Plate Loading Calculator
Tells you when a weight cannot be loaded.
Work out Plate Loading. Tells you when a weight cannot be loaded. Shows the working, not just the answer.
Plates per side
1×25 + 1×15
100 kg exactly, on a 20 kg bar
The plates are chosen greedily from the heaviest down, which is optimal for standard plate sets because each is at least twice the next but one. That is the same condition that makes greedy change-making work with ordinary coins. When a weight cannot be made exactly, the closest below is reported rather than rounded silently. That matters for programmes built on small increments — knowing you are 1.25 kg short is useful, and being told a number you cannot load is not. Micro plates are what make long-run linear progression possible on upper-body lifts. Adding 2.5 kg to a press is a large jump; adding 0.5 kg is one most people can absorb week after week.
How the Plate Loading Calculator works
Which plates to put on each side for a target weight, in kilograms or pounds, with or without micro plates. When a weight cannot be made exactly it reports the closest achievable rather than rounding silently.
Also known as: what plates for 100kg · barbell plate math · how to load a bar to a weight · gym plate loading chart
Not medical advice. This calculator gives a general estimate, not medical advice. It cannot account for your individual health, medical history, or medication. Talk to a qualified healthcare professional before acting on any result.
Frequently asked questions
How much does the bar weigh?
An Olympic barbell is 20 kg or 45 lb. Women's Olympic bars are 15 kg, and many commercial gym bars are lighter than they look — the bar weight here is an input for that reason.
Why can some weights not be loaded?
Because plates come in fixed sizes and load symmetrically, so the smallest increment is twice the smallest plate. Without micro plates, 2.5 kg is usually the finest step available.
Why pick plates from the heaviest first?
Greedy selection is provably optimal for standard plate sets, because each plate is at least twice the next but one. It is the same property that makes greedy change-making work with ordinary coins.
Are micro plates worth buying?
For upper-body pressing, yes. Adding 2.5 kg to a press is a large jump; adding 0.5 kg is one most people can absorb week after week, which extends linear progression considerably.
Does it account for collars?
No. Competition collars weigh 2.5 kg each and would need adding to the bar weight; spring collars are light enough to ignore.
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