Bumper plates: there is no home gym without them!

There was a long, intense epic moment in which steel sports materialized in cast iron. At the two ends of the balance wheel you could insert only and exclusively some "slices" of cast iron - almost nonexistent any shape in the shape of a handle, and often there was also a "border" that made it easy to grasp the disc (the accessory work on the grip it was however insured).

You still had to thank, because it was already good for you: you know it the classic image of Paul Anderson, strongman historian, with two wagon wheels loaded on his shoulders, and the poor man's barbell bent by the weight? Or the “strange and heavy objects” that the former strongman did they recover from old scrap metal and use it to train unlikely lifts?

(good times)

Welcome, bumper plates

The fact is that in those days there were fewer restrictions, fewer whims, fewer commercial gyms complaining about the noise of cast iron on linoleum ... and less parquet so swooning that it starts shaking at the first sign of a deadlift PR.

Cast iron is an aggressive material, capable of leaving significant signs of your passage in the weight room, but also of "intruding" as a solid, intrusive and noisy presence in the space where which you are training.

Hence the birth of the bumper plate - and its spread thanks to the beloved CrossFit® ... but also to the flourishing of home gyms.

What is a bumper?

The bumper plate is a steel heart, covered with a thick hard rubber shell. It sounds like a description of a sensual ice cream, but that's it.

The rubber coating is gives a series of characteristics to the disc that those in cast iron just do not have:

• the ability to make controlled rebounds
• the ability to muffle noise
• they do not freeze (too much) if you train outdoors in cold seasons

Are all bumpers created equal?

No: a bumper must be of quality, especially if you practice a discipline with a high dropping rate, such as CF and oly. At that point, a poor bumper you see immediately, because it will start to crack - and it will eventually break.

The other feature you need to take into account when choosing bumpers for your home gym is the bounce:

• you recognize a good rebound
• a bumper that is too elastic risks bouncing out of control, perhaps ending up on you
• a bumper that is too stiff ruins the flow of your WODs

Make sure then, since it's pretty easy these days, say choose color coded bumpers. It will help you to be faster in loading and unloading the barbells.

Finally: there are "competition grade" bumpers, whose weight is calibrated.

So what do I buy?

It depends on how you train. CrossFit®? Bumpers. Oly? Bumpers. Bodybuilding? Mixed. Strongmen? Cast iron.

powerlifting old school with outdoor training in Russia in the center of a clearing in a birch forest, the rack is built with iron recovery of an old shipyard, and between one series and another you have to keep an eye out that the bear doesn't come out and ask you if you've finished the series?

Are you really asking me which records to buy?

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Photo: wikipedia, web