The Olympic Curl Bar- A Blossoming Friendship

For Winter Solstice this year I asked for a weightlifting bar. I've had dumbbells and have loved them, but I've also maxed them out at their 35lb limit and that 35lbs is moving easily for most moves these days. There aren't many moves I can't do repping that 35 as a dumbbell, and I wanted and needed more of a challenge for my workouts.

My Husband immediately said "we're getting you an olympic bar." And started shopping. We went to a local store to check out ones in stock, and when he handed me the straight bar- that shit was heavy. I tried to curl just the bar to see how it felt, and while my muscles rose to the challenge, my wrists were screaming.

I have hypermobile wrists, and I've sprained them a hundred times in my life falling and catching myself.

I handed back the bar and started questioning myself. My husband put it back and instead handed me an Olympic Curling Bar. The difference being an intentional bend at specific points in the bar to aid in your grip while doing curls. It's also quite a bit lighter than a straight bar. I curled this one and felt no pain thanks to those grip points, and felt way more confident in my ability to work with it without risking injury immediately.

So what I got for Solstice this year, was that curling bar, and two 10 lb plates to put on it, and a set of collars to lock them onto the bar.

It doesn't look like much, but the bar weighs 25 lbs alone, plus the two 10s, makes this 45 lbs

I decided I would jump right in.

I needed to modify my usual routine though, I've spent a few years using only dumbbells and I was aware that using a bar would limit my ROM for certain things.

My "Usual," dumbbell circuit goes like this:

35lbs x 15 Reps- Lower Body

Dead Lifts & B Stance Dead Lifts

Goblet Squats

Step Ups

Curtsey Lunges

Hip Thrusts

35lbs x 15 Reps- Upper Body

Bent Over Rows

Lat Rows

Skull Crushers

Bicep Curls

Hammer Curls

Lat Raises (obviously not 35lbs, this is more like 12lbs right now)

Then I repeat all of these moves with 2 lbs less. And then a third time, 2 lbs less, and repping to failure.

More than a few of these moves needed to be modified a little, if nothing else I had to get used to having a different grip/hold on the weights because now I have a single bar to hold onto and not two independent weights.

Aside from the Hammer Curls, Lat Raises, and Goblet Squats and Curtsey Lunges, I really could do the majority of my circuit with the bar. I wanted to test it out though.

I decided to be safe and do some deadlifts. My legs are strong af, and my glutes have been coming along nicely with all the work I've been doing. So I felt like this was the safest move to try out first.

it's 5:30a in my living room. gimme a break.

I couldn't find a hair tie or clip so I was annoyed af that my hair was everywhere, I do not know how ladies do their workouts with restraining their tresses. I will never be one of those women who doesn't look like a gargoyle when they're lifting. I've come to accept this.

Back to the point! I LOVED LIFTING THE BAR.

I mentioned my hypermobile wrists earlier, but truthfully I have hypermobile hips, low back, elbows, shoulders, thumbs, and ankles too. I have a huge stability issue in those areas and while working with dumbbells has definitely helped to strengthen specific areas I've been working hard on, it's actually been harder to find stability because the free weight has so much ROM.

Lifting the Bar... my ROM is limited to how the bar can move. Which means I'm forced to stay in a specific Zone of Stability to move. There's no wobble in my joints when I lift the bar. There's no split second of "hold here, hold here!!!!" to keep from subluxing my shoulder out of place, or my thumbs, or my hips and lumbar. It's only "we move like this, and only like this."

I've worked with mainly my bar for the last 4 days, and it's safe to say I'm obsessed. I cannot wait to get more plates. I'll probably have another set of 10's to add before the end of January. I'm fantasizing about having 25's and lifting them so easily.

Who knew I'd be so easily addicted to weightlifting? I know I'm in the baby stages, but I'm SO freaking stoked and proud of myself for stepping out of my comfort zones so easily and trying something new. I've always been strong, but I never really thought of myself as a weightlifting girl.

Guess I am now.