Weight machines in gyms

[RemainAllHoof]

Stupid question but you know those machines in gyms where you can insert the pin in different weights to vary the total load... how heavy is each weight? 5kg?

[goldblum]

Seriously?

I would be very,very surprised..for instance..if a bench press machine went up in the same kg increments as,say,a preacher machine.

Trying hard not to laugh.

[Z4monster]

The ones at my gym go up in 10kg increments but there is a dial at the top to increment by 2.5kg per quarter turn. 0, 2.5, 5, 7.5 and back to 0

[Ki3r]

Have a look? Or ask someone who works there? I'm guessing they are different at every gym...

[Silent1]

The weights are usually on the weight or nearby it

[Driller]

RemainAllHoof said:

Stupid question but you know those machines in gyms where you can insert the pin in different weights to vary the total load... how heavy is each weight? 5kg?

My latpull machine goes up in 5Kg if that helps.

[Tonsko]

Depends on the machine to some extent, I think. The back extender goes up in smaller increments, and the quad press (or whatever) in larger increments, for example. Hazy memory though!

[RemainAllHoof]

Hm. I did use some logic to it - all the machines allow increments of 3 x 1.25. 4 x 1.25 = 5 and whoever built the machine saw it pointless to have 4 increments so am guessing that each plate is 5kg.

Ki3r said:

Have a look? Or ask someone who works there? I'm guessing they are different at every gym...

Done the obvious, obviously. Nobody knows as it's all old kit.

[Tonsko]

It should actually be stamped on it somewhere!

[RemainAllHoof]

Tonsko said:

It should actually be stamped on it somewhere!

You'd have thought so. It has instructions on which muscles are used. Each plate has 1, 2, 3, 4 etc up to 15 or so.

[Tonsko]

Probably safe to assume 5Kg blocks, I reckon.

[LordGrover]

Unfortunately, they may all be different - there's no one-size-fits-all plate.
If it's old/imported kit it may even be in imperial (lbs).
You could measure them and calculate the weight.

length(metres) x height(mm) x thickness(mm) x 0.00785 = Kgs

So if the plate is 350 x 100 x 25mm

0.350 x 100 x 25 x 0.00785 = 6.9 kgs.

If you want to get all accurate and anal, you'll have to calculate and deduct the holes/bolts/etc.


ETA: I've assumed mild steel, not stainless - which may be lighter or heavier, depending on spec. If you'd like to use your own materials/densities there's a chart here: click.

Edited by LordGrover on Wednesday 30th November 11:21

[RemainAllHoof]

Ah! Thanks. Will measure the blocks.

[SignalGruen]

If you're going to be using the same gym does it really matter what the weight is ? Just workout how many blocks/plates you need for your required rep range and work from there.

[RemainAllHoof]

SignalGruen said:

If you're going to be using the same gym does it really matter what the weight is ? Just workout how many blocks/plates you need for your required rep range and work from there.

Indeed it doesn't really matter as I have noted the number on the plate but I was just curious.

[bry1975]

Why not get the brand name and model description and check ebay and google etc?

[RemainAllHoof]

bry1975 said:

Why not get the brand name and model description and check ebay and google etc?

Ooh, good idea. Will do that. BTW didn't expect to see you outside the watch forum.

[clonmult]

RemainAllHoof said:

SignalGruen said:

If you're going to be using the same gym does it really matter what the weight is ? Just workout how many blocks/plates you need for your required rep range and work from there.

Indeed it doesn't really matter as I have noted the number on the plate but I was just curious.

I've always been curious about the actual weights - the ones at the last few gyms have never been marked with a unit of measure, just 3, 4.5, 6, 7.5, etc.

And at one gym they had two sets of machines from different manufacturers that were totally different on the apparent resistance despite superficially similar designs.

At the end of the day, the numbers are just a guide, being able to bench press 70 "kg" on a machine pretty much guarantees that you can't bench press the same with free weights - which will always be the better option if possible.

[RemainAllHoof]

clonmult said:

At the end of the day, the numbers are just a guide, being able to bench press 70 "kg" on a machine pretty much guarantees that you can't bench press the same with free weights - which will always be the better option if possible.

Sure... and I train with free weights but it still doesn't answer my question.

[LordGrover]

All you need is a tape measure, pencil and paper. S'easy.