How to Buy Rubber Bumper Plates

From Candice:

Neil,

You gave a great recommendation on purchasing barbells. What company do you recommend for the plates?

My Brother-in-law is building his own little GPP at his office in Lehi.  He just subscribed to the website and is working on getting a good base of equipment.

OK, this is an easy one. You have to go with Hi Temp (pic)! 

We've tried most of the others. Some of you will remember, when we moved into HQ at the Centerville location, we didn't go with the High Temps, at first. We had another brand. After our first "Three Bars of Death" workout we noticed dozens of rubber pieces all over the floor. We slaughtered those things! I called the manufacturer and was like, "WTH?" The guy goes, "Yes, they are made to drop - BUT NOT THAT MANY TIMES!" We sent them all back and got Hi Temps. 

• YES, other brands are sexier!
• YES, those Hi Temps bounce a little higher after drops!
• Yes, the 10lb plates "taco" a little when you try to do "monsters" on them. 

But, they are FRICKIN bomb proof. I'm quite convinced that, along with Twinkies and cockroaches, Hi Temp bumper plates will survive the Apocalypse. 

A couple of things to know about them:

• Weight tolerances are better now. When we got ours (5 yrs ago), a 45 lb plate was only "pretty close" to 45 ACTUAL pounds. I weighed a 45 which clocked in at closer to 50LBs. The company I ordered from said I could send it back. Haha - nobody ever noticed, so I figured, "why bother?" Now they are right on. Tolerances are guaranteed to +/- .5LB.
  
  
• These are made in USA! Alabama if I remember right.
  
  
• They aren't pretty. They are made of crumb rubber. I think they are recycled tires. Did I mention they are BOMB proof? Plus, "pretty" and GPP don't really belong in the same sentence, unless you are talking about the bodies we put onto folk, then YES pretty applies, I guess. But ONLY in that context.
  
  
• I wouldn't bother getting "tweener" weights. Leave the 15/35 pounders off your order. You'll do fine with 10/25/45 and a few 5LB & 2 1/2LB "steelies." 
  
  
• If the collars (which are steel - not stupid brass) pop out of your 10s, call me. I'll tell you how to get them back in. I've had to do it thrice. Now that I know how to do it - it's easy!
  
  
• The Hi Temps are generally cheaper per pound than most of the other rubber bumpers out there.
  
  
• There are a lot of companys that carry them. We got ours from RogueFitness.com. Mainly because they were the ONLY place you could get stuff like this 5 yrs ago. Things have changed. You can find Hi Temp rubber bumper plates just about everywhere now. A quick Google search will net you competitive prices.
  
  
• Careful - Shipping costs will kill you, however, a lot of "local" shippers (Colorado & Calif) are actually more expensive per unit. 
  
  
• Please mention GPP when you make an order. I'd love to create a relationship with an equipment company that would mutually benefit us all.

Working the Obliques

It takes a unique understanding of the anatomy of your obliques in order to get the most out of working them.  They don't quite act like other muscles do.  

Most muscles have a very direct line of pull.  Like a biceps muscle (to the left).  The fibers of your biceps muscles only go in one direction.  We'll call this North to South.  Because these fibers only run North to South they lack the ability to go East and West.  If your arms need to move East and West they must be enacted upon by other muscle groups.  

But, your obliques are different.  The muscles of your obliques are comprised of 2 different layers of muscle fibers.  These fibers run on angles between East and West.  The internal layers have fibers running down and backwards, toward your rear pockets.  The external layers run down and forward toward your front pockets.  The cool thing about this is because of how the fibers are angled, they are unlimited in terms of their range of motion.  Not only can they move your trunk in linear movement patterns of North and South, they can also move your trunk East and West.  With the added benefits of rotational movements kicked in for good measure. 

Yep, your obliques can move your trunk in EVERY plane of motion.  Once you understand this, it becomes easier to work them properly and with efficiency.  

Therefore Movements which shape and firm your obliques are the ones that include all of the movement patterns your obliques are capable of.  When shaping obliques look for movements that provide resistance in every plane of motion.  These include the Frontal Plane (up/down from the front), Sagittal (up/down from the side) and Transverse (rotation).  

The short vid below is a good example of a movement that includes movement in all three planes.  It is intended for the abdominals, but also has the added benefits of sculpting and shaping biceps.  

Need a Barbell?

It's SUPER SKETCHY to get fitness equipment as a gift for your significant other. Most of the time it's a bad idea. That is, unless you are talking barbells, or other GPP equipment. Got this from Amy H. today ...

"... I have been following from home for about 1.5 years now and I can't explain what a huge reward it has been to participate in the daily workouts. I have always had to improvise with dumbells with the various exercises. But my husband, who does not gpp, but loves gpp on me, and my 4 year old little girl (who says I'm shredded like cheese- I take it as a compliment) gave me a bar and weights for my Mother's Day surprise. He was a little afraid that I was going to be upset (Weights?Really? No spa day?) But that's one of the many reasons why I love him. I was thrilled! So bring on the bar work! ..."

Barbells are special gifts. They are unparalleled for increasing strength, fitness, and appearance. This is not even to mention their sheer badassity. 

Not all barbells are the same though. We've seen BBs tear up hands (wrong knurling), bend, break in half and fall apart (bad engineering). Then we learned more about them.

There is a helluvalot to know about buying barbells. Everyone has a different idea on what makes a BB great. Power lifters like more aggressive knurling and wider markings. Olympic weightlifters like bars with more whip and spin. Competitive dead lifters like longer bars with a lot of bend (end plates spend more time on the ground). Competitive squatters want knurling through the middle of the bar - Oly lifters don't!

Forget all of that. For what we do, you'll need only 1 of 2 bars (7' & 5'). After 5 years and literally thousands and thousands of weighted drops, we've never even bent one. We've never done ANY maintenance on them. They don't have a spot of rust and seem to only get better with age. They've been worth their weight in gold.

If you are shopping for a barbell, try one of these: 

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The Rogue Bar 2.0

Highlights: 

• $255 + shipping
• 28.5 mm shaft
• 20 KG
• Dual Knurling marks
• Composite bushings for reliable spin drop after drop
• Perfect knurl
• 190,000 psi tensile strength
• Will survive Armageddon

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Rogue Junior Bar

Highlights: 

• $174.99 + shipping
• Smaller shaft (25 mm)for smaller hands
• 10 KG
• Same distance between collars as comp bars
• Perfect knurl
• Dual knurling marks
• FRICKIN bomb proof

Over the years, we've given the above advice to many. In their haste to find "a better bar" several have gone their own way and bought bars we didn't recommend. Always ... ALWAYS they've paid for this. Either they paid in discomfort, bent &/or broken bars, or they've paid more $. Usually, they end up having to circle back and buy these bars anyway.

If you are thinking about getting a good bar, and need to talk about it, don't be afraid to contact me. I'll put you on the right track - neil@gppfitness.com.