Olympic Bar and Plates Problem

zamphir66
zamphir66 Posts: 582 Member
edited November 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
So: Stupid Question.

Is there a "trick" to getting big (#45 and up) plates off of the Olympic bar? The bars I use have about 18 inches that the plate has to travel. Today I spent as much energy in trying to get the plates off as I did actually performing the deadlift. And I'm sure I looked ridiculous doing so. My current strategy is to pull up one of the bar with my left hand, then I try to slide the weight up and off with the right hand, but it's REALLY hard and awkward. Any tips?

Replies

  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,063 Member
    Put it on a rack then unload it or use a step prop up one side of the bar, pull off the plate on that side then rack it, then push the bar up vertically till the other plate slides off the end, pull the bar out and then rack the other plate.

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  • zamphir66
    zamphir66 Posts: 582 Member
    Yeah, I was looking for something like a step but didn't see anything. The deadlift is the only lift where this comes into play, so racking it seems out of the question. I will try and improvise. The way I have been doing it is almost an exercise in itself, and not one where I have good form either.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,063 Member
    The better way to remove just one end if you can't prop it up, is to get at the end of the bar, grab the plate with both hands, slightly lift off the floor and slide the plate off. Yes, the bar may bang on the floor mat (hopefully you're lifting on a mat), but that's just part of lifting.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • Smallc10
    Smallc10 Posts: 632 Member
    I still use the rack but I deadlift in a power rack - I just lower the safety bars so that I can deadlift and then set the bar on the safeties to unload.
  • zamphir66
    zamphir66 Posts: 582 Member
    @ninebuff Yes, I'm no a mat and platform. I had thought of doing what you say and will do it now that I know it's not bad etiquette.
    @Smallc10 I see what you're saying but the rack setup at my gym would not be convenient for what you do.

    The Things You Don't Know When You're a New Lifter, Eh!
  • terizius
    terizius Posts: 425 Member
    edited April 2015
    When I'm removing the last 45 on a side, I pick up the bar with one hand and then slide the plate to the end with my hand in the middle of the plate (the hole that the bar goes through), wrapped around the bar. When I try to slide the plate off from the edge, I usually end up tilting it, making it bind on the bar. By sliding it off from the middle of the plate, the plate doesn't bind and it slides off easy.

    When have multiple plates on the bar, I roll the bar/plates on a 5lb plate, making sure to keep it under the first plate only. This allows me to slide the other plates off easy without any issues.

    Hope that makes sense.. its more difficult to describe with words than it is to demonstrate.
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 12,555 Member
    When the loaded bar is on the ground, two main options depending if you have multiple 45's on the bar or not. If you do, place a 5# plate on the ground next to the innermost 45, roll the bar onto the 5#, this props the rest of the plates off the ground for easy removal.

    If you are having trouble with a single 45# plate per side, find a small step you can move around which is just higher than the horizontal bar. Place the step next to the bar, inside the 45. Lift that side of the bar up and prop onto the step.

    In either case, once one side of the bar is plate-free, you can lift that side up and walk it all the way up to vertical. The weight(s) on the other side will slide right down, then you lift the bar straight up and out.
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    Good advice in here. Alternatively you can just buy a mini deadlift jack and put it in your gym bag.

    mini-deadlift-bar-jack-web6_1_1.jpg
    bar-jack-6jpg1.jpg?resize=552%2C438

  • lulucitron
    lulucitron Posts: 366 Member
    I deadlift in the squat rack so it's elevated and easy to take the weights on and off. If it's busy then I deadlift using the hex bar.
  • StrongMindandBody01
    StrongMindandBody01 Posts: 4
    If you're using a lot, like 4 plates per side, you can roll the bar with plates onto 2.5lb plates, so that the inner two plates on each side are atop the flat 2.5lb plate, and you can easily remove the outer plates.
  • DawnEmbers
    DawnEmbers Posts: 2,451 Member
    For getting that first plate on without rack or steps, I've found that where you hold the bar can make it easier or more challenging. Once you get it on and shimmied a little ways, for me if I hold the bar on the very end when lifting from that spot, it goes on easier. Before I just held the bar near where the weight needed to go and struggled often. It gets a little easier with practice too.
  • scojojohnson
    scojojohnson Posts: 1 Member
    Nossmf has got it right. Roll it onto a small 2.5 plate and the battle is over.
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