EP.115 | The Best Plate For You?

by Bar Shield July 01, 2019

What's the best plate for you and/or gym?

If the market to buy? Here are a few questions to get you started:

What movements will you be performing?

Are you an Olympic Weightlifter, Crossfitter or Powerlifter? Arguably the most important question to ask yourself.

Where will you be training? What surface?

Sounds silly, but will you going to be training indoors or outdoors? At the minimum, you will want to grab a few rubber stall mats to lessen the impact of plates hitting the ground.

Are you dropping the bar from the hip or overhead?

In the realms of Olympic Weightlifting and Crossft, barbells will be dropped from overhead. Plain and simple. For Powerlifting, the worst of the drops will be at most from the hip.

What's your budget? How much weight do you need?

Have a budget? Plate costs can vary wildly, so make sure to do your shopping around!!

There are many brands, types and materials used in plates, so for simplicity's sake, we'll be focusing on a Steel, Competition, Hi-Temp (recycled rubber), and HG Plate.

Steel

Commonly used in Powerlifting.

Plate thickness ranges from 0.5" (2.5 lbs), up to 1.3" (45 lbs). Therefore, you'll have much more room on the sleeve for plate loading.

DO NOT use these for Olympic Weightlifting or CrossFit. Doing so may cause extreme damage to both the barbell and plates!!

HG $

Commonly used in Crossfit/functional fitness classes. May be used for Olympic Weightlifting if competition plates aren't an option. Imported.

Plate thickness ranges from 1" (10 lbs), up to 3.5" (45 lbs). Slightly thinner than the Hi-Temps.

More budget-friendly. These Do Not bounce much. You can use them on multiple surfaces, however you may mark up the glossier finish.

3 Year Warranty at Rogue Fitness

Hi-Temp $$

Commonly used in Crossfit/functional fitness classes. May be used for Olympic Weightlifting if competition plates aren't an option. Made in the USA.

Plate thickness ranges from 1.37" (10 lbs), up to 3.75" (45 lbs). These are much thicker, so you will run out of sleeve space much quicker.

Because these plates are made from recycled rubber, they typically are going to be more bouncy, which may pose a safety issue. That being said, these plates hold up well on many surfaces, making them more versatile.

1 Year Warranty at Rogue Fitness

Competition $$$

Commonly used in Olympic Weightlifting, however they can be used in Crossfit and Powerlifting as well.

Plate thickness ranges from 1.25" (25 lbs), up to 2.5" (45 lbs). Thinner width allows for more space to load plates.

Minimal Bounce.

Other Notes

Compare Prices! Shop around, compare prices and check out some of the customer reviews!

Compare Warranties! Big one here... the last thing you want is cracked plates and inserts falling out after six months. Do your due diligence!