How to Set Your Bar Weight

You set your bar weight like this:

  1. Open Stronglifts
  2. Tap Start workout
  3. Tap the weight of the exercise
  4. Scroll down to Bar Weight

The Stronglifts Plate Calculator uses your bar weight to determine how much weight to add on each side of the bar. The standard Olympic Barbell weighs 45lb or 20kg. So if the weight you have to lift is 225lb or 100kg, the Stronglifts Plate Calculator will suggest you add 90lb/side (40kg).

You can access the Plate Calculator like this:

  1. Open Stronglifts
  2. Tap Start Workout
  3. Tap the weight

The Plate Calculator shows at the top (Pro feature).

You can also access the plate calculator on Apple Watch like this:
  1. Start your workout
  2. When you see the set, scroll down
  3. The Plate Calculator shows

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you set the same bar weight for several exercises at once?

  1. Open Stronglifts
  2. Tap Start Workout
  3. Tap the weight of the exercise
  4. Scroll down to Copy Settings
  5. Select Bar Weight
  6. Select all exercises to apply this bar weight to

For example, you may use a 45lb Olympic bar for Bench Press but a 65lb Safety Bar for Squats.

How do I set the bar weight to 0?

If you're doing an exercise that involves a barbell, then the bar weighs something, so it shouldn't be set to zero weight. This is the case even if you do an exercise on the smith machine where the barbell is attached to rails. If you don't know the bar weight, we recommend leaving it at the default weight. Alternatively, you could set it to the lowest setting of 5lb or 2.5kg.

If you want to exclude the bar weight, you can create an exercise in the category "Other". This type of exercise doesn't have any bar or machine weight. For more info, see this guide.

Why does my 35lb bar weight reset to 45lb bar when I change program?

It doesn't reset. It defaults to 45lb for exercises you have never done before, and which may be part of the new program. Just because you use a 35lb on one exercise doesn't mean you're going to use the same bar on another exercise. You may use a 65lb safety bar for Squats, a 45lb bar for bench, a 35lb bar for OHP, and a 15lb bar for barbell curls. We don't know. So every new exercise you haven't done before will default to 45lb. Once you set the bar weight for that exercise, it will be remembered every time you do that exercise again, incl when switching program. But new exercises default to 45lb.

You can quickly change the bar weight for all exercises in your program using the copy settings feature explained above.