The Benefits of Thick Bar Training

There has been a rediscovery of training with thick bars: a style of training that the Strongmen of ancient times used with great effects but which was almost forgotten in present times. If you’re unfamiliar, they are simple bars / halters with a diameter greater than the common bar – whose diameter is plus or minus 1 inch. A fat bar can be between 2 and 3 inches, and for those who are not used to it, it may look like a truck axle. Have you thought about supinating a telephone pole?

The strongmen of ancient times used to have such bars on their equipment or improvised something they could take advantage of in the old irons. Some famous force deeds are specifically made by the thickness of fists.

Nowadays thick bar training is considerably not known among the fitness crowd but is well used by elite military and athletes – and increasingly more people, including bodybuilders, thanks to the rediscovery of thick bars by great strength coaches.

How does this bag work?

Skepticism is understandable in the face of a seemingly simple change. But there are many great reasons why these bars work so well:

Thick footprints stimulate muscle activation in forearms and hands, and throughout the upper body. When you activate a muscle strongly, the surrounding muscles also constrict. To get a maximum contraction of the biceps, you need to contract your forearms as well (try to take measurements of the contracted biceps with relaxed hands).

It’s called irradiation. The nerve pulses of nearby muscles can improve the effects of this muscle. As thick bar makes your forearms and hands work harder, contraction in different muscles are also greater – biceps, triceps, and even shoulders and trunk are much more stimulated. Greater muscle activation means more muscle and more strength.

David

David Loew is a health blog author and editor for a variety of publications. He has written on a wide range of topics, from fitness to nutrition to mental health. He loves working with people who are passionate about improving their lives through bettering their bodies and minds by eating right and staying active as well as those who want to improve their mental health by living life authentically without feeling ashamed or embarrassed about what they’ve been through.