The Short Answer
A standard men's Olympic barbell weighs 20 kg (45 lb). That's the bar racked on almost every squat rack, bench, and platform in a commercial gym, and it's the number you should assume unless you have a reason not to.
But "barbell" isn't one object. A women's Olympic bar, an EZ curl bar, a trap bar, and the rusty spinlock bar in someone's garage are all barbells, and they all weigh something different. Since you're here, you probably grabbed a specific bar and need its real number. Below is every common bar type with its weight in both kilograms and pounds.
One rule before we start, and it never changes: the bar always counts. If you load two 20 kg plates onto a 20 kg Olympic bar, you lifted 60 kg, not 40. More on that below, and you can settle the argument for good on our does the bar count in your total page.
Master Barbell Weight Chart
| Bar type | Weight (kg) | Weight (lb) |
|---|---|---|
| Men's Olympic barbell | 20 kg | 45 lb |
| Women's Olympic barbell | 15 kg | 33 lb |
| Standard (1-inch) barbell | ~7–9 kg | ~15–20 lb |
| Powerlifting / IPF bar | 20 kg | 45 lb |
| Deadlift bar | 20 kg | 45 lb |
| EZ curl bar | ~5–10 kg (avg 7) | ~10–25 lb (avg 15) |
| Trap / hex bar | ~20–30 kg | ~45–70 lb |
| Safety squat bar (SSB) | ~27–32 kg | ~60–70 lb |
| Technique / training bar | ~5–7 kg | ~11–15 lb |
| Smith machine bar | ~6–25 kg (varies) | ~15–55 lb (varies) |
Want the loaded total instead of just the bar? Punch your plates into the barbell weight calculator and it does the math, bar included.
The Olympic Barbell (the one you actually mean)
When people ask "how much does the bar weigh," 90% of the time this is it.
Men's Olympic bar — 20 kg / 45 lb
The men's Olympic barbell weighs 20 kg, which converts to 44.09 lb — but the entire industry rounds it to 45 lb. It's about 2.2 m (7.2 ft) long, with 28–29 mm shaft diameter and rotating sleeves that accept 2-inch (50 mm) plates. This is your default assumption for any full-size bar in a commercial gym.
Women's Olympic bar — 15 kg / 33 lb
The women's Olympic barbell weighs 15 kg (33 lb). It's shorter (about 2.01 m), has a thinner 25 mm shaft that's easier for smaller hands to grip, and no center knurling. If you're following a program written for a men's bar but training on a women's bar, remember your empty-bar starting weight is 5 kg lighter. That 5 kg difference is exactly why we built the 45 lb vs 20 kg breakdown.
Coach note: In an Olympic weightlifting or powerlifting meet, the bar color tells you the weight. A blue-end bar is 20 kg; a yellow-end bar is 15 kg. You don't have to guess.
Standard (Non-Olympic) Barbells
This is where it gets fuzzy. A standard barbell — the 1-inch spinlock type sold for home gyms — has no fixed spec. Depending on length and steel, an empty one weighs anywhere from 7 to 9 kg (15 to 20 lb), and some cheap ones are lighter still.
The plates don't interchange with Olympic plates, the sleeves usually don't rotate, and two "standard" bars from different brands can weigh noticeably differently. If you train on one, the only honest answer is to put it on a scale. For the full rundown on why these bars behave so differently, see Olympic vs standard barbells.
Specialty Bars
Powerlifting / IPF bar — 20 kg / 45 lb
Same weight as a standard Olympic bar (20 kg / 45 lb), but stiffer, with aggressive knurling and center knurl for squats. The weight doesn't change; the feel does.
Deadlift bar — 20 kg / 45 lb
Also 20 kg / 45 lb, but longer and thinner, engineered to flex ("whip") so the plates leave the floor slightly later. It pulls easier than a stiff power bar at the same load, which is why deadlift-bar PRs often beat power-bar PRs.
