Smith Machine

[tmike59]

I realize a lot of raw lifters don't like Smith Machines. I've found them to be great for squatting while dealing with knee patella pain, I can put my feet out in front of me a little further than I can with a regular squat and go ass to grass without any balance issues and less knee pain. That being said I do think regular squats are the best for building mass for a healthy lifter. Whats your opinions please?

 

[dennis]

The older and wiser I get the more I like the smith machine..for many exercises

 

[great one]

i like smith machine for both regular squats and front squats

 

[Lizard King]

I use it for seated over head presses so I can go over 300lbs and not worry about my shoulders.

Just don't be the guy doing every exercise on it in the gym, especially if your gym only has one. The other members will get annoyed, I know I do!

 

[andysutils]

Your not allowed to squat on the smith machne at my gym which really sux.
Ive yet to ask why on my return the reason for this

 

[wraithgs]

the smith machine is good for a lot of workouts like squats and such...but to ME I will never base my bench press workouts on it again......i think its great for if your doing a light chest day or hardcore leg workouts...but as far as building strength on your flat bench it will only fool you!
You will be getting stronger and stronger on the smith machine, but as soon as you hit that flat bench you will have forgotten how to balance the bar and will be surprised how weak you will be at that point.....so its a good machine but dont BASE all your workouts on it , especially chest....but thats my insight on it...

 

[Vinman66]

I do my squats on the Smith Machine and shrugs as well. I've had lower back problems most of my life and the Smith Machine offers me more control and balance. I too like to place my feet out in front of my body just a bit while doing squats to get ass to the ground. Another machine I love is the hack-squat, that exercise to me is even harder than the standard squat off the power rack.

 

[lovevixen]

I came up as a combo old school body builder/weightlifter and even after a few years of using Machines Nautilus I ended up coming full circle back to free weights. II have never ever found anything that was better when done on the Smith Machine. With out fail when ever I used a one for a lot of work due to a partner liking it I would develop mystery pains in my shoulders,elbow, low back and knee's. On top of that I could never lift free what I could on the smith machine. Since I am a big believer in training the body to do more then just look pretty the smith machine was not my favorite. In fact when ever I would go back to free weights my joints would stop hurting with no change in routine other then not using the Smith Machine. It is simply not natural to be locked into a single plane of movement. If you like them and it does not cause you pain go for it! If you are only training to look good then I do not think it makes a difference if you use mostly machines or free weights. If you training to be a true athlete that must perform in real life in a dynamic manner moving your body through space then I think the use of machines could actually hurt your performance!

I was actually trained by the same guys that worked on the West Point Experiment with Arthur Jones and Dr. Elliot Darden. So I have a lot of early machine experience and never seemed to have a problem with anything Nautalis made ever causing me any joint pain at all Just the Smith Machine!

What would rock is if they could make a multi-planar smith machine that allowed free movement about all axis of rotation and still have the same saftey feature if you failed to complete the lift!

 

[BigtomW]

Well to be honest i would never squat on a SM. It's so un natural IMO. You end up basically leaning on the bar to help balance and keep you upright.

Many people go off free weight squats because of back/knee pain. Main reason people get these problems is because they don't know how to squat properly in the first place. So many people who squat get lower back pain from their lower back rounding, but there are ways to solve this etc. Knee pain can be due to lack of ankle mobility, and such people who squat 'using their knees' rather than focusing on raising the hips.

I'm not saying SM and all machine don't have their place (as they obviously do) but i'm one of those who RARELY use any machine and believe in free weights and working those stabilisers to the max

 

[andysutils]

I like the free legged squats but use machines and free weights, I dont believe there is anything noble about people who use weights or wether they use machines, they are both as effective.

I think machines are actually better for development than free weights but ive always used free weights just out of habbit.

Ive no idea how people bench on a smith machine, I actually find the weight 10 x harder to lift than the free bar for some strange reason.

 

[Bigkarch]

they are better if you have back or knee problems...I actually like doing incline with it, using an adjustable bench....

 

[SWAGGIN]

NOT a fan of smith squats...





1. The machine locks the body into the machine's groove, and prevents the body from determining its groove.

2. If you stand with your feet pretty much underneath the bar, the knee flexion will be exaggerated, and stress there exaggerated too.

3. If you put your feet forward, to reduce knee flexion, the lower back is put in a weak position, with rounding of the lower back likely. In addition, there is additional stress on the knees as the feet want to slide forward but don't because of the friction from the floor surface.

All in all, the Smith machine squat may give an illusion of safety relative to the barbell squat, but in reality it's a bad exercise. Sure there are degrees of "bad" depending on the specific form used, and the individual, but it's still a bad exercise. Rather than try to minimize the problems with a bad exercise, why not just stick to exercises that have far better potential? Of course, even the "safe" alternatives can be ruinous if not done properly, but best to stick with movements that have good potential.

 

[C Wood]

I never use a Smith machine.They dont allow a normal range of motion for me.I have never seen anyone squat in one that knew how to squat properly.I see alot of close stance ,knees in ugly squatting in those machines.

The vast majority of people that experience pain during squats or deads have horrible form.When I was new I would squat 365 lbs and my back would hurt for a week.Now that I know what I'm doing I squat high 600's in equipment with 0 pain.


The only people I know that use a Smith are weak men and women.None of the 500lb + squatters I know use them.I squat out of a monolift.

 

[stepUPdawg]

I am a free weight trainer.
Love doing my Shrugs and the light weight squats that I am able to do.

Never been incredibly good at squats.
But the Smith allows me to keep an great balance!