Barbell Plate Calculator
Type the target. The bar below shows what to slide on each side, biggest plates first.
Plate Math and the Standard Sets
The load per side is (target minus bar) divided by 2. From there the calculator grabs plates greedily, heaviest first, exactly the way you'd stack a bar: big plates inside, change plates outside.
Available plates
The math assumes a stocked commercial gym rack with unlimited pairs of each plate:
| kg plates | 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 2.5, 1.25 |
|---|---|
| lb plates | 45, 35, 25, 10, 5, 2.5 |
Numbers assume no collars. A pair of competition collars adds 5 kg to whatever you load.
Worked example
100 kg on a 20 kg bar leaves 80 kg of plates, so 40 kg per side. Greedy loading grabs a 25 and a 15. Same total as 25 + 10 + 5, two plates instead of three, less time fumbling at the rack.
When the target will not load
Some targets can't be built from a standard set. Ask for 101 kg on a 20 kg bar and each side needs 40.5 kg, but the smallest kg plate is 1.25 (2.5 kg per pair). The calculator then shows the nearest weight that actually loads and tells you the difference. It will even overshoot when that lands closer: 102 kg comes back as 102.5, not 100.
Working up to a max attempt? Get a target from the one rep max calculator first.