Buying barbells

Unless you’re related to the Sultan of Brunei, you’ll probably find it too expensive and too space consuming to buy a whole array of fixed-weight barbells, as recommended with dumbbells. It’s more practical to buy an empty bar and clip on the weights yourself. You can buy bars that weigh 15 to 45 pounds, although the most popular bars are the heavier bars used in health clubs.

Figuring the cost
Barbells cost about the same per pound as dumbbells, but if you’re lucky, you may find them as low as a nickel a pound. Most stores sell variety packs, often called Olympic packs, which come with a whole assortment of plates weighing a total of 200 to 300 pounds.
We also recommend buying collars to keep the weight plates from sliding off the bar. MCR makes the sturdiest and most user-friendly collars. You slip the collars on the bar and twist a small lever, locking them in place. They cost $20 a pair.

Storing your equipment
As with dumbbells, we recommend buying a barbell rack. Vertical racks ($100 to $200) take up less space and cost less than horizontal racks ($300 to $700). However, it’s more awkward to place a bar on a vertical rack. Store your plates on a weight tree — a contraption that has several rungs. Weight trees come in an astonishing variety of shapes and sizes and typically cost $75 to $200.