Everything you want to know about Plate Calculator & PR Tracker.
Yes — the core calculator, PR tracker, and warmup pyramid are completely free to use. The app is supported by unobtrusive ads. If you'd like an ad-free experience, a one-time Remove Ads purchase is available inside the Android app.
Yes. The web version at plate-calc.pages.dev works on any iPhone running Safari, Chrome, or any modern browser. You can add it to your home screen directly from Safari (tap Share → Add to Home Screen) for a full-screen experience that looks and feels like a native app.
The Android native app is available on the Google Play Store for an even more integrated experience.
Yes. Plate Calculator & PR Tracker is a Progressive Web App (PWA) with a service worker that caches everything locally after your first visit. Once you've opened the app once with an internet connection, it works completely offline — including the calculator, PR tracker, and warmup pyramid. This makes it reliable in gyms with weak WiFi or no cell signal.
No account required. All your data — settings, PR records, and preferences — is stored locally on your device. Nothing is sent to any server. Your personal records stay private and are available offline at all times.
In kg mode, the app supports the full IWF Olympic plate set: 25 kg, 20 kg, 15 kg, 10 kg, 5 kg, 2.5 kg, and 1.25 kg plates. In lb mode, it supports standard pound plates: 45 lb, 35 lb, 25 lb, 10 lb, 5 lb, 2.5 lb, and 1.25 lb.
You can configure which plates you actually have available in your gym under Settings → Available Plates. The app will only use the plates you've marked as available and will find the closest achievable weight if an exact match isn't possible with your selection.
Yes. The app supports 1.25 kg and 1.25 lb fractional plates. If you have fractional plates in your gym, enable them in Settings → Available Plates. This allows very precise weight jumps, which is especially useful for micro-loading during strength progressions.
The app automatically finds the closest achievable weight given your available plates and displays it clearly. For example, if you want 97 kg but can't achieve it exactly, the app will show you that the closest achievable weight is 97.5 kg (or 95 kg, depending on your plate selection) and give you the plate breakdown for that weight.
By default, the app assumes a standard Olympic barbell weighing 20 kg (44 lb). You can change the bar weight in Settings to accommodate lighter bars (15 kg women's bar, 10 kg training bar) or heavier specialty bars. The bar weight is subtracted from your target to calculate the total plate load needed.
Yes. You can switch between kilograms and pounds at any time in the Settings tab. The app will convert your current weight and display the plate breakdown in the new unit. Plate colors follow the IWF standard in kg mode and standard color conventions in lb mode.
The PR tracker lets you log personal records for any barbell lift. Tap the PR tab, add an entry with the exercise name, weight, and reps, and the app records it with a timestamp. The tracker shows your all-time best for each lift and keeps a complete history so you can see your progress over time. All data is stored on your device.
The warmup pyramid automatically calculates a series of warmup sets leading up to your working weight. Based on your target weight, it generates sets at standard percentages (typically 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, and 90%) with the full plate breakdown for each. This saves time between warmup sets — you don't need to recalculate each time you add weight to the bar. See our Barbell Math guide for more on warmup percentage theory.
The default warmup percentages follow standard powerlifting warmup conventions. Customization options are on the roadmap for a future update. For now, the standard pyramid covers the most common warmup protocols used by powerlifters and strength athletes.
PR records and settings are stored in your browser's local storage. Clearing browser data or cache may delete this information on the web version. To avoid data loss, consider installing the Android app from Google Play, which stores data in app storage that is not affected by browser cache clearing. A data export feature is planned for a future update.
Plate Calculator & PR Tracker works in all modern browsers: Safari (iPhone/Mac), Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Samsung Internet. For the best experience on iPhone, use Safari. The offline PWA features (service worker, home screen install) work in Safari on iOS 11.3 and later.