Red Plates
The heaviest standard competition plate
Blue Plates
The most common plate in any gym
Yellow Plates
Standard women's bar starting plate
Green Plates
Often the smallest bumper plate
White Plates
Change plates for fine adjustments
Why Are Weight Plates Color-Coded?
The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) established color standards for competition plates to make weight verification quick and visual. Athletes, coaches, and referees can instantly identify the total weight on a bar from across the room.
This system is now used worldwide in Olympic weightlifting, CrossFit, and most commercial gyms that use bumper plates.
Change Plates (Smaller Weights)
For weights smaller than 10kg/25lb, change plates follow a different color scheme:
- Red: 2.5 kg / 5 lb
- Blue: 2 kg (competition only)
- Yellow: 1.5 kg (competition only)
- Green: 1 kg / 1.25 lb
- White: 0.5 kg (competition only)
Pound vs Kilogram Plates
In the United States, many gyms use pound-based plates which don't perfectly match the IWF kilogram standards:
- 45 lb ≈ 20.4 kg (slightly heavier than 20kg)
- 35 lb ≈ 15.9 kg (slightly heavier than 15kg)
- 25 lb ≈ 11.3 kg (heavier than 10kg)
Most gyms follow the color coding even for pound plates, though some budget plates may be all black or gray.
Calculate Your Plates Instantly
Enter any weight and see exactly which colored plates to load.
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