Abstract: An exercise bar cord impingement assembly permits exercise in two modes, defined in terms of how cord anchoring is arranged. There is a tunnel or, alternatively, a nest at each end of the bar where snug connection—a direct one—with a conventionally stoppered cord end is made. Handgrips may be employed with the assembly instead, in which case, each cord end is impinged not within the bar's body but within the grips—an indirect connection. A tunnel may have shared emplacement wells within it, preferably situated concentrically, one for the impinged cord, the other for an emplaced handgrip connection block. A handgrip's connecting block may be shaped in any of several ways for rotational positioning advantages. Cord emplacement slots are preferably present in both the bar and the block. In models having nests instead of tunnels, a cord emplacement channel is necessarily provided to get the impinged cord seated into place.