Barbell Load Chart
Every loadable barbell weight and the plates that make it, per side, in lbs and kg.
Free · No sign-up · Works on your phone between sets
Barbell load chart in pounds#
Every load on a standard 45 lbs bar from 55 to 765 lbs. The per side column is what goes on one end — load the same again on the other. Highlighted rows are the round “plate” numbers lifters call out.
Barbell load chart in kilograms#
Every load on a standard 20 kg bar from 25 to 350 kg. The per side column is what goes on one end — load the same again on the other. Highlighted rows are the round “plate” numbers lifters call out.
How to read the chart#
The bar counts toward the total and plates load in pairs, so the arithmetic for any weight is the same: subtract the bar, halve what is left, and that is your per-side load. Each row fills that side starting with the heaviest plate available, which is how you would load it in a gym — biggest plates innermost, change plates on the outside.
Every row is an exactly loadable weight. Steps are 5 lbs up to 405 lbs and 5 kg up to 250 kg, then open out to round landmarks and plate milestones, where the useful numbers are the round ones. For anything in between, the plate calculator gives you the closest load at or below your target.
What lifters mean by “plates”#
When someone says they squat “three plates”, they mean three of the big plates per side — 45 lbs in the US, 20 kg elsewhere — plus the bar. That makes three plates 315 lbs or 140 kg. Those are the highlighted rows above, and they are why 135, 225, 315, and 405 lbs recur as milestone numbers.
Available plates#
The chart assumes a full rack: 45, 35, 25, 10, 5, 2.5 lb plates, or 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 2.5, 1.25 kg. If your gym is missing a denomination, the plate calculator lets you toggle plates off and recalculates against what is actually on the rack — and it handles bar weights beyond the standard bar, including short and EZ bars.
Bar weights#
A standard Olympic bar is 20 kg (45 lbs). Shorter bars are commonly 15 kg (35 lbs) and EZ curl bars run around 7.5 kg (15 lbs), though they vary — weigh yours if it matters. Forgetting the bar is the single most common reason a logged number comes out wrong.
Building up to a heavy top set? The warm-up calculator turns any working weight into a ramp of warm-up sets, each one already rounded to something you can load.
