When setting up your training space at home there are many different options for weight plates. Amongst those options are bumper plates. You will recognise these as the bulkier, usually more colourful plates in your local Fitness Centres or Crossfit gyms.
With gym’s in Victoria being recently closed, reopened and then closed again due to the COVID19 pandemic it is a time in which you should be considering the alternatives that allow you to continue working towards your fitness goals no matter what’s going on in the world. Olympic/Polyurethane Bumper Plates are a great option for people who are wanting to get serious about their strength training and are looking to make the investment in to a setup that will enable consistent progress.
If you are someone who is interested in learning the Olympic Weightlifting lifts such as the Clean & Jerk or the Snatch there is no other choice but to go with bumper plates, this is essential if you are wanting to keep the floor/surroundings in good condition. When performing these lifts the loaded barbell is dropped from at or above shoulder height and the bumper plates provide minimal bounce for maximal safety of the athlete. This is exactly what the bumper plates are designed for, being tested thousands of times in order to ensure that they stand up to the rigours of hard training.
If you are concerned about the typical noise that is created from lifting cast iron plates clanging together as they move on the bar then the polyurethane bumper plates are a great alternative. All bumper plates are designed to slide on to the bar with minimal space to spare between the hub of the plate and the barbell, meaning that it holds its position better being slammed around. Ensuring less damage to the plate itself as well as the bar in use. The polyurethane material itself is highly resistant to wear/breakage and widely used in car manufacturing due to this particular property. When used in the manufacturing of bumper plates you can trust it to withstand repeated use and remain in better condition when compared to regular high density rubber plates.
Another great reason to invest in bumper plates when fitting out your home gym is the size. All bumper plates have the same diameter of 450mm whether the weight is 25kg or 10kg. The diameter of the bumper helps to standardise the height of the barbell when working off the floor. Whether it is deadlifts or hip-thrusts, the height of the barbell from the floor plays a huge part in how smooth the set-up for an exercise is. If we compare this to regular cast-iron or rubber-coated olympic plates, plates weighing less than 20kg have smaller diameters. This will force you to either invest in blocks to raise the bar higher off of the ground, or struggle with heavier weight from a deficit that leaves your body taxed before even starting your set!
When looking at purchasing the equipment to create the perfect home training environment having a full set of bumper plates is hard to beat. They will make training easier for people with different training ages, from the total beginner to the experienced weightlifter. They provide a level of convenience and durability that makes the purchase worthwhile.
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