I feel kind of stupid today. And annoyed.
Over the weekend, I went to Play It Again to pick up some clamps for the barbells at the house. (I figured it was about time after 1 1/2 years to make sure the plates DON’T fall off the ends of the bar.) While I was there, I was eyeing the bumper plates, and got to thinking I would LOVE a 35# bar, since that’s what I use in class. It’s just smaller in my hands and feels better to me.
Andy, being the darling that he is, ran out and picked up a bar and two 15# bumper plates. So cool…
I love that I'm wearing jeans and slippers in this photo. 
But then Andy said,” Um, Cindy, I think we should take this bar back.”
“Why?”
“It’s the same weight as the one you already use.”
And he was right. We got out the scale and everything. The bar that I’ve been using all along is 35#. All this time I thought it was 45#, because that’s what they told us when we bought it at Play It Again. I knew it was a little lighter than that, but I didn’t think it was 10 pounds.
So all this time I thought I was using a 45# bar, it was actually 35# — which explains why my numbers were always better at home than in the gym. (“Why does it always feel heavier at the gym?” “It must be that I’m ‘cold’ in the morning — that’s why it’s so hard.”)
Go ahead — laugh. I deserve it. In my defense, the bar is not as thin as the ones at the gym. And its weight wasn’t marked when we bought it. Plus I was pregnant when we bought it, so everything felt heavy.
I’ll laugh about this — one day. Right now I’m feeling a little annoyed. But I’m also feeling a little relieved. The mystery of the discrepancy is solved. Now that I know what weight I’m ACTUALLY using, I’ll push myself more, and I should be able to see some strength gains.
Saturday night I did my first strength session with the bumper plates and the knowledge about the true weight of the bar. This is what I did:
Front squats 3×2, 3×2, 3×2 → 65/80/85
Push Press + Jerk 60% (of jerk) x3+1×2, 65% x3+1×3 → 50/50, 55/55/55
Snatch Balance 3×3 → 35/35/45
Snatch deadlift 3×4 → 85/80/95/100
So, instead of another bar, we decided to get a rack. We found a reasonably priced rack online that we’re going to order next month. Then I’ll be able to squat more than I can clean.
Until then, I’m still annoyed. Grrr….