One of the most popular workout tools in the fitness industry would definitely be Olympic weight plates. Weight plates are typically loaded on a variety of different types of barbells, such as an Olympic bar, curl bar, hex bar, individual dumbbell handles and more. In addition, many machines are plate loaded, such as individual strength stations or plate loaded smith machines. No matter what you need weight plates for, Fitness Experience has a wide selection of sizes and styles of Olympic weight plates.
Fitness Experience carries high quality plates from different brands. If there is a certain type of Olympic weight plates, or any other free weights you're looking for we can always do our best to find a product that will be suitable for you or your commercial fitness facility. In terms of quality and durability, there is not much that can go wrong with a set of weight plates, but like anything there will be a range of options from basic to premium.
Olympic weight plates are available in a variety of materials, but the most common will be cast iron or rubber coated. Cast iron plates will almost always be the most cost effective option, but some customers find cast iron plates to be louder and a bit more difficult to handle. Rubber coated Olympic plates are the most popular option, because they are mid-range in price, usually have nice cut outs to hold onto, they are quiet and have more grip on them. The extra grip comes in handy in many different situations, like when you're stacking the plates, holding the plate for an exercise and they will be quieter overall. Lastly, there are more premium options for Olympic plates, such as urethane coating or neoprene. These high quality materials will be more expensive, but extremely durable and not greasy or smelly. The smell of rubber coating will wear off, but does bother some customers at first.
Often times customers are looking for a full set of Olympic weight plates with an Olympic bar and collars to use for strength training. If you need a high quantity of weight it's almost always cheaper to purchase a full set all at once. Another benefit of this, is that you'll have all matching plates that will fit together nicely on a bar and be more aesthetically pleasing. Typical increments and quantities for an Olympic plates set include 2 x 45, 2 x 35, 2 x 25, 4 x 10, 2 x 5 and 2 x 2.5lb plates, complete with a 7 foot barbell and collars.
Sometimes the pre-built sets are not exactly what you're looking for in terms of quantity and increments, if this is the case we can build a custom set for you. For example, some people know they need more 45lb plates in the set, but may want less 10's and 5's. Weight plates are priced by the pound at Fitness Experience, so we can build any kind of set you need. We also have some smaller sets, such as the Cardio Pump Set, which features a smaller padded barbell and smaller weights ranging from 1.25-5kg. These types of sets were made popular by group fitness classes and are ideal for someone needing less weight and a smaller bar.
When beginning your workout with weight plates and a barbell, it's important to consider the weight of your barbell. A standard Olympic barbell will be 7 feet long and 45lbs. Fitness Experience also carries 6 foot and 5 foot bars, which go down in weight respectively. Lastly, for someone that is just starting out we have aluminum training bars, which are around 15-20lbs to start.
Plates are not the easiest thing to store. For this reason, you'll want a good solution for plate storage. Sometimes if you have a squat rack, or some other type of large equipment, the machine itself may have a spot to store your plate. If not, there are many options for plate trees. A good plate tree will have a spot to store different sizes of plates and ideally a bar holder for your barbell as well. Most customers want their storage equipment to take up the least amount of room possible, which is why plate trees are built tall. There are different styles of plate storage if saving space is not a main concern.
Many people get confused between Olympic and Standard sized plates. Olympic weight plates fit on a bar that is 2 inches in diameter. Standard plates are much smaller in size and only fit on a bar that is 1 inch thick. These two sizes are by far the most common sizes of barbells and plates, but the odd time a bar and plate set may be in between 1-2" making it only compatible with that particular set.
Fitness Experience is your one stop shop for Olympic weight plates, or any other type of free weights in Canada. We can ship Olympic weight plates anywhere within Canada, or depending on your location offer delivery and installation on the equipment we sell. For more information on Olympic Weight Plates, such as brand, stock, availability and other services we offer visit fitnessexperience.ca or come down to your nearest Fitness Experience location.
