Steelheft

Barbell plate calculator

Type the total weight. See which plates go on each side of a standard bar.

Free, no sign-up, nothing stored

Weight on the bar

Plates this calculator uses

Metric: 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 2.5 and 1.25 kg on a 20 kg bar. Imperial: 45, 35, 25, 10, 5 and 2.5 lb on a 45 lb bar. Collars are not counted.

How the plates are chosen

Biggest first, the way a bar is loaded in a gym: fewer plates and less time between sets. If a weight can't be made exactly, the calculator says so and gives the nearest weights you can load instead of rounding without telling you.

Where the numbers come from in Steelheft

Working weights in Steelheft are always something you can load: 2.5 kg steps in kilograms and 5 lb in pounds. The set screen shows the plates per side under the weight, so 102.5 kg arrives as 25 + 15 + 1.25 per side. Work out the weight first with the one-rep max calculator.

Questions

How much does a barbell weigh?

A standard men's Olympic bar weighs 20 kg; in US gyms the common bar is 45 lb. Women's bars weigh 15 kg. This calculator assumes 20 kg or 45 lb.

Do collars count?

Competition collars weigh 2.5 kg each, spring clips almost nothing. Most training logs leave them out, and so does this calculator.

Why can't I load 101 kg?

The smallest standard plate is 1.25 kg, so a bar goes up in 2.5 kg steps. 101 kg would need fractional plates.

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