Smith bar

This may have been asked before but I'm too lazy to go do a search. Didn't know where to best pose my question so I chose this forum.

Does anyone know for sure how much the Smith bar weighs? I asked a trainer at my gym a couple of days ago and he said "nothing". I think he said that in the context that it doesn't weigh much.

I'm guessing 5 lbs.

Thanks in advance for anyone's reply with a sure answer.

[F_Mac]

It varies from machine to machine.

Some are counter-balanced so the bar effectively weighs nothing (or only a couple of pounds) while others are not and the bar ends up weighing close to 45.

[Firehawk]

Just dont assume the bar. Only count plates.

[tim_mcf]

It seems a little bizarre to think of you doing anything with a Smith machine...what are you planning?

I did some overhead squats on the Smith machine because I wanted a little more weight than what I felt comfortable with at my gym because I can't drop the weight if I get in a bind.

Did 3 sets. I knew the range of motion would be limited but my training objective for that day was achieved.

[tim_mcf]

Not just the range of motion, but the path of motion would be vastly different. Almost to the point of being a totally different exercise. I think you'll find limited crossover using this technique.

Good points Tim. I don't know I'll be doing alot of overhead squats on the Smith machine. But sometimes we gotta try stuff out to discover things for ourself. Thanks for sharing.

Some brands have the bar weight listed on the unit. Give a look around yours to see if its posted.

How did you shoulders feel while doing that particular exercise? Any pain? Or is your flexibility OK?

[Firehawk]

i can't even do squats with a regular BB. My shoulder width makes it difficult to hang onto the bar without my shoulders killing me afterward. Thank God my gym has squat bars.

Originally Posted by IronMan

How did you shoulders feel while doing that particular exercise? Any pain? Or is your flexibility OK?

My shoulders felt good although I had to work with a fixed path which I did not like.

I have been doing alot of shoulder flexibility exercises and my shoulder range of motion has improved greatly. I'm going to keep it up. As a result, the other day I did 3 sets of 8 sets of behind-the-neck wide grip pullups with no problem, something I wouldn't have been able to do in the past.

I don't think I'll do the Smith bar overhead squats anymore.

[Eric_B]

Usually they're 15-20 pounds, but I've used an older one made of heavier metal that actually weighed 60 pounds by itself.

[JDR3]

Weighted the one at the gym, the one there is 8 lbs.

We carried over the scale, put in on a jump box and weighted it.

Thanks! I'm sure the one at my gym is similar to the one at your gym. I guessed 5 lbs. so I was (sort of) close.