Type your target weight and the bar, and get the exact plates for each side.
Plate math is the easiest thing to get wrong mid session. Enter the total you want on the bar and the calculator subtracts the bar, splits the rest in two and tells you exactly which plates go on each side, heaviest first. Load big plates closest to the collar and work outward so the bar sits balanced.
Standard bars weigh twenty kilos or forty five pounds. Many gyms also stock a lighter fifteen kilo or thirty five pound bar, and short technique bars are lighter still, so pick the bar you are actually using for an accurate count.
In kilos it works from twenty five, twenty, fifteen, ten, five, two point five, one point two five and half kilo plates. In pounds it works from forty five, thirty five, twenty five, ten, five and two point five. If a total cannot be matched exactly with those plates, it loads as close as it can and tells you the small gap.
A standard Olympic barbell weighs twenty kilograms or forty five pounds. Many gyms also have a fifteen kilogram or thirty five pound bar, and lighter technique bars for beginners.
Subtract the bar weight, halve what is left and load that per side, heaviest plates first. This calculator does that for you and shows the plates in order.
