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T

his article is about what can

happen when an Olympic

bar made of steel breaks,

not necessarily what will happen, but

what can happen, and how to prevent

it. My work making Olympic bars over

30 years has helped me appreciate

the strengths and limitations of steel,

anticipate the consequences, and take

measures to protect people who have

full faith and trust in Ivanko

equipment.

Most people think an Olympic barcant break. At least I thought so. But 30years experience has taught mesomething different. In the mid-70's, BobClark, the founder of Polaris FitnessEquipment, designed Ivankos first 6 ft.Olympic bar. We made them from a

mid-strength alloy, about 150,000 PSI asI remember. (PSI is the amount of forcein pounds per square inch required topull the bar apart). We chrome platedthem, because that was the gold standardat the time.

Shortly after we started shippingthem, a customer called and said, Your

Olympic bar snapped in two! Howcould that be? we wondered,incredulously. It's solid steel.

Immediately, thoughts of liabilitycame to mind, so we took a bar and put

a 45# Olympic plate on both ends, anddropped it from arms length overhead.Wow! The bar snapped in two! Wecouldn't believe it. After all, it was solidsteel, right?

The bar snapped in two! We

couldn't believe it. After all, it

was solid steel right?

We tested all 200 bars in ourremaining inventory. Ninety percent ofthem snapped! I suppose we could havewritten a lifetime guarantee with fineprint that says, Not valid if dropped,

but instead, we scrapped all 200 bars.Before we did, we sent a few to the lab,and I asked some of my friends in theaerospace industry to help us find outwhy this was happening. Everyone cameback with the same answer, hydrogenembrittlement. Evidently, it happenssometimes when you chrome platethings.

Consequently, we made the decisionto discontinue chrome plating Olympicbars for commercial use. In view of thislearning experience, to do otherwise

would be negligent.

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How To Break

An Olympic Bar

How To Break

An Olympic BarBy Tom Lincir, President & Founder,Ivanko Barbell Company

A typical bar failure (snap). Note jagged edge. This is usually the way they break.

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Years after our HydrogenEmbrittlement experience, the worldrenown strength historian David P. Webster O.B.E. (Order of BritishEmpire) related this horrific story to me.I am trying to get more information, butthe details of a tragic accident like theone Im about to describe, more oftenthan not, have a way of disappearing,due to pay-offs and confidentialityagreements.

Heres the story. In the late 60s inRussia, a Russian Olympic lifter wasattempting a personal best in the cleanand jerk. For those of you who arentfamiliar with this lift, it requires

lightning speed and technique. When aclean is done correctly it involves thecoordination and explosive contractionof almost all major muscle groups.During the clean, the bar is held close tothe body. In this case the Russian lifterpulled the bar about chest level when itsuddenly snapped in the center. It was a jagged break. Because of the speed andmass involved, the lifter could not stopthe momentum of the sharp jagged endof the bar. It drove through his Adamsapple, severing several major arteries

along the way before it finally impaledhis upper sinus cavity. Because of theprofuse bleeding, he died almostimmediately, probably never knowingexactly what happened to him.Obviously, this is not your typicaleveryday experience. But things like thishave happened and they could happenagain.

What causes a bar made of steel tosnap? If not hydrogen embrittlement, theculprit is usually an inclusion, flaw, orhairline crack. The bar will snap at one

of these points of weakness. You can seemost of these flaws when you examinethe breaks with a magnifying glass. Acenter snap is rare. Usually the end of abar will snap off (see photo). I have acollection of Olympic bars with the endssnapped off.

When you do the right thing,

to make a safer, more perfect

Olympic bar its often more

personally rewarding than

profitable.

Because of incidents like thatdescribed above, and others, we madethe decision years ago to ultrasonictest and magnetic particle test everycommercial bar to detect those with

internal or external flaws, and scrapthem. On average, we throw away oneout of sixteen bars (6%). To ourknowledge no other Olympic barmanufacturer does this . I t costsmoney. But, once again, with theexperience and knowledge we have,not to do so would be negligent. Whenyou do the right thing, to make a safer,more perfect Olympic bar, its oftenmore personal ly rewarding thanprofitable.

Another cause of bar failure is whatknowledgeable people in strengthtraining call suicide grooves. These aregrooves cut into the bar for cosmeticreasons that can have dangerous

FALL2002 31

A bar showing a typical suicide groove. This cosmetic feature will weaken the bar at

this point, and is often the precursor of bar failure.

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consequences. They are perhaps themost stupid and dangerous practiceamong Olympic bar manufacturers. Thismethod involves completely knurlingthe bar, then coming back afterwards

and making hand spacing marks bycutting off the knurling and cuttinggrooves into the bar! They probablythink it looks nice, but the groovesreduce the diameter at that point, andconsequently the strength of the bar.Over the years I've seen dozens of barssnap off at these weak points.

The greatest Olympic barmanufacturers like Schnell Barbell(Germany) and Eleiko Barbell (Sweden)didnt just fall off the turnip truck. Theyhave evolved over the last 40 plus years.

What they do is to constantly improveand perfect their Olympic bars. I feeleven with Ivanko's 30 plus years, we arestill on a learning curve. The people with40 years under their belts areundoubtedly ahead of us on thatlearning curve. The people with lessexperience are behind. Each and every

year we learn some new barmanufacturing techniques. Perfection isan elusive goal, not something you learnovernight.

I have received a number of

telephone calls from customers andcompetitors telling me Im giving out toomuch proprietary technical informationin these articles. That may be, but whenit comes to the risk of injuries or worse, Ifeel duty bound to pass this informationon. Younger companies and equipmentbuyers may not have been aware of thesesafety issues and the preventive technicaland manufacturing practices to addressthem. I have always believed that whatbuyers demand, suppliers will deliver. Ifbuyers have high standards, theyll get

safer, more indestructible products. Ifbuyers accept lower standards, that'sexactly what they'll get. Of course, somemay go on with business as usual,because it takes time and money to dothe right thing.

Strength coaches, individual buyers,health clubs, etc., often ask, How much

should I spend for a good Olympic bar,one that will not bend? What theyshould be asking is, How much shouldI spend for a bar that will not break?

Future Article Topics

Welded barbell collars vs preciseinterference fit: Finite analysiscalculations supporting what we alreadylearned from years of experience. How to bend an Olympic Bar:Comparison of various types of steel,different diameters of bars, differentdropping heights, and more.

Ivanko Barbell Company was foundedby Tom Lincir in 1967, and it is theleading provider of professional andcommercial grade barbell and dumbbell products worldwide. Your comments orquestions are welcome. Write Tom Lincirat Ivanko Barbell Company, P.O. Box1470, San Pedro, CA U.S.A. 90733.

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IVANKO

Ivankos Stainless Steel Olympic Bar. 218,000 PSI tensile strength, ultrasonic tested for internal

cracks, magnetic particle tested for external cracks, and never peels, chips, or rusts.