In every serious gym, you’ll find some sort of hex bar located somewhere around the trap bar area. Unlike traditional Olympic bars, these thing are wider. Your feet go inside the bar instead of to the side of it.
These is used for farmer carries, shrugs, and deadlifts. For many, neutral grip also decreases spinal shear, making it a safer option. But here’s where beginners gets tripped up: When you put on plates, you’re usually not getting weight that’s displayed on the bar.
Why? Because there’s some type of base weight to the bar that you aren’t aware of. How will you know how much weight you should of be lifting if you don’t know what the baseline is?
This is completly brand-dependent. While most bars are standard at 45 lbs., it’s not the case with hex bar. You’ll find some that feel light to hold, and others that pile on the weight without even picking up a plate.
It’s important for safety reasons and program consistency. You don’t want to get used to thinking all hex bars weigh the same as squat bar. Not only will you muck up your training log, but you risk getting injured and stalling out in your progress.
How To Determine Hex Bar Weight
Why Hex Bar Base Weight Matters
Commonly used hex bars like those made by Apex Strength and Rogue Fitness are built for commercial use. They usually runs about 50-60 lbs. This is heavier than a regular bar because they are built sturdily to withstand heavy deadlifting weights.
Heavier steel and reinforced connections adds weight but give you solid support. The upfront cost of lifting that extra weight is a fair price to pay for something far more secure.
Commercial Grade Hex Bars
Most hex bars available from stores like Titan Fitness and Rep Fitness are about forty-five pounds.
That’s the same as an Olympic bar, which makes it simpler for lifters used to conventional set-ups to do their mental math. The drawback? Sometimes they aren’t as well-built or as wide as you’d want them to be.
Standard and Budget Hex Bars
While a thinner hex will accommodate smaller feet, a wider hex can provide more stability at higher weights. Ultimately, you’ve got to balance the comfort of that familiar number against your need for more durability.
Budget or older hex bars can also be quite light.
Sometimes they’ll only weigh thirty to thirty-five pounds. This is what you tend to see when you’re shopping for entry level equipment, or when your old commercial gym get them. It may feel like it’s lighter at the ends, but the middle frame will still pack on some bulk.
Underestimating the load is where you run into trouble here. So if you log a two-hundred pound deadlift but don’t take into account that your bar weighs thirty-five pounds, then what you’re really lifting is two hundred and thirty-five pounds. That difference compounds over time with weeks of training.
Measuring Bar Weight Accurately
Check manufacturer’s specs, or weigh it yourself on a scale. You’ll notice some hex bars has pre-installed handles of different heights to match the different heights of lifters.
Handle Height and Foot Stability
A multi-height bar such as the Elite FTS or Rogue bar will also increase weight by upwards of five to ten pounds because of the extra steel and machining.
Being able to adjust the bar’s height keeps your posture better throughout the lift if you are a shorter lifter. Multi-height handles is a nice addition but can increase the weight of the base by five to ten pounds, and it’s something you don’t want to overlook when determining how much you’re lifting. Don’t think that the change in handle height makes much difference, but don’t forget about it, either.
In strength training precision is everything. It could be that you see hex bars with adjustable feet vs. Fixed height. Generally speaking, fixed height bars will be lighter since there isn’t any additional brackets and sliding mechanism needed.
Bars with adjustable feet can sit level on an uneven floor, which is important in terms of safety. This adds very little weight, usually only a few pounds. But it also means the bar won’t rock when pulling hard.
A few extra ounces for stability is well worth it. If your gym has one like this, check it out. What’s the point?
Tracking Progress with Correct Weights
Knowing exactly how much your hex bar weighs isn’t just cool trivia. It is progressive overload and proof that you are accurately tracking progress. Are you lifting less?
Then you may not challenge yourself enough. Are you lifting more then you realize? You might be overstressing your central nervous system or your joints.
Weigh the bar yourself (or look up the specs for each piece of equipment in your gym) and take a few minutes to ensure your weights are correct. This simple check prevents you from wasting months with confused programming. So get that number written down, and stick to it.
Don’t forget to include weight of the bar when logging weights in your training log. It’s such an easy change, yet it will build confidence in your progression and your data. If you want to build strong posterior chains with the hex bar, then you must respect the numbers.
You’ll be able to look at the frame next time and you’ll know precisely how much weight you’re moving. That knowledge transforms this odd hunk of metal into a valuable tool for growth.
