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Barbell calculator
Enter the weight you want on the bar, the bar's own weight and the plate sizes your gym has. You get the plates for each side, heaviest first, and when your plates can't make the exact number, the closest load below it and the gap.
Example result
1 × 25, 1 × 15
100kg
20 kg bar + 40 kg of plates per side.
Per side, inside to outside: 25 kg, 15 kg
Plate loading examples
Different gyms, different bars, different plates on the floor.
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Example 1
Three plates in a pound gym
A lifter in a US gym loading 315 lb for a deadlift on a 45 lb bar.
- Target weight
- 315 lb
- Bar weight
- 45 lb
- Plates you have, kg gym
- 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 2.5, 1.25
- Plates you have, lb gym
- 45, 35, 25, 10, 5, 2.5
- Each collar
- 0 lb
- Each side3 × 45
- Bar total315 lb
Three 45s a side. The next 5 lb jump, to 320 lb, is one 2.5 lb plate on each side.
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Example 2
On a women's bar
A lifter squatting 62.5 kg on a 15 kg women's bar.
- Target weight
- 62.5 kg
- Bar weight
- 15 kg
- Plates you have, kg gym
- 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 2.5, 1.25
- Plates you have, lb gym
- 45, 35, 25, 10, 5, 2.5
- Each collar
- 0 kg
- Each side1 × 20, 1 × 2.5, 1 × 1.25
- Bar total62.5 kg
With the bar left at 20 kg, the same target would load 2.5 kg less on each side. On a lighter bar, change the bar weight first.
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Example 3
Competition bar with collars
A powerlifter loading 182.5 kg at a meet, where the bar and its two 2.5 kg collars weigh 25 kg together.
- Target weight
- 182.5 kg
- Bar weight
- 20 kg
- Plates you have, kg gym
- 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 2.5, 1.25
- Plates you have, lb gym
- 45, 35, 25, 10, 5, 2.5
- Each collar
- 2.5 kg
- Each side3 × 25, 1 × 2.5, 1 × 1.25
- Bar total182.5 kg
The two 2.5 kg collars count toward the 182.5 kg. Heaviest plates go innermost, as the rules require, and the 1.25 kg plate closes the last 2.5 kg.
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Example 4
A home gym without 2.5s
A home gym with 45, 25, 10 and 5 lb plates and a 45 lb bar, aiming for 230 lb.
- Target weight
- 230 lb
- Bar weight
- 45 lb
- Plates you have, kg gym
- 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 2.5, 1.25
- Plates you have, lb gym
- 45, 25, 10, 5
- Each collar
- 0 lb
- Each side2 × 45
- Closest you can load225 lb
Without 2.5 lb plates the bar jumps from 225 to 235 lb, so 230 can't be made. A pair of 2.5s closes the gap; until then, add reps at 225 instead of weight.
How much does the bar weigh?
An Olympic bar weighs 20 kg for men and 15 kg for women; in lb gyms they are marked 45 and 35 lb. A powerlifting competition bar is used with collars, and the rules set the bar and collars at 25 kg together, 2.5 kg for each collar.
Trap bars, EZ bars, safety squat bars and Smith machines vary by model, so check the stamp on the bar or the maker's spec and enter that. For a Smith machine, see how much a Smith machine bar weighs.
Kg and lb plates, and the order to load them
Competition kg plates are 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 2.5 and 1.25 kg, and fractional plates of 2, 1 and 0.5 kg make smaller jumps. Lb gyms use 45, 35, 25, 10, 5 and 2.5 lb plates, and some add 55 and 1.25 lb.
The two don't swap one for one: a 20 kg plate is 44.1 lb and a 45 lb plate is 20.4 kg. Enter the target in the unit of the plates you're loading.
Load the heaviest plates first, innermost, and the smaller ones outside them in descending order. That is the competition rule and the order the calculator lists them in.
How the plates are worked out
Subtract the bar from the target and halve it: that is the weight for each side. Plates are then taken from the heaviest you have down, as many of each as fit, which is also the order they go on the bar.
If what's left is smaller than your smallest plate, the result is the closest load below your target.
Per side = (target − bar) ÷ 2
(100 − 20) ÷ 2 = 40 kg per side: 25 + 15Make it fit you
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Fractional plates for slow lifts
Add 1.25 kg or 1.25 lb plates to the ones you have and every target in 2.5 kg or 2.5 lb steps becomes loadable.
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Round the program to your plates
When a percentage from the one rep max chart gives an awkward number, load the closest weight below it.
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Plan the warm-up
Work out the climb to a heavy set with the warm-up calculator, then load each step here.
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Count collars only when they count
At a meet, enter 2.5 kg per collar. In the gym, leave collars at 0 unless you've weighed your clips and want them in the total.
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Trap bars and specialty bars
Enter the bar's stamped weight; the plates load the same way.
Questions
Do you count the bar in the weight?
Yes. The weight you lift is the bar plus all the plates, so a 20 kg bar with 20 kg on each side is 60 kg.
How much does a barbell weigh?
A men's Olympic bar weighs 20 kg, marked 45 lb in lb gyms, and a women's bar 15 kg, marked 35 lb. Specialty bars vary, so check the stamp.
What if I can't make the exact weight?
The calculator loads the closest weight below your target and shows the gap. Fractional plates or a different bar close it.
Are kg and lb plates interchangeable?
They fit the same bar but don't weigh the same: 20 kg is 44.1 lb and 45 lb is 20.4 kg. Keep one unit per bar.
Do collars count toward the weight?
In powerlifting, yes: the bar and collars together weigh 25 kg. In the gym, count clips only if you know what they weigh.
Related calculators and templates
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1 rep max chart
The percentage loads to put on the bar.
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Warm-up calculator
The steps up to your working weight.
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Smith machine bar weight
What the Smith bar adds to your total.
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One-rep max calculator
Find the max your percentages come from.
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Lifting with limited equipment
Progress when your plates and bars are few.
Sources
Plates on your wrist
RIRLift picks the weight for every set from the reps and RIR you log, and its plate calculator on Apple Watch shows what to load right at the bar.
Coming to Android · Join the waitlist
Built for real lifters and is so useful for tracking workouts in my Apple Watch