How much does the Smith Machine bar weigh? With counterweights inside it seems very light.
less as it accelerates.
as for the resting weight - i dunno. :o)
15lbs
On the Smith machine at my gym it says “bar weight = 6kg”.
Alot of machines have a sticker on the side that says. Most of the ones I’ve seen are 15 pounds.
The 15lbs refers to a Cybex machine, but I’m sure that it is standard across all manufacturers.
They are all different. I have felt some that were closer to 25lbs and one was so light you could toss it up with one finger and still catch it with one. When someone asks me what does the smith machine weigh or how much does the hack machine weigh or how much does the leg press weigh…My response, “Who cares!” It doesn’t matter if it is 5lbs or 50lbs as long as you do the lift and progressively add more weight or more reps. I always get some young guy who still asks, “well how much would you think it weighs?” AAAAAAAARRRGGGH!!! It’s like the guy who says he leg presses 1000lbs and you take one look at his legs and laugh.
As long as you use the same one all the time, it really doesn’t matter, but if you train while traveling or your gym has different models, then it’s nice to know. There is no standard - the counterbalanced ones can weigh virtually nothing. Besides the weight of the mechanism and whether or not it’s counterbalanced, the quality and maintenance of the slide affects the resistance as well. I used to go to a gym in Tampa that had a Smith machine with an empty-bar weight of 100 pounds! Saw a dork USF freshman come in and load it up with a 35 on each side to do behind the neck presses. Despite having three people tell him to try the empty bar first, dork-boy went ahead, unracked it, and the bar slammed down right on the back of his neck like he wasn’t even there. Didn’t see him for three weeks. Turns out his normal training weight was 70 pounds and he was used to a perfectly counterbalanced machine. I hate the counterbalanced machines personally, and have pretty much sworn off Smith machines entirely except for the occasional chest work when there’s no one to spot me and I want to go heavy.