Do you like your wrists just the way they are? Yeah, me too. Just a little something you may want to consider when it comes to maintaining that glorious spin on your barbell(s).
It's not simply all about how much more appealing a freely spinning bar is than a bar that doesn't spin. In fact, it actually poses an injury risk to yourself and others.
Take the Olympic Clean for example. Starting off with the clean, think about the hip extension portion of the lift, followed by bringing your elbows through to receive the barbell. This requires the barbell's sleeves to spin freely, which most of us take this for granted (I used to be among this group). So, if you are trying to catch the bar in the bottom of a full squat and the bar is not rotating (because it's locked up), then you could potentially smash your elbows into your knees and/or thighs. Much of the time this results in a wrist injury of some sort.
Not only do locked up or slow spinning sleeves contribute greatly to the risk of injury, they also make for a way less than optimal lifting experience overall. Think about going for a 1 Rep Max Clean or Snatch. Do you want a barbell that is primed and spinning correctly, or a barbell that you have to overcompensate in your pull, just to get your elbows through or the bar in the correct position? I would venture a guess that you would side with the former.
To Recap:
-Proper Barbell Spin helps reduce the risk for injury -Proper Barbell Spin ensures a better lifting experience all together -Proper Barbell Spin keeps YOU & YOUR MEMBERS HAPPY
So how do you maintain proper spin?
-Refer to either video on the right hand side of this post. Utilizing these few steps allows you to service multiple barbells at a time QUICKLY and EFFECTIVELY. Barbell usage & climate will also play significant factors in regards to how often you will have to service your fleet. Keep this in mind.
-The reason we don't typically recommend REMOVING the sleeves is because it can sometimes be difficult to get the sleeves BACK ON PROPERLY (depending on your handyman skills of course). IF you are comfortable with taking the sleeves off, a few times per year should suffice.
Quick Note: When we're talking about "barbell spin," we're referring to the bar's sleeves spinning freely. The shaft of the bar should also be able to freely rotate as well.
