Collar
Also called barbell collar, spring clip, bar collar, barbell clip, barbell clamp
A collar is the fastener that goes on the end of a barbell, outside the plates, to stop them sliding off.
In plain words
Most gyms hand you a light spring clip or a plastic clamp. It goes on the end of the barbell outside the plates, and the plates stay where they are. Nobody counts a gym clip in the weight; they weigh very little.
Competition collars are a different object. The International Weightlifting Federation requires two collars weighing 2.5 kg each, and the International Powerlifting Federation sets the bar and its two collars together at 25 kg. There they are part of the number announced. The word also has a second use: the fixed ring where the shaft ends and the sleeve begins is called the collar too.
An example
The figure shows a 20 kg bar with a 20 kg plate on each side and a clip outside each plate. That is 60 kg in a gym, where the clips are not counted. Put two 2.5 kg competition collars on the same bar instead and the lift is 65 kg: 20 kg bar + 2 × 20 kg plates + 2 × 2.5 kg collars.
Often confused with
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Updated . How these pages are researched and corrected: editorial policy. Every term in the glossary.