T he squat is one of the most popular and recognisable fitness exercises around at the present moment, with it providing both aesthetic benefits and strengthening your core and lower body muscles, but just what are the different weights of squat bars?

You don't necessarily need weights to perform a squat successfully, but the added weight makes the exercise more effective in the pursuit of gains.

You can squat with bodyweight, however it's likely that a person will then want to challenge themselves further by adding more weight to a bar they are holding.

In short, yes. According to a report published by Women's Health Magazine, you could squat forever using just your bodyweight and not achieve the results you would in a far shorter time by lifting a barbell in the air.

This is precisely the reason why people elect to use barbells, but they often don't know what weight is best to start at in relation to their fitness level.

You have the Olympic Barbell first of all which weighs 20kg and is typically 7'2" long. This is the barbell that is most likely used at public gyms and is considered all-purpose.

A women's barbell is 15kg and slightly lighter than the Olympic edition, these are often used by beginners because they are easier to hold and you can increase grip strength over time.

A training barbell weighs about 15 pounds and are used for learning complicated routines, often used during the overhead squat.

Safety barbells are designed to prevent injury and are handy when a workout is done at home and lacks the supervision of a professional trainer.

Tricep barbells are a speciality bar which is used to isolate a specific muscle group, in this case the triceps. These are designed with a W shape in the middle of the bar and they tend to weigh between 20 and 40 pounds.

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