Q:  My buddies and I have a bet going... What do you guys think would yield better strength gains? A textured thick-handled bar that wouldn't slip out of your hands, but might be too heavy to hold for long? OR, a bar with no texture, that is smooth and can slip, but is lighter and not as thick?  If you held both for 20 seconds until they had to be dropped, which way would get you stronger?

 

A:  Okay, first off, you guys maybe need to get some more things going on in your lives, but that is just our first impression! Nah, just kidding... but man, you're making us feel like Marilyn Vos Savant in Parade Magazine on Sundays.. the one who answers logic and mathematical-based questions. Okay, if we understand you correctly, we'd have to say both and here's why:  The thick bar is something that would stick with you and probably not HAVE to be dropped after 20 seconds. In that way, you'd be lifting heavier and that generally equals mass gains. The thinner, smoother bar would be easier to handle because of weight and narrowness, but would eventually have to be dropped because of grip. However, before it got to the point of "too slippery to handle" it served a far better purpose than the thick bar if you could actually handle it better. If you can't handle a weight, it is probably no good to you. We say both are good, but if we had to pick, we'd say that we'd pick the bar that we could handle better. But, why not just lighten the weight on the bar that is grooved or has texture on its grip? It would solve the problem a lot better than choosing between two inferior choices.