Was playing around on a deadlift bar a bit and like I’ve been told you can pull a little more weight for a few more reps vs with a stiff bar.
I can see the extra end in the bar letting you pull the full weight from a higher position like less ROM but is there more to it? How do DL bars help us deadlift more?
They are thinner so they bend easier than regular bars.
The weight is further out so you get more bend in the bar (think of trying to bed a 1.5m thin pvc pipe vs a 20cm one)
If you video your deadlift with different bars and freeze the videos when you break the ground, you’ll see the bend difference. You will also see that you have less distance to complete your lift with the deadlift bar. That’s why you can lift more with it. The ROM is reduced.
The knurling is usually more aggressive to help grip which may give you a bit too.
I actually couldn’t pull as much on a DL bar when I first started using one. Maybe I had a weak spot a couple inches inches off the floor, maybe I wasn’t getting as tight as I began the pull because I didn’t feel the weight right way, I’m not sure. There are plenty of people who never used a DL bar until they got to the meet and pulled big PRs, other people have gotten screwed in the same situation.
The biggest difference for me is the smaller diameter. I used to pull with a stiff bar that is maybe 2mm thicker than a standard power bar, a deadlift bar feels like holding a toothpick. That combined with hook grip, I can grip way more than I will be pulling any time soon.
Agree with what others have said.
Thinner, so more bend
Weight farther out so more bend. this is even noticeable between DL bars. The Texas DL has longer collars on it compared to Rogue or Okie (so the inside plates are the longest distance apart), so it seems to have more bend / whip.
This is one that no one mentions - the weights break the floor in a sequential order with the inside plates breaking the floor first, and the furthest outside plates breaking the floor last. This makes pulling on a DL bar feel like a force ramp up vs a step function if that makes sense.
For a real fun way to take advantage of this, get some fat bumpers and try to push the weight as far out to the sides as possible. StartingStrongman had an article on it called something like “The Curious Case of the Bumper Plate PR”.
I did this actually lol. The Eleiko bumpers at the gym that has the DL bar fill up the bar with a bit over 500 lbs. Its good fun
This might have been the biggest advantage for me. It makes a deadlift a bit more like a rack-pull since you’re maybe an inch or so higher compared to a stiff power bar once the last plate actually breaks the floor.
The real answer to this is that the bar bends more, making you look WAY more badass. These feelings of badassery raise your testosterone levels, leading to greater long-term gains. It’s science people.
Or watch Chris Duffin’s 1000x3 video