How heavy is the bar, and what do the coloured discs mean?
Officials' detail · Equipment, kit and officials · 1 of 4The men's bar weighs 20 kg and the women's 15 kg. The discs are colour-coded: red is 25 kg, blue 20, yellow 15, green 10 and white 5. Two collars of 2.5 kg each hold the discs on. The weight announced for a lift is the bar, the discs and the collars together.
How it works
| Disc | Colour |
|---|---|
| 25 kg | Red |
| 20 kg | Blue |
| 15 kg | Yellow |
| 10 kg | Green |
| 5 kg | White |
| 2.5 kg | Red |
| 2 kg | Blue |
| 1.5 kg | Yellow |
| 1 kg | Green |
| 0.5 kg | White |
- The barbell is the bar, the discs and the collars together.
- Bars: 20 kg for men, 15 kg for women. The British rule book also has a 5 kg technique bar for young children.
- Collars: two per bar, 2.5 kg each.
- Loading: the heaviest discs first, then lighter ones in descending order towards the outer end, so that officials can read each disc. Discs of 2.5 kg or more go inside the collar.
- Competition discs: must be used on the competition platform. Training discs may be black with coloured rims.
- Who touches it: only the lifter or the loaders may move the bar on the platform.
- Detailed specifications: lengths, diameters and tolerances are left to the IWF rules, which were not read.
The glossary entries are plates and bumper plates.
Tricky cases
A bar shows one red and one blue disc on each side. What does it weigh for a man?
115 kg: the 20 kg bar, 45 kg of discs on each side and two 2.5 kg collars.
Do the collars count towards the weight lifted?
Yes. The lightest bar a man can lift in the rule book read is 26 kg: the bar, the two collars and two 0.5 kg discs.
Why are there two red discs of different sizes?
The colours repeat for the small change discs. Red is 25 kg and also 2.5 kg, blue 20 and 2, yellow 15 and 1.5, green 10 and 1, white 5 and 0.5.
Why the rule exists
Fixed colours let referees, the jury and the crowd add up the bar at a glance and catch a loading mistake before the lift. Identical bars and discs everywhere mean a kilogram lifted in one hall equals a kilogram lifted in any other, which is what makes records possible.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| The rule book read | As above | BWL 3.3.3 |
| Young children in British events | 5 kg bar, spring collars, 2.5 kg full-size discs | BWL 3.3.3.3; BWL 6.6.5 |
| International specifications | In the IWF rules. Not read | BWL 3.3.3.1 |
From the rule book
British Weight Lifting Technical and Competition Rules and Regulations (updated 22 July 2026), rules 2.4.8, 3.3.3 and 6.6.5. A national rule book that follows the IWF rules. The IWF document itself was not read. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: BWL Technical and Competition Rules and Regulations 2026 (PDF).