🏋️ Plate Loading Calculator

Enter your target total weight and bar weight to see exactly which plates to load on each side of the barbell.

Target Total Weight

Bar Weight

Unit

Bar off the top, then heaviest plate first

The bar is subtracted, the rest halved, and that per-side figure is filled greedily from the biggest plate down:

per side = (target - bar) / 2
lb plates: 45, 35, 25, 10, 5, 2.5
kg plates: 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 2.5, 1.25

225 lb on a 45 lb bar needs 90 a side, which comes out as 45 + 45. Ask for 226 and the loader gets to 90, cannot place the last 0.5, and flags the bar as 1.00 lb short of target.

Quirks worth knowing

Greedy, not tidy. Heaviest first is not always fewest plates: 60 lb a side is loaded 45 + 10 + 5 when 35 + 25 would do it in two.
Your rack is assumed infinite. Nothing caps the count, so a heavy pull may ask for four 45s a side that your gym does not own.
Resolution is the smallest pair. Totals move in 5 lb steps, or 2.5 kg ones.

Switching the unit does not touch the bar box. Change to kg with 45 still sitting there and you are loading against a 45 kg bar, which no gym has - set 20 for a men's bar or 15 for a women's.

Frequently asked questions

What plates make 225 lb?

Two 45 lb plates on each side of a 45 lb bar. That is 180 lb of plate plus the bar.

How much does a barbell weigh?

A standard Olympic bar is 45 lb or 20 kg and a women's bar is 35 lb or 15 kg. Training bars vary, and the tool uses whatever you type.

Why can't it hit my exact target?

Plates go on in pairs, so totals move in steps of twice the smallest plate: 5 lb or 2.5 kg. Anything between shows the gap in red rather than rounding it away.