Measurement

Before PowerLifters can Lift they must have their bar with the necessary weight.
PowerLifters are constantly measuring how much weight is on the bar (including the weight of the bar), whether they are in training or competition.

First lifters must know the weight of the bar because they can come in different sizes.
The typical bar weighs 45 lb, but there are some gyms with bars of different weights like 30 lb or 25 lb.
In the case of this blog we will use a 45 lb bar.

There are also different plates that lifters will use to create the weight they want to lift. Some of the typical plates used are:

2.5 lb
5 lb
10 lb
25 lb
35 lb
45 lb
(These weights can be seen in the picture below closest weight is the 2.5 lb plate)

When setting up the bar,  lifters must first subtract the weight of the bar from their desired weight total. So if a lifter wants to lift 150 lb, they must subtract the weight of the bar to see the how many plates they must add, which in this case would be 150 lb - 45 lb = 105 lb.

Lifters much then measure split the weight in half so that an even amount is placed on each side of the bar otherwise your lifts will be disproportional and more difficult. So, 105lb / 2 = 52.5 lb

Then lifters must determine what plates they would need to use in order to reach the weight. (I prefer to use the larger wieghts, but one could use more of the smaller weights. Therefore in this case each side of the bar should have a 45 lb, 5 lb, and 2.5 lb plates because 45 + 5 + 2.5 = 52.5 lb.

It is important that lifters check their weight measurement before completing each lift for their best performance. So in this case we should have a bar of 45 lb, two 45 lb plates, two 5 lb plates, and two 2.5 lb plates. 45 + 2(45) + 2(5) + 2(2.5) = 150 lbs which is the desired total!

Lifters are constantly measuring the weight of the bars and plates that they are lifting!