Mental math: smith machine weight conversion

[chriss crain]

What is a good mental note to keep about the the weight you lift with smith machine that you see on pull-pin plate stacks, and how it related to the weight your lift with freeways? i
[FONT=Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I had my doubts since I can lift a lot more on the Smith machine. I'm guessing you should subtracts about 5lbs automatically because of the pulleys and then additional 20% off the weight because of the pulley system - so like 30lbs pull-pin would be more like 22lbs and 100lbs on the smith machine is more like 85lbs or something like that. Is this good math or am I crazy?[/FONT]

 

[muskate]

It's impossible to give you a set rule because each smith machine is different. Depending on the machine and pulley set up, the amount of resistance will be different. I would say the amount of weight used on a smith machine equals about 2/3 the amount of weight you could use with free weights.

You example if you can squat 100 pounds on the smith machine, you could probably squat 66.7 pounds free weight.