45LB Plates @ the Gym

[VikingMan]

Guys,

Quick question. Do the plates at your typical gym ever vary in actual weight? At the gym I go to, the plates there are kinda a hodge podge of 3 different kinds of plates. Some are plain metal, some are black rubber coated. I ask because I failed a new 5RM @ 290LBS bench the other day and it should have been within my abilities. I used different plates than I normally do.

Just curious.

[ayomo]

they might be a oz or 2 off, but nothing major

take it to the locker room and weigh them on the scale, see what it says.

[KrushR]

Guys,

Quick question. Do the plates at your typical gym ever vary in actual weight? At the gym I go to, the plates there are kinda a hodge podge of 3 different kinds of plates. Some are plain metal, some are black rubber coated. I ask because I failed a new 5RM @ 290LBS bench the other day and it should have been within my abilities. I used different plates than I normally do.

Just curious.
I've seen them vary by two or three pounds easily. This was brought up several months ago by someone wondering about bar weight, and several of us started weighing the weights on the gym scales. Lo and behold, the weights weren't anywhere near consistent. This might be important when going for 1RM, but if you're moving up 2.5 lbs. and it's not a certified event, who really cares? The PLing events will always have consistent weights.

As to different brands having different trends (spot on, heavy, etc.), I don't know. Both of my gyms have Ivanko, rubber coated at the expensive gym, plain black/silver mix at the cheap gym.

[ayomo]

I've seen them vary by two or three pounds easily. This was brought up several months ago by someone wondering about bar weight, and several of us started weighing the weights on the gym scales. Lo and behold, the weights weren't anywhere near consistent. This might be important when going for 1RM, but if you're moving up 2.5 lbs. and it's not a certified event, who really cares? The PLing events will always have consistent weights.

As to different brands having different trends (spot on, heavy, etc.), I don't know. Both of my gyms have Ivanko, rubber coated at the expensive gym, plain black/silver mix at the cheap gym.


when you say several of us, do you mean random members of bb.com?

b/c you have to factor in the inconsistencies of gym scales, they are not always accurate.

now if you used the same exact scale, but diff types of weights then it would be more accurate.

[KrushR]

when you say several of us, do you mean random members of bb.com?

b/c you have to factor in the inconsistencies of gym scales, they are not always accurate.

now if you used the same exact scale, but diff types of weights then it would be more accurate.
I didn't just say "hey..everyone take a single plate, weigh it and report back". :rolleyes:

We weighed different weights at our own respective gyms and reported our results. Example:

I took four each of: 45s,35s, 25s and weighed them on the scale at the gym. Never mind the fact that the scale might be off a pound or two, the weights should still be consistent, correct? Yes. Were they?

Nope. The weights (45s)ranged from 42.5 to 46 or so (rough numbers...I don't have the page I wrote it down on anymore). Even if the scales were different and the companies we used were different, the same weights by the same companies should be consistent, and they weren't. I found the biggest difference in the bars and the heavier weights.

[ayomo]

I didn't just say "hey..everyone take a single plate, weigh it and report back". :rolleyes:

We weighed different weights at our own respective gyms and reported our results. Example:

I took four each of: 45s,35s, 25s and weighed them on the scale at the gym. Never mind the fact that the scale might be off a pound or two, the weights should still be consistent, correct? Yes. Were they?

Nope. The weights (45s)ranged from 42.5 to 46 or so (rough numbers...I don't have the page I wrote it down on anymore). Even if the scales were different and the companies we used were different, the same weights by the same companies should be consistent, and they weren't. I found the biggest difference in the bars and the heavier weights.


oh i gotcha, good stuff. i wouldnt have guessed they would be that much off.

[KrushR]

oh i gotcha, good stuff. i wouldnt have guessed they would be that much off.
believe me...I certainly didn't. It was eye-opening. Now I understand how you can feel "off-center" when you grip, stance, and everything else is set. +8 lbs on one side and -8 lbs on the other creates a freaking 16 lb difference! Sometimes on heavy squats I swear I can feel the difference, but that's just the endorphines talking. :D

[_Lifter4Life_]

Guys,

Quick question. Do the plates at your typical gym ever vary in actual weight? At the gym I go to, the plates there are kinda a hodge podge of 3 different kinds of plates. Some are plain metal, some are black rubber coated. I ask because I failed a new 5RM @ 290LBS bench the other day and it should have been within my abilities. I used different plates than I normally do.

Just curious.

What gym and where you from, my gyms also got 3 different 45's.

