Barbell Plate Calculator
Enter your target barbell weight and get the exact plates to load per side: 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 2.5 and 1.25 kg combinations.
About this tool
Tell this calculator the weight you want on the bar and it returns exactly which plates go on each side — 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 2.5 and 1.25 kg combos, with the bar weight you select.
Mixing up plates is the classic gym error: one side 10, the other 7.5 — the bar tilts, the lift fails. This tells you the split before you walk to the rack, and flags impossible targets so you know to grab micro-plates.
FAQ
Why is my target unreachable?
Plate increments make some weights impossible: with an olympic bar, 82.5 kg works (25+2.5) but 81 kg does not. Use micro-plates for fine steps.
What comes after 2.5 kg?
Most gyms carry 1.25 kg and sometimes 0.5 kg (change plates) for increments as small as 1 kg per side.
Why calculate instead of loading by feel?
Symmetric loading matters: mismatched sides damage straps and kill balance. This eliminates the mental math at the rack.