I bought chains. I got the Wheel of Pain. There is a moment, mid-squat, when the bar is heavy and the world is loud, that I stop being a man in a home gym and become Conan himself — bound to the Wheel of Pain, driving it forward because the alternative is being crushed beneath it. These chains did that to me. Forty kilograms of chrome-plated steel, and every one of them a taskmaster. Off the chest, off the floor, the chain lies coiled and silent. Then the bar rises, and the Wheel begins to turn. The sound is the thing. The links drag across the floor, a low, grinding scrape-clank, and as the bar climbs, the chain peels upward link by link, a rising metallic clatter like the turning of some ancient iron mechanism. By lockout, all 40 kg hangs free and the chains sway and rattle with a deep, booming jangle that echoes off the walls. It is the sound of the Wheel. It is the sound of labor that does not end until the rep is finished. And I have come to crave it. On a heavy bench, that clatter climbs with the bar and tells me the triceps are about to be tested by fire. On a squat, the rising chain-song is the war drum that carries me out of the hole. The motivation is not subtle. Bands are silent and polite. Chains are loud and heavy, and they announce exactly how much load you are moving through every inch of the rep, no hiding, no cheating the top. On days when I don't want to train, I load the chains anyway, and the sound alone drags me to the bar. One chain over the shoulder for carries. Draped across the traps for dips. Every accessory becomes a feat of strength, every session a small epic. The 14 cm chrome links have shrugged off repeated drops, and the end collars sit clean on my Olympic sleeves. But beware! These are not for the untested. They are heavy and loud. Well-forged. Powerfully inspiring. If you seek lockout strength and the feeling of a Cimmerian at the Wheel, these chains will not disappoint. Combine that with the Riddle of Steel on high volume, song from the movie itself that Basil Poledouris composed, and in no time you will find yourself feeling the wheel of pain tearing your muscles away. By Crom, they're worth it.
Heavy lifting chains for top-end work. Each chain weighs 20 kg, the pair brings 40 kg of variable load to the bar, and the 14 cm chrome links are sized for repeated drops from heavy squats and bench presses. Once the bar moves off the chest or out of the hole, the chain lifts off the floor and the top of the lift gets a lot heavier. By lockout, the full 40 kg hangs free. This is the load level Westside-style lifters use to overload the hardest part of a heavy bench or squat, not a starter set.
Heavy Top-End Load for Bench, Squat and Deadlift
Powerlifters add chains for a good reason: the lockout strength bottleneck. A bench press at 160 kg might fail at the top because the triceps cannot finish what the chest started. A squat at 200 kg might stall just above parallel, where most lifters lose bar speed and miss the rep. Add 40 kg of chain weight that only kicks in during the lockout phase, and the strongest range gets the overload it needs. Total bar tension stays near-constant through the rep, the bottom feels normal, the top feels heavier than the plates suggest. That is accommodating resistance done at a meaningful load.
On heavy bench, this builds tricep lockout and bar speed off the chest under expanding load. On heavy squat, drive out of the hole gets sharper because the curve demands acceleration. Deadlift lockouts, dips with serious chain weight on the traps, push press for shoulders, sled drags for conditioning that respects strength curves. Carry one chain over the shoulder for Strongman / Strongwomen, drape across the traps for chain-loaded dips. Pair with a powerlifting barbell and you have the Westside accessory toolkit in two pieces.
Specifications
- Material: chrome plated steel
- Weight: 20 kg per chain / 40 kg per pair
- Length: 1.5 m per chain
- Link dimensions: 14 cm x 8.5 cm x 2.5 cm
- Sleeve fitting: Olympic 50 mm
- Includes: 2 chains with end collars
- Sold as: Pair
FAQ
At what lifting level do these heavy chains make sense?
Louie Simmons of Westside Barbell recommended roughly 10% of your top squat weight as chain load (5-8% for bench). A 40 kg chain pair therefore matches advanced lifters: squatters in the 350-400 kg range, or geared benchers at very high weights. If your top sets are below that level, the 5 kg pair is the better fit.
Will my barbell handle the extra 40 kg from the chains?
The chains hang off the sleeves like any plate, so they add to total bar load not bar stress. A standard powerlifting barbell rated for competition loads handles this without issue. Cheaper or older bars with weak sleeves may protest, but a competition-grade bar shrugs at 40 kg of chain.
Do these barbell chains fit any Olympic barbell?
The end collars are sized for the Olympic 50 mm sleeve standard, same as our 5 kg chains. That covers powerlifting bars, weightlifting bars and EZ curl bars with Olympic sleeves. The chain itself is bigger and heavier, but the attachment is identical.