Fractional Plates worth the money?

[Daniel Carlson]

At my NROTC unit we are currently trying to equip a strength and conditioning gym and have been slowly working towards this. I wont bore you with what equipment we have but it is enough for the amount of people who use the gym around 6, and never more then 3 at once.

One of the gym users has sent a proposal to me, the PTI, about fractional weight sets. He suggest some for $50 from Iron Woodys that range from 1/4lb to 3/4lb. Are these fractional weights really worth it? Before I respond to him about the decision I wanted to make sure my thinking was correct. Besides having needs for other equipment, I don;t feel anybody in the gym is at the point where they need to micro load. I believe that they would benefit from either staying at a given weight or going up by 2.5.

Any thoughts on this would be much appreciated.

[Jeff Stanek]

I wouldn't waste the money there.

[Bryan Kemper]

A pair of 1.25 lb plates would be good for presses. We have started 531 and it would be nice to have the flexibility to make 2.5 lb jumps instead of a minimum of 5 lb jumps.

[Jason Peacock]

Agreed - some large fractional plates are definitely worth it, like the 1.25# mentioned, and then 2.5#.

That's all you need to progress in lifts like the press where a 10# or even 10# jump can be too much.

But anything smaller is a waste for someone who's not a full-time lifter, IMO.

[Kevin V Ford]

I bought six of these washers (WFS) from a local Fastenal for less than $20. They're 5/8 of a pound; 4 is 2.5 pounds.

[Colin McLafferty]

Hey Dan,

When you say NROTC do you mean NJROTC? If so, what high school do you go to?

No, fractional plates are not worth the money in my opinion. You can purchase 2 inch washers at home depot and tape a few of them together to create 1 and 2 pound weights. Also, the pipe sections at most auto supply stores can work when you slide them over the bar. Lengths of chain can be used if you can secure them on the bar and don't let them touch the floor else it will change the difficulty of the lift and not just the weight. Just a few simple ideas.

[Daniel Carlson]

No, I mean the Navy's equivalent of Army ROTC in college.

We have 2.5lb plates and a bunch of extra collars. I figured we could add more of those to get fractional weights if people acutally needed them.

Anyways, thanks for the replies everyone.

[Matthew Meyer]

McMaster Carr, 2" ID/4.5" OD washers. They're about 0.5lbs each.

Plain 91081A046 $1.71 per Pack of 1
Zinc-Plated 90108A046 10.05 per Pack of 5

The cheap way if you HAVE to have them.

[Randy Tarasevich]

They're worth every penny. You're not going to make steady progress without them. Things like O-lifts and any kind of pressing will require you use less than 5 lbs. jumps at a time to make continued progress. We use them quite often.

[Troy Becker]

That Iron Woody is ridiculous.

Go to Home Depot. Get a few feet of chain. Cut the chain. If it wraps around the bar 3 times, it should be 1.25#. If you spend more than 10 dollars you're not doing it right.