How is a hex bar different from a conventional straight bar?
In a straight-bar deadlift, the bar is in front of your body and your hands reach down outside your legs. There's a gap between the weight and your body, and your body has to keep controlling that gap.
With a hex bar, you stand in the middle of the bar with your hands at your sides, so the weight sits closer to your body's midline.
This difference affects how your body handles the load, and the order in which you learn. Once a new deadlifter stands in the middle of the bar, there's one less thing to manage. Plant your feet, brace your torso, grip well and lift the weight off the floor — the coach can focus on these first, without asking someone to control every detail at once in their first session.
An open design lets one bar do more
A standard hex bar is a closed frame: you have to step into it, and step back out again.
The Öppen Bar opens up one side. It looks like it's just missing a side, but in use the difference is clear. Getting in and out is direct, and movements other than the deadlift are easier. For loaded carries, students step in, lift the weight and walk forward, without stepping over the back of the bar first.
The loading stand is another feature we use a lot. Plates can be loaded and unloaded without the bar leaving the floor, so you don't have to lift the whole bar to change weights, and the rhythm between sets isn't interrupted as much.
The two standard handle heights give you two starting positions. People whose hip and ankle mobility isn't there yet can start with the higher handles, and switch lower once they can get down further.
Having many functions doesn't mean using them all every class. What the equipment can do and what you need to train today are two different things.
Who uses this bar in class
People learning the deadlift for the first time. When beginners get stuck before a deadlift, it's usually not a lack of strength. Some don't know where to put their feet, some start pulling with their arms as soon as they grip the bar, and some haven't yet built the sequence of bracing the torso first and then driving with the hips and legs together. Switching to a version that's easier to manage makes these things easier to see.
People practising loaded carries. Walking with weight is the most common form of carrying load in daily life. The hex bar handles sit at your sides, so walking with it is close to carrying things, training grip, torso and gait together.
People who want to build up their deadlift volume. Students with a training foundation also use it for higher training volume. In that case, it's used because it makes the center of mass easier to manage — a different reason from beginners.
A hex bar isn't superior to a straight bar
Beyoung Training has both the Öppen Bar and a standard Olympic straight bar, and uses both, because they solve different problems.
If a student's straight-bar deadlift is already steady and the weight and progress are right, there's no reason to change their training just because the hex bar is special. Conversely, if someone moves more steadily with the hex bar and finds the starting position easier to manage, there's no need to force them back to the straight bar just so they learn the conventional deadlift.
Movement versions are tools. Which one works depends on the training purpose at the time and the person's ability.
Why Eleiko
Eleiko is a Swedish strength equipment brand. People using it for the first time usually just find it comfortable to grip.
After using the same equipment on the training floor for a long time, you start noticing other things: whether grip thickness is consistent, whether different bars have consistent dimensions, whether plates load easily, whether the bar is easy to handle on the floor, and whether the feel stays the same at different weights.
These details won't make anyone stronger on their own, but they affect the quality of every day's training. When the coach decides someone needs to switch to another version, whether there's a suitable bar to hand is exactly what an equipment setup is meant to solve.
Equipment doesn't replace the coach's judgment
The same Öppen Bar plays very different roles in different classes.
Someone just starting out might load only a few plates and practise standing steady, gripping and standing up. Someone who's trained for years might use it for heavy main lifts. In another class, it's just for walking.
Equipment has no fixed role — its role is decided by the program. Whether training goes smoothly still depends on judgment on the training floor.
Everyone's situation is different. If you have an old injury or health concerns, we recommend talking to a medical professional first, then telling the coach about your situation.
On your first visit, you don't need to research the equipment
Beyoung Training is a strength training studio in the Wenshan Special District of Sanmin, Kaohsiung, teaching mainly through free-weight strength training. Classes use barbells, dumbbells, hex bars and various specialty bars, and the coach decides which tool to use today based on your training experience and the intensity you can currently handle.
On your first visit, you don't need to know what Eleiko is, or decide whether you should use a straight bar or a hex bar.
In the Free-Weight Group Class, a coach is present every class to set movement versions and weights — an easy way to start using this equipment.
https://www.beyoungtraining.com/group-strength
If you'd like to learn the deadlift first, One-on-One Personal Training will start from a version you can do now.