Muscle Clamps
Muscle clamps are the trademark name for a poplar type of weight collar. I see them at the gym all the time. Weight clamps, like weight collars, hold your weight plates securely on either end of your dumbbell. I have no doubt that you can already see how vital a reliable set of collars is when you're balancing 45-pound weight plates on either side of your head.
Muscle clamps are specifically designed to fit Olympic bars (for about $35 a pair online) which mean they're made to slip over the 2-inch diameter bar. Muscle clamps are made from high-impact nylon. Simply load your weight plates onto the bar and slip a Muscle Clamp on either end. Push the clamp's tab down to lock the plates in place. This way they won't become lose or fall off the bar during your lift.
Muscle clamps perform the same function as do screw-on standard weight collars and spring-loaded weight collars. However, they're nylon design offers the following extra features:
- The non-slip rubber gripping walls won't slip or slide off your Olympic bar as some screw-on collars have been known to do.
- Muscle clamps are quick to take on and off for rapid weight change like spring collars.
- They aren't heavy (actually they're under 1-pound) or cumbersome so lifters are more prone to use them.
- The nylon design can easily withstand a rough and tumble gym environment.
- Finally, muscle clamps are nylon throughout so their inner lining will shield your bar from becoming scratched and dented.
Please remember that safety always comes first in your home gym, just as it does in your community gym. Using the proper safety precautions is probably more important if you work out alone in your home. I think of it like this: fitting your barbell with weight collars might take a few seconds, but it can save you from suffering a serious injury that will put an end to your weight lifting.