Lifter,

[rm41400]

I didn't just say "hey..everyone take a single plate, weigh it and report back". :rolleyes:

We weighed different weights at our own respective gyms and reported our results. Example:

I took four each of: 45s,35s, 25s and weighed them on the scale at the gym. Never mind the fact that the scale might be off a pound or two, the weights should still be consistent, correct? Yes. Were they?

Nope. The weights (45s)ranged from 42.5 to 46 or so (rough numbers...I don't have the page I wrote it down on anymore). Even if the scales were different and the companies we used were different, the same weights by the same companies should be consistent, and they weren't. I found the biggest difference in the bars and the heavier weights.

My weights are like this also. I have since weighed them and marked there actual weight with black marker so I know what the really weigh.

[dtrrman]

The varience in bar weight from gym to gym or station to station in a gym is more a concern that plates, the cheaper bars can vary between 15lbs, I have two cheaper OLy bars, one is exactly 35lbs, the other is 41.5lbs and you couldn't tell the lighter one from the heavier one. The three that I use, a York, Ivanko and an Elieko are all dead on at 20KG as advertised, or exactly 44lbs. This was with a precision balance beam medical scale. everybody assumes an oly bar is a standard 45lbs, not even close on some. If you lift more at a gym or less than your home set-up, the bar is probably the culprit.

[smokeater]

When I worked as a trainer at my gym a few years ago I weighed our 45lb plates because when I used them it seemed like some were heavier than others. I thought it was all in my mind, until I weighed them. Some plates were as little as 42lbs and others as much as 47lbs. We had a number of different brands and it seemed the difference varied by brand (ie York's were 42, Weider's were 47, etc). Funny enough it was the plates with the larger widths that were lighter.

So if you are in doubt, just weigh the plates yourself. If they are not equal weights then just find weights that are the same. Using plates of different weights can result in unnatural movements and injury.

I don't buy 45's anymore because I have more than enough but when I did I weighed each plate on my own scale to keep consistency. It's a painfully long task but is worth it. I can grab any plate in my home gym and know that I won't have trouble with its weight or balance. I can focus on my workout and exercising the muscles, like I should be able to do.

[dtrrman]

Thats the smart way to do it, I agree 100%. If you have a large collection, weigh the large plates, maybe 25's or higher, then the bars and mark each one so you know what you are lifting as close as possible, after all if somebody is actually benching 316 when the plates say 305, I would like the 11lbs more I am actually lifting credited to me since I worked for it and I don't want a 305 bench if in reality I am doing 294.

[Grayham]

I've thought about this before too and I figured different brands weighed differently.. so I personally try to keep the same brand of plate on each side to keep it balanced.. seems to work out well. Different plates definately feel differently. And my gym has these damn plates that weight 25KG mixed in with the 45s, now thats a noticable difference. Pisses me off I have to check because they look identical to some other ones.

[cowboyathlete]

Everyone has a valid concern about making sure your weight balances out, but my concern would also be whether or not certain brands are saying things weigh 45 pounds when in fact they do not. That could be potential consumer fraud (I know that sounds extreme). Has anyone noticed any systematic patterns by brand?

[smokeater]

Everyone has a valid concern about making sure your weight balances out, but my concern would also be whether or not certain brands are saying things weigh 45 pounds when in fact they do not. That could be potential consumer fraud (I know that sounds extreme). Has anyone noticed any systematic patterns by brand?

I don't think they do it intentionally. I'm not completely sure what goes into making a weight plate but imagine it's not easy. But I guess you are right, technically it is fraud or at least false advertising for those plates that don't measure exactly what the plate says.

[dtrrman]

Its a bigger issue with bars. If some manufacturer states a 300lb set, the plates may vary a bit, but if a bar is 10lbs light and some of the plates are a few pounds light, now your down 10-20 lbs from the advertised 300lbs your supposed to be paying for, that would be considered fraud.

[EoR]

Nope. The weights (45s)ranged from 42.5 to 46 or so (rough numbers...I don't have the page I wrote it down on anymore). Even if the scales were different and the companies we used were different, the same weights by the same companies should be consistent, and they weren't. I found the biggest difference in the bars and the heavier weights.

Yeah, you can get a 1-2lbs off, and if you are maxing a large weight with 4+ plates each side, it can make a large difference. But for small lifts, it's no big deal. Unless it's a competition, you just state your lifts on what the plates say and what the bar should be. :)

I have a home gym digital scale, you cannot read too far into what only one scale reads but everything is within 1-2% +/- of the stated weight. :)