Plate-loading calculator

Because the plates you ticked cannot make that number per side. Untick nothing and the smallest step is 2.5 kg on the bar (a 1.25 kg plate each side); tick the fractional sizes for 1 kg steps.

Yes, as long as you enter that bar's weight. Set it in the bar weight field: choose Other and type the figure from the listing.

All our Olympic plates have a 50 mm (2-inch) hole and fit any Olympic bar. One-inch standard plates from spinlock dumbbell sets do not fit an Olympic bar.

Load the largest plate first against the sleeve shoulder, work down in size, match both sides exactly and put collars on before every set. Use the plate-loading calculator to work out the plates per side from your bar weight and the plate sizes you own.

Yes. Type the weight you want, choose your bar weight (a full-size 7 ft Olympic bar is usually 20 kg; the Lift Sets 7 ft bar is 17 kg, so use the figure on your listing) and tick the plate sizes you own, and the calculator lists the plates per side and draws the bar. It works for hex and EZ bars if you enter that bar's weight.

No. Spinlock kit plates have a 1-inch bore and Olympic bars have 50 mm sleeves, so they are not interchangeable in either direction. Buy Olympic 2-inch plates for the barbell and keep the kit plates on the kit.

2.5 kg on the bar with a 1.25 kg plate each side, which is the smallest plate Lift Sets sells in cast iron, tri-grip and bumper ranges. Fractional 0.5 to 2 kg plates would make 1 kg steps; tick only the sizes you own in the plate-loading calculator.