PRIMAL Barbell Buying Guide
At Primal our kit is built better to build better. Designed around biomechanics, we pride ourselves in both our class leading equipment and expertise to help you get the best for your gym.
When it comes to stepping up to the bar we want you to be able to pick the right kit for your home or commercial gym. Our barbells have a range of styles - from our industry leading Teflon coated available in a range of colours whilst protecting the bar from sweat and other elements, to stainless steel for ultra-high use commercial gym sites
TENSILE STRENGTH
Tensile Strength refers to the breaking point of the barbell. This is rate in pounds per square inch (PSI). All Primal Barbells range from 160,000 to 215,000 PSI. A lower tensile strength doesn’t necessarily mean a lower quality bar, certain PSI’s are required for different bars.
KNURLING
Knurling is made from two sets of diagonal grooves cut into the barbell. These grooves dig into your hands to assist with grip. The width and depth of these grooves will determine how aggressive the knurling on the barbell is. Powerlifting bars have very aggressive, often diamond knurling whereas a functional fitness style bar will have a softer knurling for less impact during repeated drops. An example of knurling difference would be our aggressive 1.6mm knurl on the Austin power bar versus our softer 1.2mm on our Linda Dual Hybrid Bar.
WHIP
The “whip” is the common term for the barbell ends bouncing at the end of a rep or phase of a lift. Experienced Olympic lifters use the whip to help them during the transition of a lift. The main contributing factors to a bars whip are the material, PSI rating and thickness of the shaft.