Guide
How to load a barbell
Most loading mistakes are arithmetic, not strength. A 45-pound bar plus a 45 and a 25 on each side is 185, and it is still 185 if you put the 25s on first. The number people miss is the bar itself, or a collar they did not count.
Start with the bar
A standard men's Olympic bar is 45 pounds or 20 kilograms. A women's Olympic bar is often 35 pounds or 15 kilograms. Technique bars and curl bars are lighter. If you do not know, look at the end cap or ask before you write the weight in your log.
Plates are per side. The plate you can see is only half of what you added, except for the bar. Collars are usually 2.5 pounds or 2.5 kilograms a pair if you count them. Pick a rule and keep it.
Use a calculator when the number is awkward
The plate calculator on this site takes a target weight, a bar, and a unit, and tells you the plates per side. The same tool sits inside a TrackYourLift workout so you are not doing the math between sets.
Loaded is the standalone plate calculator for iPhone and Apple Watch. It is the right app when you want the math without opening a training log. If the plates you own cannot hit the target, Loaded shows the heaviest weight at or under the target from the inventory you set.
Web calculator: /calculators/plate
Loaded on the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/loaded-plate-calculator/id6822414168
Log the weight you meant
Your PR is only as honest as the bar weight in the calculator. If the gym's 'bar' is a fixed 30-pound training bar, set that before you celebrate a number.
Do I count the collars?
Only if you always count them. A 185 that sometimes includes collars is two different lifts.
Is Loaded the same as TrackYourLift?
No. Loaded only does plate math. TrackYourLift is the workout log, and it includes a plate calculator during a session.