https://www.mixedbarbell.com/blog Plain-English guides to barbell plate math: kg vs lb plates, reading a loaded bar, and training across mixed-unit gyms. en https://www.mixedbarbell.com/blog/traveling-lifter-foreign-gym-plates https://www.mixedbarbell.com/blog/traveling-lifter-foreign-gym-plates Mon, 10 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT You walk into a gym in another country and every plate is a different color, the bar isn't 45, and nothing loads to a number you know. Here's how to stay on program anywhere in the world. https://www.mixedbarbell.com/blog/why-a-kg-to-lb-converter-isnt-enough https://www.mixedbarbell.com/blog/why-a-kg-to-lb-converter-isnt-enough Mon, 03 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT A unit converter gives you a number. It doesn't tell you which plates to put on the bar, and at the rack the plates are the only thing you actually need. Here's the step every converter skips. https://www.mixedbarbell.com/blog/guessing-the-weight-guessing-your-progress https://www.mixedbarbell.com/blog/guessing-the-weight-guessing-your-progress Mon, 27 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Progressive overload only works if the number you write down is the number you actually lifted. In a mixed kg and lb gym, guesswork creeps into your log and quietly stalls your training. Here's how to close the gap. https://www.mixedbarbell.com/blog/how-much-does-a-barbell-weigh https://www.mixedbarbell.com/blog/how-much-does-a-barbell-weigh Mon, 20 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The empty bar is never zero, and it's not always 45 lb either. A complete reference for every bar you'll meet in a gym: Olympic, women's, training, deadlift, trap, safety squat, and the Smith machine that lies to you. https://www.mixedbarbell.com/blog/what-plates-for-a-home-gym https://www.mixedbarbell.com/blog/what-plates-for-a-home-gym Mon, 06 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT A practical guide to building your first plate set: how much to buy, kg vs lb for a home setup, and the minimum set that actually hits the weights you'll train. https://www.mixedbarbell.com/blog/standard-plate-weights-kg-vs-lb https://www.mixedbarbell.com/blog/standard-plate-weights-kg-vs-lb Mon, 29 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT A clean reference for every standard barbell plate, kilogram and pound, with weights, official colors, and how the two systems line up (and don't). https://www.mixedbarbell.com/blog/lifting-in-a-kg-gym-when-you-think-in-lb https://www.mixedbarbell.com/blog/lifting-in-a-kg-gym-when-you-think-in-lb Mon, 22 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT You know your numbers in pounds, but the gym only has kilos. Here's a practical playbook: a conversion cheat sheet, how to handle warm-ups, and when to round up vs down. https://www.mixedbarbell.com/blog/how-to-read-a-loaded-barbell https://www.mixedbarbell.com/blog/how-to-read-a-loaded-barbell Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT The bar has weight. The plates are symmetric. Once you understand those two facts, reading any loaded barbell, kg or lb, becomes simple arithmetic. Here's the whole system. https://www.mixedbarbell.com/blog/why-gym-plates-dont-add-up https://www.mixedbarbell.com/blog/why-gym-plates-dont-add-up Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT If you learned to lift in pounds and walked into a gym stocked with kilo plates (or the reverse), the numbers stopped being clean. Here's why, and how to think about it.