If you have a rack, start by placing your barbell on the rack. Then, slide a weight plate onto one side of your barbell. (As a rule of thumb, you’ll always want to slide on your heaviest, largest weight plate first.) Continue sliding weight plates onto that side until you’ve loaded all the weight you want to, then secure the weights using a barbell collar. Repeat these steps on the other side, making sure you end up with an even distribution of weight on both sides of the bar.  If you don’t have a rack, you may have to load your bar from the floor. To do this, you’ll want to tilt one side of the bar up, slide on one plate, carefully set the weighted bar down, and repeat this step on the other side. (By loading one plate onto each side first, you can steady your bar and maintain control of it.) Then, load the rest of your plates and secure your weights using a bar collar. If you’re loading from the floor, be mindful and consider placing your weights and barbell on a towel. (This will keep your equipment from roughing up your floors.)