Joshua Langlois, a graduate student and Strongman enthusiast, investigated how Olympic weightlifters exploit a barbell's 'whip' during lifts. By suspending 20-kg barbells loaded with 50 kg from elastic bands and using accelerometers, he mapped vibrational patterns. His modal analysis revealed that bars without sleeves oscillate faster than those with sleeves, affecting how lifters time their movements.

This bending mode frequency shift—up to 1% higher in unsleeved bars—could influence elite performance, where even minor advantages matter. Langlois noted that while sleeves reduce whip frequency, the surprise finding was that higher loads increase flexural mode frequency, altering the bar's effective wavelength and stiffness dynamics.