Barbells emerged as the Gold Standard progressive resistance training tool after the end of the Second World War. Sales of barbell sets skyrocketed in the 1960s when large retail stores such as Sears and Montgomery Wards began stocking inexpensive 110-pound "exercise" sets. The cost was kept to a fraction of the complex and expensive Olympic barbells: the exercise set consisted of a five-foot steel bar with a three foot "revolving" chrome sleeve. The 25-pound bar and weight plates were usually sold with two dumbbells. Millions of 110-pound barbell sets were sold worldwide. An Olympic barbell "set" was typically 315-pounds and would cost ten times the 110-pound barbell set. The 110-pound weight set introduced millions to resistance training.

About the Author
As an athlete Marty Gallagher is a national and world champion in Olympic lifting and powerlifting. He was a world champion team coach in 1991 and coached Black's Gym to five national team titles. He's also coached some of the strongest men on the planet including Kirk Karwoski when he completed his world record 1,003 lb. squat. Today he teaches the US Secret Service and Tier 1 Spec Ops on how to maximize their strength in minimal time. As a writer since 1978 he’s written for Powerlifting USA, Milo, Flex Magazine, Muscle & Fitness, Prime Fitness, Washington Post, Dragon Door and now IRON COMPANY. He’s also the author of multiple books including Purposeful Primitive, Strong Medicine, Ed Coan’s book “Coan, The Man, the Myth, the Method" and numerous others. Read the Marty Gallagher biography here.