Everything you need to know — from your first calculation to tracking PRs and setting up warmup pyramids.
Navigate to plate-calc.pages.dev on your phone or open the app from your home screen if you've installed it. The calculator loads instantly and works offline — no internet needed once it's been loaded once.
In the Settings tab, choose whether you want to work in kilograms or pounds. The app supports both systems and will display IWF-standard plate colors for kg mode, or standard pound plates for lb mode. Your preference is saved automatically.
The main screen has a drum scroll wheel — a rotating input designed for gym use with sweaty or chalky hands. Scroll up or down to set your target weight. The drum scroll works in increments that match standard plate jumps, so you'll always land on achievable weights.
If you enter a weight that cannot be exactly achieved with standard plates (for example, 97.5 kg when you only have standard plates), the app automatically rounds to the closest achievable weight and shows you what that is.
The app instantly displays a color-coded visual barbell showing exactly which plates go on each side. Red for 25 kg, blue for 20 kg, yellow for 15 kg, green for 10 kg, white for 5 kg, and so on. The plates are shown at proportional heights so heavier plates look larger — matching what you see on a real bar.
Below the visual, you also get a text breakdown: a simple list like "25 + 10 + 2.5" per side, so you can double-check at a glance.
Configure which plates you actually have in your gym under Settings → Available Plates. The app will only show combinations using plates you have, and will automatically find the closest achievable weight if an exact match isn't possible.
Tap the PR tab at the bottom of the screen. Here you'll see all your logged lifts and your best performances for each exercise.
Tap the "+" button to add a new PR entry. Select or type the exercise name (Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift, Overhead Press, or any custom lift name), enter the weight, number of reps, and optional notes. The date is recorded automatically.
The PR tracker shows your all-time best for each lift and keeps a history of every entry. You can see at a glance when you last hit a particular weight and what your current PR is. All data is stored locally on your device — nothing is sent to any server.
Enter the weight you plan to work up to — your top set for the day. This is the weight the pyramid will calculate percentages from.
Toggle the warmup pyramid switch on the calculator screen. The app will automatically calculate warmup sets at standard percentages of your working weight: typically 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, and 90%.
Each warmup set is displayed with its own plate breakdown. Tap a warmup set to see the full color-coded visual barbell for that weight. This is especially useful in competition preparation, where you need to load and unload the bar quickly between attempts.
The warmup pyramid percentages account for your bar weight automatically. So if your working weight is 100 kg and your bar is 20 kg, the 50% warmup is calculated from 100 kg total, not just the plates.
Open plate-calc.pages.dev in Safari. Tap the Share button (the square with an arrow pointing up), then tap "Add to Home Screen." The app will appear on your home screen and open in full-screen mode, just like a native app — no browser address bar.
Open the site in Chrome. Tap the three-dot menu in the top right, then tap "Add to Home screen." Alternatively, download the official app from the Google Play Store for the full native experience.
Once you've opened the app at least once with an internet connection, it installs a service worker on your device. From that point forward, the full app works with no internet connection — perfect for basements gyms, commercial gyms with poor WiFi, or when you're roaming internationally.