I picked up a rubber weight plates set with handles from XDDIAS on Amazon.

One reason I like this kind of rubber plates is because they’re easier to pick up off the floor than bumper plates and iron plates.

They also have raised areas that lift the edges off the floor so my fingers can get under them.

Plus these are much easier to unload when using equipment that’s loaded vertically.

Keep reading and l’ll show you what I mean.

Unboxing

I got a pair of 25 lbs and 45 lbs rubber weight plates as a set but they’re also sold individually.

All plates came bubble wrapped in individual boxes.

And here’s what they look like once I unwrapped everything.

The weight plates are rubber coated and have a metal inside.

Before I bought these plates I knew I had seen them some where.

And then it hit me…

Larry from Bulletproof Fitness has used them repeatedly while demonstrating the Isolator.

Here he is using them on the preacher pad set up.

Diameter wise, the 45 lbs rubber weight plates are slightly smaller than my competition bumper plates.

And the thickness between them is about the same.

Specs

Outside: Rubber coated

Inside: Steel

Weight plate variety: Available in 10 lbs, 25 lbs, 35 lbs, and 45 lbs

Compatibility: Olympic barbells

Handles: 3

Olympic Rubber Weight Plates

I marked the raised areas on the weight plates with yellow.

The area around the center hole is raised.

And the 3 parts around the handles (where the yellow arrows are pointing) are raised too.

You can clearly see that in this close up of the center hole.

Right next to the center hole, you’ll see the weight numbers embossed on two sides.

The third side shows the weight number on a recessed sticker.

Weight Plates With Handles

It’s obvious that having weight plates with handles makes it easier to carry them and they’re useful in some exercises.

The handles on these rubber plates also have grooves on them to add more grip.

When comparing the handles on my iron weight plates to the rubber plates, the size difference is obvious.

The iron weight plates have smaller handles while the rubber plates have plenty of hand room.

Here’s what my hand looks like on the 45 lbs weight plate’s handle.

I took this pic to give you an idea of how much space the handles have.

On the 25 lbs weight plate the handle is smaller but I still have plenty of room.

Benefits of Rubber Weight Plates With Handles

Floor Pick Up

Here’s are the main reasons why I love these rubber weight plates.

Look at the picture above and you can see there’s a gap between the stall mats and the weight plate.

That gap is right below the handle and this makes it WAY easier to pick them off the floor than bumper plates or iron weight plates.

Look at this side comparison between competition bumper plates and the rubber weight plates.

On the left you can see the bumper plate sits flat against the floor.

And on the right side, I put my hand through the handle to show you how my fingers are free to go under the plate.

I did the same comparison with my thin iron weight plates.

Rubber weight plate on the left with raised handle versus the flat iron weight plate on the right.

So yeah, picking the rubber plates off the floor is a huge benefit.

Vertical Loading Equipment

Another reason I love these is because they make it easy to unload from vertical weight horns.

They’re perfect for loading pins like the ones I use with my home gym cable machine.

See how I can stick my finger in between the weight plates?

I used to throw fractional plates in between my plates to create a gap but now I don’t have to.

These come in handy when unloading my vertical leg press.

Here’s a close up of the gaps between each plate.

And it works the same way when using a weight sled.

With a sled having longer weight horns than most pieces of equipment, I can really load it up.

So having the handles plus a gap between each rubber weight plate makes it very easy when using anything that loads vertically.

The handles also come in handy when I do neck training with The Strong Neck.

It’s a weight horn with a padded base that goes on my head.

I throw the weight plate on The Strong Neck and I can hold on to it by the handles.

The handles are convenient especially when I’m face down doing neck extensions.

And lastly, I can use these on one of my easiest DIY gym equipment I’ve made, a loadable kettlebell.

Back when I first started my garage gym I didn’t have any kettlebells so this is what I used for kettlebell swings.

Weighted Calisthenics

If you’ve never used UClips for weighted calisthenics, then you’re doing it the old fashioned way.

They make it so much easier to load and unload weight plates on to a dip belt versus going through the plate’s center hole.

I stick the UClip through the handle and hop on my dip bar or hang from my pull up bar without messing with the chain.

When I’m done, I slide the UClip under the handle and the weight plate is off my body.

Exercises

Because of the handles sometimes I use these for certain exercises.

I like them for halos, shoulder raises, lateral raises.

And also for farmer walks.

I like to keep moving in between sets so doing farmer walks with these is convenient.

Barbells

And of course, these will all types of barbells.

Here’s what the 45s and 25s look like when they’re on at the same time.

Here’s what they look like when I look at them from the front.

They take up as much as space as bumper plates on the sleeve.

And also tried it on several types of specialty barbells.

With Bells of Steel’s open trap bar having shorter sleeves, I can fit around 4 plates max per side.

Here they are on the Titan safety squat bar.

And lastly, on the GetRxd rackable curl bar.

Pros & Cons

Pros

Handles: Rubber and contoured handles make it easy to grip the weight plates

Raised areas: Lift the weight plates making it easy to pick off the floor and unload from vertical weight horns

Rubber coating: Protects the weights and floor from damage

Versatile: I can use the plate handles for exercises like halos, shoulder raises, lateral raises, grip strengthening, farmer walks

Accuracy: Weight is accurate

Cons

Rubber smell: The plates have a strong rubber smell initially (like stall mats) but that goes away over time