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Thread: Deadlift with 44 cm or 46 cm diameter plates

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2020
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    Default Deadlift with 44 cm or 46 cm diameter plates

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    In my new gym, 20 kg plates has 44 cm diameter, and for 25 kg plates it’s 46 cm. Inside diameter is 50 mm. The bars I use has sleeves with almost no slack (almost no “click” at the deadlift start position), and the bar is 28 mm thick. I also use flat-soled sneakers for deadlift

    I guess it’s acceptable to use these plates, since weightlifting shoes are often used for deadlift, which affects foot-to-bar distance.

    But which plates should I use (44 or 46 cm)? By the weightlifting shoes logic I should go with 44 cm since my shoes are flat, and if I’ll switch to weightlifting shoes it would be 46 cm? (there's also no mats available to compensate)

  2. #2
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    Jun 2015
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    Don't go by the "shoes logic" because the height of a shoe's heel has a marginal impact on your range of motion at mid-foot.

    Standard plates should be 450mm. You're talking about half a centimeter difference either way which is 0.2" for those in the civilized world.

    It's not a big deal to even worry about.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2023
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    There's nothing special about the specific height of a deadlift, and being within 1 cm of the "standard" height would I think qualify as being "in the ballpark" enough for it not to matter.

    If you had to chose, I'd say choose the 44 cm plate, since training the "harder" range of motion has greater carryover to the "easier" range of motion than vice versa. But I would be very surprised if you just picked either and stuck with it consistently that it would make an appreciable difference.

  4. #4
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    Dec 2020
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    Quote Originally Posted by Satch12879 View Post
    Don't go by the "shoes logic" because the height of a shoe's heel has a marginal impact on your range of motion at mid-foot.

    Standard plates should be 450mm. You're talking about half a centimeter difference either way which is 0.2" for those in the civilized world.

    It's not a big deal to even worry about.
    Yeah, this is what I meant by "shoe logic" — 0.5 cm should remotely resemble shoe midfoot. But then I saw this video and considered I'll ask owners to introduce some rubber mats in the gym

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2021
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    Quote Originally Posted by Andrey. View Post
    In my new gym, 20 kg plates has 44 cm diameter, and for 25 kg plates it’s 46 cm. Inside diameter is 50 mm. The bars I use has sleeves with almost no slack (almost no “click” at the deadlift start position), and the bar is 28 mm thick. I also use flat-soled sneakers for deadlift

    I guess it’s acceptable to use these plates, since weightlifting shoes are often used for deadlift, which affects foot-to-bar distance.

    But which plates should I use (44 or 46 cm)? By the weightlifting shoes logic I should go with 44 cm since my shoes are flat, and if I’ll switch to weightlifting shoes it would be 46 cm? (there's also no mats available to compensate)
    As satch said, I think you are way overthinking this.
    Just be consistent in how you workout at that gym.
    Use same shoes and plate configuration for each deadlift workout.

    Keep in mind the plates probably vary 2% from their advertised weight.
    So worrying about half a centimeter here or there isn't a big deal.
    I saw this in the other post:

    The plates has precise weight with 99.9% certainty as the gym is of an expensive/fancy type, and plates are made from steel which allows precise weight (as opposed to e.g. casted crude iron). Old gym also has steel plates which I weighed so they're also correct in weight. The bar was similar to the old gym, it had increased thickness (about 31 mm I think). My last hope was that bars were different in weight, but this also wasn't the case as I recently used a different 28 mm 20 kg bar with same results. I even considered testing my DL in the old gym to compare but figured I'll just put up with it
    I saw those crappy spiral spoked wheel type plates in your video.
    I'm sure those aren't made to any kind of IWF/IPF standard whatsoever for accuracy.
    I don't care how "fancy" the gym is or claims to be, or what the manufacturer says.


    But here, if you want more information to mentally masturbate over:

    If you use the taller 25KG plates, and then stack a bunch of smaller diameter plates over that bigger one, that 25KG plate is gonna dig in more to that soft rubber, with the added load on the one plate. Until you get to two 25KGs. Do those shitty plates have a rounded edge as opposed to a flat one? That will make them sink in more too. Also, the rubber is probably smashed down quite a bit where the plates repeatedly land on the platform as everyone typically sets up in the same spot. If not yet, it will soon be. We have soft rubber "quiet type" Eleiko platforms are our gym. The unavoidable downside to this, is the barbell/load sinks farther down as the load increased. Its probably down an inch or more once you get to 180kg; yet you are standing on wood in the middle. The effect is the same as I'm getting stronger; IOW it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things.

    Other things to note, because it seems you don't know a lot of this basic info about barbells, plates, etc .... how were the knurl/rings marked on the bars at the two different gyms? Are you sure you are taking your deadlift grip at the exact same width as other bar/gym? That will alter length of ROM in a way as its alters the effective length of your arms. Besides the ROM thing, it also alters kinematics/motor patterning. Some bars are marked with PL rings, some with IWF rings, some both ..... some shitty bars (that you see at 'fancy' gym) use totally made up dimensions? Some DO have correct/proper ring spacing, but the knurl gap in middle is wrong or inconsistent, so if you are using that transition line from smooth to knurl as a reference point, it could be different.

    What was the latitude of the old gym compared to the new gym? Centrifugal force offsetting gravity varies a bit with its distance from the equator don't ya know.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Dec 2020
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    starting strength coach development program
    The gym is also located at the 2nd floor as opposed to -1 for the old gym, so the gravity is decreased... But thanks, I appreciate the details

    P.S.: currently my DL is down by ~5kg, in old gym it was 3x3 with 265 lb plates + 20kg bar ≈ 140 kg; today I did 3 x 137,5 kg; 3 x 135 kg; 4 x 135 kg (last one with mats!)

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