Thread: Whats the weight of the bar on smith machine?

Approximately zero

Fucking machine......Damn!!! This topic needs a sticky or some shit; kinda like a SMITH MACHINE Q&A thread.


Oh, and what difference does it make? Are you going for a PR on the smith or something? sheeesh!!!

Originally Posted by rockhardly

Fucking machine......Damn!!! This topic needs a sticky or some shit; kinda like a SMITH MACHINE Q&A thread.


Oh, and what difference does it make? Are you going for a PR on the smith or something? sheeesh!!!

Lol sorry if it has been covered. I am not going for any records on the machine, but would just like to have it for recording purposes as I am very ocd on writing things down and knowing.

Ignore it. It's a machine and the only thing to track would be what you add to it.

Originally Posted by Richard Gears

15ish

Originally Posted by PushAndPull

Approximately zero

I was Googling that question previously.

how much does a smith machine assembly weigh - Google Search

Zero to 15 pounds seemed to be pretty popular responses.

And as long as you're using the same number to calculate what you've lifted each workout (for progression) then it's all good regardless of the actual number, right?

It's certainly not zero. If that were the case then it would remain static on it's own when unsupported. I would say 5 to 10 lbs would be a safe assumption but like others have mentioned you should be recording your weight on it by raw weight not any additional coming from the smith bar itself. I have also found them to vary from gym to gym so your best bet would be to check yourself. Grab a 5lb, 10lb, 15lb and 20lb weight (plate or dumbbell) with you, drag it over to the smith machine, support the bar with one arm in a bicep curl position and and grab different weights you have with you using your other arm in the same position and you should be easily able to recognize which one most closely resembles the bar youre supporting.

Originally Posted by CaptainNapalm

It's certainly not zero. If that were the case then it would remain static on it's own when unsupported.

Yes, it's not acually zero. Here's something to think about. How fast does it drop? From my experiences, pretty slow. This is obviously the result of the forces from the pulleys as well as friction. What is weight? For simplicity, weight = mass*gravity. In this case the gravity force is almost entirely being offset by the forces of the pulleys and friction, resulting in very little weight. That's why you can easly hold it with a finger or two. I think 5 pounds is a stretch, and definetly don't think you should include it in the weight you lift.

What you are really talking about here is resistance. The fact that the bar is on a track makes the resistance of the empty bar variable because you are fighting your bodies natural tracking on each movement. There is no easy way to measure that in pounds.

So my OCD friend. Your numbers in pounds will never reflect the true resistance when you put down, "the bar equals X."

For this reason alone no self respecting OCD person would use the piece of crap machine.

Originally Posted by Hoglander

What you are really talking about here is resistance. The fact that the bar is on a track makes the resistance of the empty bar variable because you are fighting your bodies natural tracking on each movement. There is no easy way to measure that in pounds.

So my OCD friend. Your numbers in pounds will never reflect the true resistance when you put down, "the bar equals X."

For this reason alone no self respecting OCD person would use the piece of crap machine.

Spongeworthy.

Don't worry, it will hold your coat any other clothes or bags. That IS what you're going to use it for, right?

I would offer one of those 'Who cares? Don't use it' answers, but that's not overly constructive.

I only count the weight of the bar if it's a free barbell or Olympic bar. I class Smith Machine bars - particularly the hollow ones - as negligeable. Of course they weigh something, but as it's on runners or cables and stabilized/held in a frame I see it as just a handle with which to move the plates, not part of the overall weight.