Iron Grip Vintage Iron Plates

So got my first set of iron grips and they happen to have my Alma mater on them so give them all the stars. But for real, they feel great, the handles are convenient and they look great. Pricey so that knocks them down a peg.

My first commercial gym experience was at a gym with the urethane coated version of these. I hated them at the time (and maybe still do), but I decided to go find the bare iron versions for some of my gym's change plates, just for the nostalgia. Never getting the 45s though, these things will ruin a deadlift.

Classic made in USA plates. These are awesome for everything but deadlifts b/c of the way they settle and hit the ground between sets.

These bare metal ones were produced in the 90s for a few years before the Iron Grip company started coating all their plates with urethane. The bare metal develops a nice patina over time and these fit in nicely with a vintage gym if that's what you're building. These were specifically designed to be non-rolling plates, so dinging them because they're not fit for deadlifts is antithetical to their intended purpose. The strength program at the West Point military academy commissioned some custom Black Knights plates and those were in use there for over a decade before they were replaced with newer plates. I picked up a pair of 45s and a pair of 25s on the collectors market as counterparts to my York Beat Army plates, since several of my family members served in the Army. Now which ever academy wins the Army/Navy game each December, that team's plates get the priority position in the gym for the next year. HA!! Great plates to have in any home gym.

I love these plates as they were at a lot of commercial gyms I worked out at in high school and college. Not good at all for deadlifts but I love the look and feel of them and they’ll last forever.

Its cool that they're vintage and all, but the straight edges make them unusable for deadlifts