Inspiration

I believe that current barbell designs aren't as ergonomic as they could be. The Bar is uniform along the length which I believe creates pressure points in your hand when lifting. In addition, the knurling is usually very aggressive and under heavier weights, rips the skin up on my hand. For these reasons I decided to try and redesign the handle in a way that would be more ergonomic for the average lifter. Creating a handle section that can be patterned two or three times on each side of the bar to create a more ergonomic gripping design for a power grip.

I began the design change by searching for the ergonomics of grips and handles. I found a document online documenting and classifying the types of grips, and the 13 points to be considered when designing a handle. Using this guide, I came up with my new designs for the barbell handle. Improvements included adding knobs on each side of the handle to increase security, and creating a sort of bowed shape where the middle of the handle is a slightly larger diameter than the ends, again to increase security. I also went through the checklist and made sure the handle section was the correct length, diameter, and surface finish. I believe that having knurling is necessary, especially when your hands are sweaty, but many knurling are too aggressive and with these design changes, hopefully the knurling could be dialed back to less aggressive levels.

Shaded sketches of my design brainstorming can be seen below. I opted to go with design 1: