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You know how I always talk about versatility in the home gym? Well today we’re getting super, duper versatile…
I love weight plates. You got bumper plates, iron plates, steel plates, Olympic plates, change plates, rubber-coated plates, plates with handles, competition plates, training plates, kilo plates, plates in pounds… Let me count—yup, up there with Bubba’s list of types of shrimp.
Not only are there a ton of different types of weight plates, but you can do so much with a set of weight plates, depending on what type you buy. The list of exercises you can do with weight plates is virtually endless.
And apparently, you can do more with plates than just lift them.
We asked for input from our Home Gym Community group on Facebook (which, as of this writing, is over 105K members strong, for the record), and boy, did we get it. Here’s a look at what some of our fit friends have done—or speculate they could do—with weight plates, plus a little experience of my own sprinkled in.
11 Interesting Things You Can Do With a Weight Plate (That Don’t Involve Lifting Weights)
Make Cornbread
Listen up, cowgirls and cowboys. This ain’t my first rodeo. I love me some Rogue Deep Dish weight plates, not just for their sexiness—seriously, these bad boys look so good in my home gym—but for their versatility. You can use them to deadlift, sure, but you could be cooler than cool and use them to make cornbread on the grill.
In truth, the end result wasn’t what I’d hoped because apparently Rogue doesn’t preseason their plates, but now I know this is an achievable feat and that’s all a man can ask for. (And no, I didn’t eat the cornbread, because e-coat is probably toxic…)
And Pizza
Well, well, well, turns out I’m not the only smart fella out here. Who’d’ve thunk it. Austn’s got a point here. The Rogue Deep Dish plates are very well suited to make a delicious deep dish pizza… Might have to make another appearance as Coop from Grill Gym Reviews.
Hold Your Christmas Tree
Who said 35-pound plates were useless? (Other than the thousands of haters in the Home Gym Community?) This guy certainly found a good use for his 35-pounders, and avoided spending $50 on a plastic Christmas tree stand. Solid.
Tie Down Your Duck Decoy
Here’s a tip for all you waterfowl hunters out there. Turns out, change plates have uses other than (and arguably more important than) helping you beat your squat PR by a smidge.
Build Cabinets
You knew about functional fitness. Now, I present to you, functional construction. Joe just encouraged a lot of guys to buy gym equipment before important house things because, “The gym equipment will help us build the other stuff, promise, babe.”
Hammer Nails
Speaking of construction, your handy-dandy iron 5-pound plates might work for smaller jobs.
Procrastinate Home Repairs
Look, we all have things we need to do that we don’t get around to for one reason or another. Got a home repair you just don’t have time to handle? Weight plates. Problem solved.
Go Wakeboarding
I feel like I have to say, “Don’t try this at home, kids,” for my own safety… But I can’t say that riding artificially high wake doesn’t sound fun.
Stabilize Your Other Equipment
Another hater. At least he found a good use for them if he refuses to put them on a barbell. (But also, if you need 35-pounders to stabilize your equipment, maybe invest in a level, Kang.)
Test Your Truck Hitch
This is ingenious, and it has potential to save you a major headache and a lot of money. I’m wondering just how many weight plates this guy has, though.
Play Pretend
We don’t have any evidence that this never happened, but Brock doesn’t have any evidence that it DID happen, so… we’re leaving it up to you to decide how to interpret this one (and whether those 45s could’ve been put to better use).
Well, there ya have it folks. If, for some reason, you feel like you’re not getting enough use out of your weight plates, there are 11 ideas for you to consider to get the most out of them.
Or, you could just be like Mark and use them for what they’re made for.
All sass aside, Mark’s got a point here. Clearly, there are a lot of uses for weight plates that don’t involve lifting them. But I can’t discount the benefits of lifting weights and the versatility of weight plates when it comes to the gym.
In case you’re actually interested in what to do with weight plates in your home gym, our guide to the best barbell exercises can get you started. And if you need a barbell to put your plates on, make sure to read my guide to the best Olympic barbells.
Further reading
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