Weight Plates: Amazing And Versatile Weight Plates

Weight Plates

So, you have gotten yourself a barbell which is great for strength conditioning and toning but exercises are getting a little easy and you’re thinking it is time to add some weight. Weight plates are a great way to add more resistance to your training and to increase resistance over time as you get stronger.

Weight plates are one of the fundamentals of home gym equipment if you are going down the route of purchasing a barbell and perhaps a bench or squat rack.

Maybe you thought weight plates were just for bodybuilders or powerlifters. Or only useful if you have a barbell, but you can actually do a tonne with a weight plate including lots of great functional fitness exercises without even having a barbell to load those weight plates onto. Check out the exercises section at the bottom of this article to explore more.

In this article you’ll learn what you need to know before buying weight plates as well as great exercise ideas.

Weight Plate Types
Weight Plate Sizes
Buying Weight Plates – What To Look Out For
Weight Plate Recommendations
Weight Plate Exercises

Weight Plate Types

Iron / Steel plates:

If you do not need to drop weights and are returning them to the floor or rack in a controlled manner then iron/steel plates or rubber/urethane coated iron or steel plates are the recommended way to go

• These tend to have a cheaper price point, which is great if you are on a budget
• They are generally thinner on the bar, which is great if you are stacking your barbell with lots of weight

Rubber or Urethane coated Iron / Steel plates:

You can also get rubber and urethane weights

• They are quiet when using and loading/unloading weights
• You can get different coloured rubber/urethane weights which makes it visually quick to grab the correct weight size you are wanting and add colour to your home gym
• They are safer if you accidentally drop weights on your toes
• They take up more room on your bar as they are generally thicker
• Rubber can potentially mark your floor so make sure you have flooring if using them. If that is a concern then urethane coated plates are the better option

A lot of people go for rubber or urethane coated weights for a home gym. They are nice to grab and help reduce noise. Non-coated weight plates are better if you are on a budget and enjoy the clank of iron in your home gym or if you are in your garage and you won’t disturb anyone 🙂

Bumper Weight Plates:

Bumper plates have a steel inner with a solid rubber outer and are the same size as they are used for standard moves e.g. deadlifts as they are designed to hold the bar at the same position e.g. the deadlift.

What are bumper plates used for:

Bumper plates are designed to be dropped for exercises such as snatches and presses as they absorb the impact. They are used for Olympic lifting, power lifting and cross-fit style training. If you are going to be dropping the plates at all you should go for bumper plates.

Bumper plates can generally be wider than iron weight plates and take up more space on the barbell. Hence, if you are stacking a lot of weight on your lifts and not needing to drop the barbell then iron weights may be the better option for you.

Weight Plate Sizes

Weight plates come in an array of sizes, colours and shapes although typically round.

The two main inner diameter sizes you come across are standard and Olympic

Standard: weight plates have a 1” / 25mm diameter

Olympic: weight plates have a 2” / 50mm diameter

Commercial gyms generally use Olympic bars (which is also why I opted for one in my home gym), so if you are also going down that route then you will need to specifically get Olympic size weight plates for your Olympic bar.

Advantages of Olympic weight plates

1. Most power racks and weight benches are made to fit the 7ft Olympic bars, rather than your typical 5ft or 6ft standard bar.
2. If you are alternating between a home gym and commercial gym it will be the same experience
3. Olympic weight lifting bars are built to take more weight than your standard bar
4. You can do a lot more exercises with Olympic weight plates
5. Olympic weight plates are more stable on an Olympic bar

I like having an Olympic bar and Olympic weights as I am used to training in commercial gyms and enjoy having the same experience and quality that an Olympic bar offers. If you are less fussed or saving money, standard size bars and weights might be a good enough option for you. Also, note if you are new to weight training, already the Olympic bar is 44lbs/20 kg before adding any additional weight.

What to look for when buying weight plates

Weight plates are made to last for decades so make sure you get weight plates you like and are comfortable with as you may have them a long time.

Be aware when buying low-cost plates that the actual weight vs the marked weight can typically vary 2 – 10% so, if you are training for competition lifting then you will want calibrated competition weights which are generally accurate to 10 grams.

Note that most Olympic bars weigh about 44lbs/20 kg so this may already be quite challenging for beginners if you have never used a barbell before.

Weight plates come in all different sizes, weights, colours and materials.

I personally love coloured weight plates which makes it easy to tell which weight you are grabbing. I also prefer weight plates with rubber coating and grip handles. This makes it easy to load weights onto your barbell and then handle them as you put them back on your weight plate holders or rack plate holder. If you happen to accidently drop your weights, the rubber coating also helps protect your feet, your floor and the weights themselves. The rubber coating also makes it quieter when loading and unloading weights.

I like round weights rather than hexagon shaped ones as they can roll back if not placed correctly flat after a deadlift etc.

Also, a huge advantage of having weights with grips is that they can easily be used for other exercises like trap shrugs etc.

Weight Plate Holders

Some racks come with weight plate holders which are great and convenient as it is close to where you will be using the actual weights and you do not need to purchase an additional weight plate holder.

If you do not have weight plate holders on your rack or bench then you can also separately purchase this useful accessory to keep your weight plates organised and off the ground.

Weight Plate Recommendations