One of the biggest differences between bumper plates and traditional iron weight plates is the sound difference when lifting! Rubber acts as a sound dampener, so you when the weight plates touches the floor, the rubber will absorb part of the impact which will dampen the sound. Rubber flooring with dampen the sound further as the impact will be rubber on rubber.

Iron weights can come in different shapes and sizes (from circular to hexagonal) meaning you could not use these odd sizes for standardised Olympic lifts. All of our bumper plates are 45cm, making them ideal for all Olympic lifts! As the majority of the plates are 45cm, this spreads the weight on the flooring, helping protect your floor!

Iron weights are not suitable for hi-impact barbell exercises, but are suitable for plate loaded machines and exercises where there is low impact (bench press and overhead press). Bumper plates are suitable for all barbell exercises and can be used on plate loaded machines. Want to curl on the EZ bar with bumpers? No problem!

The rubber coating on bumper plates adds a layer of protection when performing hi-impact exercises and different types of rubber add a different level of bounce. This added bounce not only protects the bumper plate, but helps protect your flooring. Traditional iron weights will damage your flooring over time, even if you use heavy duty commercial grade rubber flooring.

Virgin rubber is a denser rubber than offers less bounce, virgin rubber is designed to survive the testing environment of a commercial gym and is very wear-resistant. Our Wolverson Predator Bumper Plates are vulcanised, giving them extra reinforcement and adding durability. 

This rubber is made from small ‘crumb’ pieces of recycled rubber, giving it a slightly different texture to virgin rubber. The recycled pieces of crumb rubber are bound together under heat and pressure. Our Bison Hi-Impact Bumper Plates are made from a mix of crumb rubber and virgin rubber, these bumpers have a bigger bounce compared to our other bumper plates, while our Wolverson Hybrid Bumper Plates are made from 100% vulcanised recycled crumb rubber. These types of bumper plates produce a slight rubber odour when brand new, but this smell will disappear over time. As an added bonus, as this rubber is recycled, it’s more environmentally friendly!