Yes. On a barbell the bar counts: the weight you lift is the bar plus the plates on it. A 20 kg bar with 36.25 kg on each side is 92.5 kg. RIGOR logs that total, bar included, for a bench press or a deadlift. On a Smith machine it logs the plates alone.
Does the bar count as weight?
On a barbell, yes. The bar is part of what you lift, so the weight is the bar plus every plate on it. Take a 20 kg bar with a 25, a 10 and a 1.25 kg plate on each side. One side is 25 + 10 + 1.25 = 36.25 kg, so the total is 20 + 2 × 36.25 = 92.5 kg.
The same sum run backwards is how you load it. Take the bar off the total and halve what is left. For 92.5 kg that is 72.5 kg, or 36.25 kg a side. The barbell plate calculator does this for any total, and plate math explains what "two plates" adds up to.
The empty bar counts too. It is a load of 20 kg with nothing on the sides, and the warm-up calculator starts a barbell compound lift with it for 10 reps.
Does the bar count when benching?
Yes. A bench press is a barbell lift, so the bar counts exactly as it does in a squat. In pounds on a 45 lb bar, one 45 lb plate on each side is 45 + 2 × 45 = 135 lb, and two on each side is 45 + 4 × 45 = 225 lb.
RIGOR's bench press, the Barbell Bench Press, uses the Olympic barbell in its gym setup, and its weight is entered as a total. A 92.5 kg target on the bench is the 92.5 kg above: bar included.
RIGOR is a strength training app for iPhone that builds your plan and sets every weight by rules you can read.
YOUR IPHONE
Does the bar count in a deadlift?
Yes. The Barbell Deadlift is also entered as a total. With a 25, a 25, a 10 and a 1.25 kg plate on each side of a 20 kg bar, one side is 61.25 kg and the total is 20 + 2 × 61.25 = 142.5 kg. In pounds, two 45 lb plates on each side of a 45 lb bar is 225 lb.
| Lift | Bar and plates a side | Logged total |
|---|---|---|
| Bench press | 20 kg bar, 25 + 10 + 1.25 kg | 92.5 kg |
| Bench press | 45 lb bar, 45 lb | 135 lb |
| Deadlift | 20 kg bar, 25 + 25 + 10 + 1.25 kg | 142.5 kg |
| Deadlift | 45 lb bar, 45 + 45 lb | 225 lb |
Does the bar count on a Smith machine?
In RIGOR, no. For a Smith machine exercise the number you enter is the plates you load, and the app says so on the exercise: "The bar's own weight isn't part of the number: 140 means 70 kg of plates on each side." In pounds the same line reads 270 and 135.
The reason is in the setup. A barbell has a default weight in RIGOR's gym setup. The Smith machine has none: its default is empty, so the app has no bar weight to add. Wikipedia's page on the Smith machine says some have the bar counterbalanced and that manufacturers do not usually state the bar's weight, which makes a log hard to keep. RIGOR does not guess one for you.
If you know your machine's weight, add it. The Smith machine's gym setup has a field for the machine's own weight, marked optional, and RIGOR says it is there "so totals and history stay comparable". Left blank, the machine's own weight counts as 0. The logged number stays the plates alone. The training rules add the machine's weight to the logged load when they work out a target and take it off again, so a known weight changes the math and not what you type.
| Barbell (bench, deadlift) | Smith machine | |
|---|---|---|
| You enter | The total, bar included | The plates you load |
| Bar weight in gym setup | 20 kg or 45 lb to start | None to start; optional machine weight |
| 70 kg of plates on each side | 20 + 2 × 70 = 160 kg | Logged as 140 |
The last row's second column is a sum, not a log: a barbell with 70 kg on each side is a 20 kg bar plus 140 kg of plates, which is 160 kg. The Smith column follows the app's wording above.
How much does the bar weigh?
RIGOR starts from the standard bars. A 20 kg Olympic bar is the default in kilograms and 45 lb in pounds, set when you pick a gym preset, and you can change it. A trap bar starts at 20 kg or 45 lb, an EZ curl bar at 10 kg or 25 lb and a standard 1-inch bar at 10 kg or 20 lb.
| Bar | kg | lb |
|---|---|---|
| Olympic barbell | 20 | 45 |
| Trap / hex bar | 20 | 45 |
| EZ curl bar | 10 | 25 |
| Standard 1-inch barbell | 10 | 20 |
Outside the app, Wikipedia gives a men's Olympic bar as 20 kg and a women's as 15 kg. USA Weightlifting's rules for one online event say men use a 20 kg bar and women a 15 kg bar, and allow 2.5 kg collars. Collars add to the total: if you use them, weigh them in. Other bars vary, so check the end cap or weigh it.
How does RIGOR log the weight?
The gym setup's own note on bars says: "You enter the total, bar included: the bar plus the plates on both sides." Targets are rounded to weights your gym can make: the bar plus pairs of your plates. A bar item holds only its weight. The plates live on the weight plates item, except the 1-inch bar, which carries its own.
The target 92.5 kg is the total. The label above the lift says 20 kg bar, and the plates per side add up to the rest: 25 + 10 + 1.25 = 36.25, twice, on top of the bar. With 1.25 kg plates the smallest step above the empty bar is 2.5 kg, a 22.5 kg total; fractional plates make it smaller.
With a different bar, change its weight in gym setup. The app also accepts a bar with another weight. The editor refuses a bar in a different unit from your plates and offers the converted weight instead, and a 45 lb bar is kept as 45 lb and loaded with pound plates. The weights your gym can make explains how totals are built from your own plates.
Set your bar once in gym setup
When does this not apply?
This page is arithmetic and the app's own rules, so there is no training study to cite. The bar weights come from the app's catalogue and the pages listed under sources.
Questions
Does the bar count as weight on a bench press?
Yes. A 20 kg bar with a 25, a 10 and a 1.25 kg plate on each side is 20 + 2 × 36.25 = 92.5 kg. In pounds, one 45 lb plate on each side of a 45 lb bar is 45 + 2 × 45 = 135 lb.
Does the bar count in a deadlift?
Yes. A deadlift is a barbell lift, so the total is the bar plus the plates. With a 25, a 25, a 10 and a 1.25 kg plate on each side of a 20 kg bar, it is 20 + 2 × 61.25 = 142.5 kg.
Does the bar count on a Smith machine?
In RIGOR, no: a Smith machine exercise is logged as the plates you load, and the number leaves out the bar. You can add the machine's own weight in gym setup if you know it.
How much does an Olympic bar weigh?
RIGOR starts from 20 kg, or 45 lb in pounds. Wikipedia gives a men's Olympic bar as 20 kg and a women's as 15 kg, and USA Weightlifting's rules for one online event name the same two bars.
Does the empty bar count as a set?
Yes. The empty bar is a load of its own: 20 kg on a 20 kg bar. RIGOR's warm-ups for a barbell compound lift open with it, for 10 reps.
