What is your primary barbell?
This is a question we’ve asked 5 out of the past 6 years, and have seen some changes. In the most recent poll, the power bar received over 54% of the votes and can easily be touted as the home gym community’s primary choice for a barbell.
How has this changed since 2021?
While the power bar has been on top since 2023, this bar style took a big jump this year, up about 10 points to 54%. That’s the first time any bar has cracked the majority since we started asking. Multi-purpose bars had bounced back to 39% last year but slid to about 34.5%, so it looks like a lot of those folks switched over to power bars. Oly bars keep fading, down to just under 8%, which is about a third of where they were in 2021. “IDK or Other” dipped a bit too, to around 3.5%, so people seem pretty sure what’s on their rack these days.
Why do many end up choosing a power bar over a multi-purpose bar?
For most of the home gym community, the Olympic lifts just aren’t a priority. Once people figure out how they actually train at home, it’s usually squats, bench and other pressing movements, and deadlifts, and a power bar is built for exactly that.
A power bar is stiffer, so heavy squats and benches feel more stable. The knurl is sharper and there’s a center knurl, so the bar stays put on your back and in your hands. A multi-purpose bar has a bit more whip and spin so it can handle both powerlifting and Olympic lifts, but that makes it a compromise: a little too whippy and smooth for heavy powerlifting, and not quite spinny enough for real Olympic lifting.
Power bars also cost about the same as multi-purpose bars now, so there’s less reason to settle. And plenty of people start with a multi-purpose bar, learn what they like, and then upgrade to a power bar that ends up being their go-to.
Basic Advice When Choosing Your First Bar
If you mostly squat, bench, and deadlift, get a power bar; if you also want to do Olympic lifts or mixed training, get a multi-purpose bar.
Lastly, a simple disclaimer about who is answering these questions:
These results come from story polls on the @garagegymexperiment Instagram account, where I’ve been running surveys since 2019. I’d describe this group as some of the most involved home gym owners in the space. They don’t represent the entire world, just this passionate community, so please keep that in mind when reading the data. The group will likely change up from year to year slightly as well.