How LiftLoadout calculates.

No black boxes. Every formula, rounding rule, and solver choice on this site is documented below — if something looks wrong, this page tells you exactly where to point.

Plate math

The solver runs a simple recipe first, then refines it:

loadable = target − bar − collars, then per side = loadable ÷ 2. A bounded-search solver builds that per-side weight from your plate inventory, always preferring the fewest plates — so 90 lb per side becomes 2× 45, not 9× 10.

If the exact target can't be built from your inventory, the solver returns the nearest achievable load and states the difference plainly — e.g. "Closest achievable: 222.5 lb (−2.5 from target)". It never silently rounds to a number you didn't ask for.

If the target is lighter than the bar plus collars, there is nothing to load — the calculator reports the minimum achievable total instead of a nonsense negative.

Integer-tick arithmetic

All values are computed in integer hundredths (1 unit = 0.01 lb or 0.01 kg) to avoid floating-point drift. Display keeps the full precision you entered — nothing is truncated — and results are rounded to the nearest representable tick only at the final step. Totals like 248 lb land exactly on 248, not 247.99999.

Inventory logic

Inventory counts are total plates, not pairs — two plates make one usable pair. The solver consumes plates from a mirrored per-side budget: loading 2× 45 per side requires four 45s in inventory. Default inventories match a well-stocked commercial rack; a home gym should tap the counts down to what it actually owns.

Unit conversion

Unit conversion uses the exact factor 1 kg = 2.20462 lb. Conversion is applied to entered values, never to plate identities: switching a 45 lb plate to kg doesn't rewrite it as a 20 kg plate — the plate stays a 45 lb plate and its weight converts to 20.41 kg. Defaults follow their unit: the lb side starts from a 45 lb bar and US plate sizes; the kg side from a 20 kg Olympic bar and metric plates.

Collars

Collars are off by default. When enabled, the per-collar weight × 2 is added to the bar total (treated as fixed load, like the bar itself) and the result is labeled as including collars. Because competition collars can weigh 2.5 kg (5.5 lb) each, enabling them can change the plate answer at heavy loads.

1RM formulas

The 1RM calculator accepts 1–12 reps and runs three published formulas, then averages and rounds the results:

• Epley: w × (1 + r / 30)
• Brzycki: w × 36 / (37 − r)
• Lander: w × 100 / (101.3 − 2.67123r)

where w is the lifted weight and r is reps. Averaging three formulas smooths out the quirks of any single one — Epley runs hot at high reps, Brzycki runs cool. The result is an estimate, not a measurement; see the safety section.

Warm-up template

Warm-up sets follow a fixed percentage ramp of the working weight, then hand off to your work sets:

• Empty bar × 10
• 40% × 8
• 60% × 5
• 75% × 3
• 85% × 1
• Work sets

Each warm-up weight is rounded to the nearest loadable total — a weight your plates can actually build — so the template never asks you for 187.3 lb when your smallest change plate is 2.5.

Share URLs

Share links encode your settings (unit, target, bar, collar toggle, inventory) as URL query parameters. Opening a share link applies those settings for that visit only, overriding your saved defaults without changing them.

Safety disclaimer

Estimates and templates are informational only — not a coach. 1RM figures are statistical estimates, and warm-up templates are generic ramps, not personalized programming. Adjust everything for the exercise, your training age, fatigue, injury history, and professional guidance. Never attempt a load you are not prepared to fail safely — use safeties or a spotter on heavy attempts.