The barbells you'll find in most gyms weigh 45 pounds (20 kilograms) and measure 7 feet long, giving the implement the heft you'll need for the various heavy pushes and pulls you'll perform. Olympic bars, which would be cleared for competitive lifts, have 2-inch thick sleeves for weight plates (standard barbells are smaller with 1-inch thick sleeves).

Barbells are essential for the heavy loaded multi-joint exercises that most people envision when they think of weightlifting. Back squats, bench presses, and deadlifts can all be performed with other implements to varying degrees of effectiveness-but you're not going to be able to work with as much weight without the bilateral muscle recruitment you'll have with a barbell. Unilateral movements with dumbbells and kettlebells can help you build your body, but there's nothing more impressive than stacking plate after plate onto a bar and crushing reps.

While barbells can be unwieldy in small spaces, you can build full workouts using just a bar and some plates. Check out these exercises you can include in your typical workouts, then try the full routines to make your next trip to the bar even more effective.

Barbell Mobility

Perform each of the following exercises for 30 seconds. Rest for 15 seconds between each move. Complete 2 rounds, resting for 2 minutes between them.