settle this for once

phatkid77 · Apr 30, 2008

what the hell to smith machine bars weigh??

went to a new gym the other day, and CYBEX brand actully said...15lgs starting weight...

so how much are the hammer strength ones???

googling as we speak

phats

rAJJIN · Apr 30, 2008

Im not sure Phats but I dont think it could be much.
I know there pretty easy to lift even with just a finger or two.

phatkid77 · Apr 30, 2008

yeha i know..consensus seems to be 15-25lbs...depending on counterbalancing...dammit.... years ago i was told 65lbs...guess im not as strong as i thought, even tho i just say 45lbs for easy math on wieghts...

thanks

Largeman250 · Apr 30, 2008

Honestly I stopped keeping track of the bar or sled I'm using.. It's too time consuming in my opinion haha

Quad-smack · Apr 30, 2008

Smith machines

Ready for a little mental fun?
The Smith machine I have at my gym is counter balanced. It has a standard bar with a set of hooks and a set of 12 inch long linear bearings affixed to it - bringing the total weight of the bar to 65lbs. There are a pair of 30lb weights with built in linear bearings to off-set the weight of the bar to approx. 5lbs.
Easy enough.
Now, what most people don't factor in is INERTIA. Everytime you press or pull the bar you have to accelerate either the weight or the counter weight which will be either the 65lb bar or the 60lb counterweight - in addition to the weight you place on the bar itself. The faster you push/pull the bar the more inertia you must overcome (same principle with free weights too).
And then there is friction - was it cleaned & oiled recently? I don't even want to get into that one...
Bottom line - to keep from blowing a gasket on this one, just record the weight you place on the bar. Unless you have an accelerometer & dynamometer attached to your smith, you will never know EXACTLY how much force you are applying/lifting.

Kaiser · Apr 30, 2008

Quad-smack said:
Ready for a little mental fun?
The Smith machine I have at my gym is counter balanced. It has a standard bar with a set of hooks and a set of 12 inch long linear bearings affixed to it - bringing the total weight of the bar to 65lbs. There are a pair of 30lb weights with built in linear bearings to off-set the weight of the bar to approx. 5lbs.
Easy enough.
Now, what most people don't factor in is INERTIA. Everytime you press or pull the bar you have to accelerate either the weight or the counter weight which will be either the 65lb bar or the 60lb counterweight - in addition to the weight you place on the bar itself. The faster you push/pull the bar the more inertia you must overcome (same principle with free weights too).
And then there is friction - was it cleaned & oiled recently? I don't even want to get into that one...
Bottom line - to keep from blowing a gasket on this one, just record the weight you place on the bar. Unless you have an accelerometer & dynamometer attached to your smith, you will never know EXACTLY how much force you are applying/lifting.

You took the engineering right out of my mouth.

Also to add to this some smith machines are on an angle which throws in another curve ball for accurate measurement. Only perpendicular (90 degrees) to the earth are you are you actually moving the weight as listed. One of the reasons why I love when someone states they can lift a certain amount of weight on a leg press. There are so many variables to this, let alone most are on a 45 degree angle so cut the weight in half.

phatkid77 · Apr 30, 2008

see the stres im under...lol..

thats why i just for ease of it all, 2 plates=225...fack it..

gridlock · Apr 30, 2008

I never ever thought that I would have to take Newtons First Law of Motion into account in the world of bodybuilding.

My teachers can kiss my ass now. I told them that Newton blatantly worked out and here is my proof

Quad-smack · Apr 30, 2008

LMFAO!

Pekkerwood · Apr 30, 2008

Some schools here are teaching math/physics centered around Nascar to get kids interested. I definately think that teaching the concepts using real life examples such as weigh lifting makes the concepts easier to grasp and lock in. When I took electrical engineering, much of the time we could mimid circuits using a mechanical model with springs etc to help us grasp the concepts. The math was amazingly similar.

BTW I disagree with some of the Smith machine analysis and agree totally with the weight sled analysis. It is interesting to see how much people think they actually lift on hammer machines etc, not taking into account the mechanical advantages. Heck, Arthur Jones made hundreds of millions with Nautilus with a pretty simple concept. "Give me a lever long enough and I can move the earth".

Pekkerwood

celtic-devil · Apr 30, 2008

phatkid77 said:
what the hell to smith machine bars weigh??

went to a new gym the other day, and CYBEX brand actully said...15lgs starting weight...

so how much are the hammer strength ones???

googling as we speak

phats

Why not just weigh the smith machine bar yourself to find out???

Weigh yourself on a portable scales....then rest the smith machine bar on your back and stand on the same scales.

Bar weight = difference between your own weight and weight of you with bar on your back.

Flex4777 · Apr 30, 2008

Does it really matter what it weighs? lol

ironwill · Apr 30, 2008

get a good ol fish scale and let it hang off if it matters to you....My smythe has no counterweight attached, i have 70 lbs on the bare bar....The weight of the collars attached to perpendicular bars, bearings, hooks etc...so 25 lbs above the bare bar worth of attached iron...

VanDyke · Apr 30, 2008

Flex4777 said:
Does it really matter what it weighs? lol

+1

WildBB · Apr 30, 2008

Quad-smack said:
Ready for a little mental fun?
The Smith machine I have at my gym is counter balanced. It has a standard bar with a set of hooks and a set of 12 inch long linear bearings affixed to it - bringing the total weight of the bar to 65lbs. There are a pair of 30lb weights with built in linear bearings to off-set the weight of the bar to approx. 5lbs.
Easy enough.
Now, what most people don't factor in is INERTIA. Everytime you press or pull the bar you have to accelerate either the weight or the counter weight which will be either the 65lb bar or the 60lb counterweight - in addition to the weight you place on the bar itself. The faster you push/pull the bar the more inertia you must overcome (same principle with free weights too).
And then there is friction - was it cleaned & oiled recently? I don't even want to get into that one...
Bottom line - to keep from blowing a gasket on this one, just record the weight you place on the bar. Unless you have an accelerometer & dynamometer attached to your smith, you will never know EXACTLY how much force you are applying/lifting.

I can see we have a few engineers in here.

For practical purposes, we don't need to be that exact.

But good analysis Bro.

WildBB

SwoleinKR · Apr 30, 2008

Flex4777 said:
Does it really matter what it weighs? lol

+2

Gunsmith · Apr 30, 2008

You can't count the weight that the bar or the sled weighs only what you add to it , the rest is "penilty weight" for using the damn thing in the first place.

WildBB · Apr 30, 2008

Gunsmith said:
You can't count the weight that the bar or the sled weighs only what you add to it , the rest is "penilty weight" for using the damn thing in the first place.

I think that is the best best reply to this thread so far...

NICE!

+1

Sassy · Apr 30, 2008

WOW! Who would have guessed that you had to have physics to lift weights?

phatkid77 · Apr 30, 2008

well thats the thing i guess...true i dont care... but when at 2 or 3 different gyms, consistency would be nice... ill just go free bar when in doubt, if i care that much...

phats