A counterweight block apparatus (34) includes a pair of interconnecting counterweight blocks (100) having top and bottom surfaces, the counterweight blocks (100) forming a plane of interconnection along adjacent sides thereof; and a shear bar (130) releasably secured between the adjacent sides of the interconnecting counterweight blocks (100), generally perpendicular to the plane of interconnection, to provide resistance to relative vertical movement of the interconnecting counterweight blocks (100) along the plane of interconnection. In another aspect, each counterweight block (100) includes in at least one side thereof an indentation (120) from a top of the counterweight block (100) to a depth more shallow than the thickness of the counterweight block (100), the indentation defining a lip (150) for hand grabbing. An aperture (158) may be formed through the rest of the thickness of the counterweight block (100) at each indentation, wherein a securing strap can be run through each aperture of a stacked plurality of counterweight blocks (100) to secure them to each other.