Why does the bar weigh 20 kg?

A standard men’s Olympic barbell weighs 20 kilograms (44.1 lb). Women’s Olympic bars weigh 15 kg, and technique or training bars typically weigh 10 kg.

Why do plates come in 2.5 kg and 1.25 kg?

A pair of 1.25 kg plates adds 2.5 kg to the bar, and a pair of 2.5 lb plates adds 5 lb. Those are the smallest jumps most gyms can load without micro plates, and the usual step for adding weight to a barbell lift.

What if my gym doesn’t have small plates?

Then your smallest jump is set by the smallest plate you have. With 5 kg plates and up, the smallest increase is 10 kg total. Micro plates (0.25–0.5 kg) help once progress slows.

Should I count the collars in the bar weight?

The total here is the bar plus plates, with no collars. Spring clips weigh next to nothing, but competition collars weigh 2.5 kg each, 5 kg a pair, so add 5 kg to the bar weight when you load with them.

How do I load uneven plate combinations?

Load both sides the same, heaviest plates innermost. The calculator fills each side from the heaviest plate down, loads the heaviest weight it can make at or under your target, and shows what is left over. A target lighter than the bar shows the empty bar.

Why does the calculator round down sometimes?

If your target falls between loadable weights, the calculator loads the heaviest weight at or under the target and shows the difference. Micro plates can close it.

Plate loading calculator

Free plate math calculator for barbell lifts: enter a target weight and your bar, get the exact plates to load per side in kg or lb with full plate breakdown.

Plate math is easy at a desk and harder under the bar at 6 a.m. when you need exactly 142.5 kg. Enter the target and the bar, and this calculator tells you which plates go on each side.

It loads heaviest plates first, the way most lifters load a bar. It solves against a standard plate set: 25 to 1.25 kg plus 0.5 kg micro plates, or 45 to 2.5 lb plus 1.25 and 0.5 lb. If that set cannot make your target exactly, it shows the nearest weight under it. The warmup set generator gives you the ramp to load for.

UnitsTarget weight

Bar weight

Achievable weight100 kg

Plates per side

25 kg plate× 1

15 kg plate× 1

How this works

A standard men's Olympic barbell weighs 20 kg (44.1 lb). Other bars vary: women’s competition bars are 15 kg, technique bars are often 10 kg or lighter, and trap bars run from about 20 to 35 kg depending on the model. Start your math from the bar you are using.

Subtract the bar, halve what is left, and that is the load per side. Take as many of the heaviest plate as fit, move to the next plate down, and repeat until nothing is left or the remainder is smaller than your smallest plate.

Metric gyms usually stock 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 2.5 and 1.25 kg plates. US gyms usually carry 45, 35, 25, 15, 10, 5 and 2.5 lb, and fewer have 1.25 or 0.5 lb fractional plates, though they are cheap to buy. So the smallest standard jump is 2.5 kg (1.25 kg per side) in a metric gym and 5 lb (2.5 lb per side) in a US one.

When the plates can't make your target, the calculator shows the nearest weight under it and the difference. You can add a pair of micro plates (0.25 or 0.5 kg), use magnetic fractional plates that stick to the ones you have, or take the loadable number as your target.

Load the heaviest plates innermost and put collars on. If plates slide off one side mid-set, the bar tips toward the heavier side, and collars take a few seconds to fit.

Frequently asked questions

Why does the bar weigh 20 kg?: A standard men’s Olympic barbell weighs 20 kilograms (44.1 lb). Women’s Olympic bars weigh 15 kg, and technique or training bars typically weigh 10 kg.
Why do plates come in 2.5 kg and 1.25 kg?: A pair of 1.25 kg plates adds 2.5 kg to the bar, and a pair of 2.5 lb plates adds 5 lb. Those are the smallest jumps most gyms can load without micro plates, and the usual step for adding weight to a barbell lift.
What if my gym doesn’t have small plates?: Then your smallest jump is set by the smallest plate you have. With 5 kg plates and up, the smallest increase is 10 kg total. Micro plates (0.25–0.5 kg) help once progress slows.
Should I count the collars in the bar weight?: The total here is the bar plus plates, with no collars. Spring clips weigh next to nothing, but competition collars weigh 2.5 kg each, 5 kg a pair, so add 5 kg to the bar weight when you load with them.
How do I load uneven plate combinations?: Load both sides the same, heaviest plates innermost. The calculator fills each side from the heaviest plate down, loads the heaviest weight it can make at or under your target, and shows what is left over. A target lighter than the bar shows the empty bar.
Why does the calculator round down sometimes?: If your target falls between loadable weights, the calculator loads the heaviest weight at or under the target and shows the difference. Micro plates can close it.

Related tools

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