Calculator · Free, no signup
Plate
loading calculator
Stop doing arithmetic between sets. Enter the target and the bar, and get the plates for one side.
The arithmetic, so you can do it without this page
Subtract the bar. Halve what is left. Fill from the heaviest plate down.
For 140 kg on a 20 kg bar: 120 remaining, 60 per side, which is two 25s and a 10. Once you have loaded a few hundred barbells the common numbers become automatic — but the ones near the top of your range, when you are fatigued and about to lift something heavy, are exactly when the arithmetic goes wrong.
Know what your bar weighs
The default assumption of 20 kg holds for a standard Olympic barbell, and 45 lb in the United States. Beyond that it varies more than people expect.
Women's Olympic bars are 15 kg. Many gym training bars are 10 or 15. A trap bar might be 25 to 35 kg, a safety squat bar similar, and a Smith machine's carriage can be anywhere from 6 to 30 kg depending on counterbalancing. If you are tracking percentages of a max, an unknown bar weight quietly corrupts every number.
When the weight cannot be built
Plates come in fixed sizes and both sides must match, so the achievable weights form a grid rather than a continuum.
With standard kilogram plates down to 1.25 kg, the smallest increment is 2.5 kg total. Ask for 101 kg and, unless your gym has 0.5s, you cannot have it. This calculator says so rather than silently rounding, because silently rounding is how a training log stops matching reality.
Micro plates are worth owning
The standard 2.5 kg jump is a small step on a deadlift and a large one on an overhead press. Going from 50 kg to 52.5 kg on a press is a five percent increase, which is far more than a week of training typically delivers.
A pair of 0.5 kg or 0.25 kg fractional plates costs very little and turns a stalled press into one that still progresses. They are the cheapest useful equipment most lifters do not own.
Common questions
How do I work out what plates to load?
Subtract the bar weight from your target, then halve it — that is the load per side. Fill it with the heaviest plates first. For 100 kg on a 20 kg bar: 100 minus 20 is 80, halved is 40 per side, which is a 25 and a 15.
How much does a barbell weigh?
A standard Olympic barbell is 20 kg or 45 lb. Women's Olympic bars are 15 kg, training bars are often 10 or 15 kg, and specialty bars vary widely — a safety squat bar or trap bar can be anywhere from 25 to 35 kg. Weigh an unfamiliar bar before assuming.
Why can I not load exactly the weight I want?
Because plates come in fixed increments and both sides must match. With standard kilogram plates the smallest jump is 2.5 kg total using 1.25s, or 1 kg total if your gym has 0.5s. If the calculator reports a remainder, that exact number cannot be built from the plates available.
What are micro plates for?
Adding less than the smallest standard jump. Going from 100 kg to 102.5 kg is a 2.5 percent increase, which is a lot on a press near your limit. Fractional plates of 0.25 or 0.5 kg let you progress in increments your body can actually absorb.
Should I count the collars?
If they are heavy ones, yes. Competition collars are 2.5 kg each, so a pair adds 5 kg — enough to matter when you are tracking percentages. Light spring clips weigh almost nothing and can be ignored.
Do I load the heaviest plates nearest the collar?
Nearest the inside, against the sleeve. It keeps the load closer to the centre of the bar, reduces whip, and is the standard convention everywhere so anyone can read the weight at a glance.