Weight Lifting: How are you supposed to know the weights of unlabled things?
I started lifting weights (again) and accurately tracking my progress (I bought a "cheap" workout and weight loss plan, which requires a lot of data so you can see your progress (or regress)). When bench pressing and doing squats on the (Cybex) Smith Machine I had assumed that the bar weighed 45 pounds like a free bar does and added it to the total weight. It wasn't until my most recent session (finished about 30 minutes ago) that I realized that the bar doesn't in fact weigh 45 pounds....but weighs anywhere from 7 to 30 pounds, according to what I saw from a quick search. I should have realized that it wasn't 45 pounds because it felt pretty light. Google says that the average weight tends to be about 15 pounds, but I have no idea.
I was also using the (Cybex) overhead should press machine and saw that the plates past 50 pounds went in 15 pound increments. Then I noticed the additional weight at the top, disabled by a pin. When I lowered it down on to the stack there was no number on it. Was it 5 pounds? 7.5 pounds? 10 pounds? Who knows?
How are people supposed to know how much weight they're lifting if things aren't numbered properly? They have these huge stickers that say everything, but they can't put "bar weighs 15 lbs" on it?
First, I am sorry for everyone just dismissing this question. There are many valid reasons for wanting to know the unloaded weight of machines, including just being curious. If you want to change up your routine or compare results between machines, you absolutely want this info.
Some machines will have this information in fine print on the main instruction panel or some small label on the machine. You have to search for it.
The most reliable way to know would be to ask the staff at your gym. A gym-employed trainer would be a great resource if they are off without a client. At my gym, I just put in a request that they label all of the machines with this info. It seems like a big quality of life increase for the cost of some printer paper and packing tape.
Keep lifting heavy and pushing for the details you want. I know on my leg press sled, I absolutely want credit for the 105 lb. sled in addition to the plates I put on it.
Curiosity would be the only valid reason for knowing. You can't compare between machines, even if they're the same model.
I would mildly disagree. Knowing your numbers for a lift can help you estimate where you should be on related lifts. It can also help you very roughly gauge your progress compared to others. The mechanical advantage, friction, and other physical aspects of any given machine play a huge role for sure, but one can broadly make comparisons.
What does that mean? You are where you are. Where you should be is where you end up when you do your best. Knowing the absolute resistance on a machine doesn't help with that.
If you mean comparing to other people, I strongly recommend against this. Compare against your past self, and only your past self.
Thanks, the gym I go to is in my apartment complex so there's no staff to ask, I tend to just search Google for the answers.
I switched from doing weighted step-ups to a single leg press on the machine and was like "Holy fuck this is hard" and then saw that the sled weighed over a hundred pounds.
I agree with wanting to know the empty weight for machines. For my leg press at home, I forgot to weigh the sled/carriage before fully assembling the machine. So I did the next best, which was to measure the uphill force of the carriage at its 45 degrees, using a cable that pulls uphill and dangles vertically off the top of the machine. I then progressively loaded the cable with plates until it started to move the carriage.
The force uphill is sqrt(2) of the carriage weight, so I multiply the plates by 1.41 to arrive at the empty weight. This is only useful when I compare to the leg press at the office gym, though.
That is some ingenuity! Smart move.
I am lucky that I have been working with a trainer for a couple years, and she knows this info for every piece of equipment in my gym. It will get harder as I taper off working with her.