ExRx.net

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165727

I have a set of these at home in Aus and was thinking that they could be used for Dead Lifts when the user doesn't have the right sized plates to get the bar in the correct postion.

As someone who will be doing the Starting Strength novice program in a month and a half and will have limited funds to buy large plates straight away (would prefer the same weight in smaller incriments for versatility) it makes sense to use something I have laying around to help me out! The ones I have (not from the link) came in a set with my jack and range form 8" to 24" in height as they are telescopic, they could even be used to save doing a DL to start of each power clean set in a pinch! This is just a short term fix and has its issues with some versions having a small 'rack' area, but could be useful for those who are in the previously mentioned categories! I will be using them until 1) I can get some 20kg plates or 2) my power cage is finished being built!

In Aus they can be a bit cheaper, running as low as $10 a set and therefore half the price of the one's I've linked to!

John

I wouldn't hesitate to use them. They look handy. In the past, if I wasn't using the large diameter plates, I'd position the bar across two cynder blocks to raise height. Also, what's becoming common now, are large diameter plates called "trainers" that are made of hard plastic, weigh about 5 lbs apiece, and are used with an O bar to allow the correct height for newly starting trainees that need the lighter weights.
Tim

Looks good, Ya gotta do what ya gotta do when working to a budget, as long as you stay safe.
The only thing will be placing the weight down on them accuratley on the negative part of the rep, technically you shouldn't be looking down whilst deadlifting. Once you start to get heavy, you will probably find the pitfalls with using them. But fine to start with.

You could, however, buy some plywood (heat bonded multi layer stuff) and cut circles out of the right diameter and use them as dummy weights to lift the bar higher. Most gyms will have some sort of plastic dummy weights to do the same thing when using light plates. This should work out quite cheap (cheaper than an olympic bar and iron anyway!) until you get your gear sorted. Nice find.

ED: TimD beat me by 3 mins!

Yeah the ones I have at home have a much larger holder on the top, about 2 inches in the middle and a raised section of about an inch and a half to 2 inches either end, slightly higher quality than the ones in the above link, but cost about the same as part of a set with a trolley jack and wheel safety chocks. The other thing for me with these is that plates from 1.25kg to 15 kg at the store I'll be buying from are $2 AUD per kilogram but the 20kg and 25kg plates are $2.50 AUD per kilogram so it's kind of cost effective too!

The 'Trainer Plates' sound like a great idea, I've never come across them but would certainly be better for putting the bar down with! I may even look into these to replace the jack stands if they do prove hard to place the bar on! I'm guessing you'e need a pretty strong yet forgiving wood to take 80kg+ (175lbs) though! I will have to do some looking around when I get back to Aus!

John