EZ curl bar — ~7 kg / 15 lb
The bent bar for curls and skullcrushers. Most EZ curl bars weigh around 7 kg (15 lb), but the range runs from 5 to 10 kg (10 to 25 lb) depending on whether it's a light fixed bar or a full Olympic-sleeve version. Don't assume it's 45 lb — it almost never is.
Trap / hex bar — ~20–30 kg / 45–70 lb
The trap bar (hex bar) has the widest spread of any common bar. A basic open-back trap bar might weigh 20 kg (45 lb), while a heavy-duty model with a rackable frame and high handles can hit 30 kg (70 lb) or more. Never trust the label on someone else's trap bar — brands vary massively, so weigh it or check the manufacturer's spec.
Safety squat bar (SSB) — ~27–32 kg / 60–70 lb
The padded, camber-shouldered squat bar is heavy on purpose. Most safety squat bars weigh 27–32 kg (60–70 lb) — meaning an "empty" SSB is already heavier than a fully assumed Olympic bar. If your log says 100 kg on the SSB, know that a big chunk of that is the bar.
Technique / training bar — ~5–7 kg / 11–15 lb
Lightweight bars for grooving barbell technique. Steel training bars run about 7 kg (15 lb); aluminum ones are lighter, often 5–10 kg. Great for beginners and warm-ups, but useless as a load reference — they're deliberately light.
Smith machine bar — it depends, so weigh it
There is no universal answer here. A Smith machine bar can weigh anywhere from 6 kg to 25 kg (15 to 55 lb) because most Smith machines are counterbalanced — a system of cables and weights offsets some or all of the bar's real mass. On many commercial Smith machines the effective bar weight is 6–11 kg; on non-counterbalanced ones it's closer to a full 20 kg.
The only way to know your specific machine: unrack the empty bar and either check the manufacturer's plate on the frame or hang a luggage scale on it. Do not assume it's 45 lb.
Why the Bar Weight Matters
Ignoring the bar is the most common logging mistake in the gym. Here's what it costs you:
- Your totals are wrong. Two 20 kg plates on a 20 kg bar is 60 kg lifted — not 40. Skip the bar and you're underselling every lift by the bar's weight.
- Programs assume the bar counts. When a program says "start at 40 kg," it means bar plus plates, so on an empty men's bar you add 20 kg of plates, not 40.
- Switching bars shifts your numbers. Move from a 20 kg men's bar to a 15 kg women's bar and your empty-bar baseline drops 5 kg before you touch a plate.
The fix is simple: always include the bar, and let a tool do the arithmetic. Our plate calculator tells you exactly what to load per side for any target weight, and it never forgets the bar.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the bar count in bench press?
Yes. The barbell counts in every lift — bench, squat, deadlift, overhead, all of it. A standard bench bar is a 20 kg / 45 lb Olympic bar, so an "empty bar" bench is already 45 lb, and every plate you add stacks on top of that.
How much does an empty bar weigh?
An empty men's Olympic bar weighs 20 kg (45 lb); a women's Olympic bar weighs 15 kg (33 lb). An empty 1-inch standard bar is roughly 7–9 kg (15–20 lb). Specialty bars like the SSB or trap bar can weigh far more, so match the answer to the specific bar you're holding.
Is the bar 45 lbs or 44 lbs?
Both, technically. A 20 kg bar is exactly 44.09 lb, but the fitness industry rounds it to 45 lb for convenience. In a kilogram-based competition it's officially 20 kg; in a pound-based commercial gym it's called a 45. It's the same bar — see 45 lb vs 20 kg for the full conversion.
How much does a curl bar weigh?
A straight fixed curl bar or an EZ curl bar typically weighs around 7 kg (15 lb), ranging from 5 to 10 kg (10 to 25 lb) depending on the model. Full Olympic-sleeve curl bars sit at the heavier end of that range. As always, if the number matters for your log, weigh it.
Bottom line: assume 20 kg / 45 lb for a standard men's bar, 15 kg / 33 lb for a women's bar, and verify anything unusual on a scale. Then always count the bar — plug your setup into the barbell weight calculator and lift the number you actually earned.