pound weight limit. The Elite also includes two dip bars to further train your upper body.
Kicking off your available alternative is a smart mirror from Tempo that employs 3D mapping and artificial intelligence to keep tabs on your form and offers tips on how to improve your form. The set comes with a few essentials: a barbell, four weight plates, two dumbbells, a workout mat and a foam roller. Its technology is also able to alert you when you’re ready to upgrade to heavier weights.
Barbells certainly require a substantial investment — you’re likely going to spend at least $100 on an entry-level model. For example, Rogue, a popular maker of fitness equipment, sells barbells starting in the mid-$100 range, their higher end models running upwards of $780. The experts we consulted agreed the initial startup cost of a barbell is worth it, though, as long as you’re committed to weightlifting.
“If you are looking to lift seriously, it won’t make sense to buy a generic barbell and load up the plates — the bar will bend and can even snap,” noted Athayde, who cautioned against “cheap” barbells. Instead, he advised you to gauge your fitness level and invest accordingly. “If you are looking to move dynamically, look at Olympic bars and for deadlifts, squats and bench pressing, look at Powerlifting bars.”
Before the pandemic, barbell prices were already high, Hodges told us, noting that once demand for at-home gym equipment increased, prices surged. He encouraged Shopping readers to write down their fitness goals and budget.
Although you can score discounts on used barbells by sifting through resellers like eBay or OfferUp, it could inadvertently cause more trouble than it is worth, according to trainer David Watson of Life Time gym in Happy Valley, Arizona. He advised caution on resale sites like Facebook Marketplace because of the lack of quality control. “Buying second hand may be cost-effective, but may not be what you want,” he explained.
Barbell plates are essentially designed for a building block format.
"It's always better to start with a solid set of 10s, 25s and maybe a set of 45s, with the intention from there adding more plates to your collection as you’re building strength."
Beyond your experience, fitness level, strength capabilities, fitness goals and commitment, Hodges recommended shoppers to “always” start with lighter weights to focus on technique and assess levels of recovery after each workout. Doing so “decreases the chance of injury, and you can always purchase heavier equipment rather than rehabbing from an injury because of ego or inexperience,” he said. Plus, if you’re lifting lighter weights, then you can complete more reps to help build up experience and until you’re ready to upgrade to heavier plates.
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