I had to squat on a smithmachine today.. my opinions on it.

R

realworksuks

2
I know everyone says you can't squat on a smith correctly, but my form was the exact same as far as I could tell.

And on top of that it's like impossible to mess up your form by rounding your back or things like that... so I think it's safer.

It requires less balance and coordination though, so that probably leaves out a lot of stabilizer muscles..

But I dunno.. I think it's crappiness is overrrated... what do you guys think?
 
It's better than a leg press and probably the closest thing to real squats. I would agree that stabilizing muscles would be left out. It seems like a lot of people avoid squats because 1. they're hard and 2. their form is bad and thus makes their back hurt. In that case, a Smith Machine would be a good way to get used to squats.
 
you will not get your body's natrual range of motion. Not everyone's squat goes straight up and straight down. Also, if your squat does that, you have to position your feet perfectly under the bar, right as they would be, that is very hard. On a free weight squat that doesn't matter, as you can move the bar and keep the natrual ROM. I'd like to see a video of your smith machine squat.

besides, you can't get stuck under a barbell, you can get stuck under a smith.
 
Karky said:
you will not get your body's natrual range of motion. Not everyone's squat goes straight up and straight down. Also, if your squat does that, you have to position your feet perfectly under the bar, right as they would be, that is very hard. On a free weight squat that doesn't matter, as you can move the bar and keep the natrual ROM. I'd like to see a video of your smith machine squat.

besides, you can't get stuck under a barbell, you can get stuck under a smith.
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Ok, I will get ya a video on Monday if I remember.

You are right, on the smith it is just straight up and straight down. But when I do my real squat as far as I can remember it's pretty much just like my squat on the smith. EDIT: I did some bodyweight squats right now and the only difference is that my back tilts forward when I get deep.

There's safety pins on the smith that I use though, so that's not an issue.
 
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Smith machine squats= u will eventually get owned.



All the videos are decently entertaining, but skip to 5 minutes and 33 seconds (or second to last video) to see one of the many reasons I will never use a smith machine for squats.
 
realworksuks said:
I know everyone says you can't squat on a smith correctly, but my form was the exact same as far as I could tell.

And on top of that it's like impossible to mess up your form by rounding your back or things like that... so I think it's safer.

It requires less balance and coordination though, so that probably leaves out a lot of stabilizer muscles..

But I dunno.. I think it's crappiness is overrrated... what do you guys think?
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I agree with you...
I think the Smith machine squat.. is cool to hate.. that's why everyone is hating on it, most of the people hating on it, haven't even tried doing it.
There's nothing wrong with it, and it's especially suitable for people who have trouble keeping their balance
 
vojdancov said:
There's nothing wrong with it, and it's especially suitable for people who have trouble keeping their balance
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So you're saying there is nothing wrong with trapping a bar in a fixed plane of motion (pretty much like doing a machine, hence it is called Smith "Machine")? And isn't saying it is suitable for people who have trouble keeping their balance is allowing people to avoid their problems instead of addressing them?
 
If people struggle to keep their balance on normal squats.

have them practice with the bar until they learn how to balance themselves...

Just because they don't have balance doesn't mean they should give up and stick to machines.
 
Squatting is a natural movement. If you can't do it without falling over, there is something wrong with you and/or your technique. If anything, box squat. I can't even remember the last time I did free power squats.
 
realworksuks said:
Ok, I will get ya a video on Monday if I remember.

You are right, on the smith it is just straight up and straight down. But when I do my real squat as far as I can remember it's pretty much just like my squat on the smith. EDIT: I did some bodyweight squats right now and the only difference is that my back tilts forward when I get deep.

There's safety pins on the smith that I use though, so that's not an issue.
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your back tilts forward when you go deep to keep the bar over your balance point. If you don't do this on the smith, you're leaning against it.
 
I see many on here are dead set against the smith. Even one who posted a cool youtube video about weight mishaps. About the video, the idiot obviously did not put the stops in so if the bar broke his neck then that is just the Darwin effect in action, kind of like the idiots who were too lazy or cool to put the collars on the bar and their weights fell off.

As for me I recently purchased a smith just so I can squat. I tried free in the past and the end result was always the same, I would eventually get into a twist and injure my lower back and quit lifting all together because I couldn't. I like the smith because it eliminates the possiblity to twisting at all and my lower back muscles from over reacting.

However I find that the smith has made bench pressing much harder. Hopefully I will sell my old Weider cable gym today and have room to set my olympic rack back up for benches.

Smith - Two thumbs up for squats but thumbs down for benching.
 
AZN_Dave said:
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LOL, what was that woman doing in the begining of the video and I was hoping the guy "Deadlifting" would have fallen backwards but he didn't.


I never did smith squats as a main exercise but I did some other leg exercises on it. I agree that it is unnatural and usualy an excuse to throw some more plates on the bar
 
I see this is turning into a smith machine squat bash, I don't wanna argue.
Smith machine squat forces a certain ROM, although you might look at that as bad thing, it's also a good thing, because a stricter ROM in certain exercises limits the potential for bad form.
I think that machines are much worse than free weights, and I use only free weights, however in such a big movement as the squat, it might be good for certain people to do it on the smith machine
 
AZN_Dave said:
Smith machine squats= u will eventually get owned.



All the videos are decently entertaining, but skip to 5 minutes and 33 seconds (or second to last video) to see one of the many reasons I will never use a smith machine for squats.
Click to expand...
The smith has safety features FYI but it was never intended for squatting. In fact the Smith Machine was an invention by a guy called Jack LaLanne whose fitness tips are still relevant even today. (Therefore the Smith Machine bashing is uncalled for if the guy does not even know it has safety features. Do we start blaming Henry Ford if guys get into cars drunk and don't wear safety belts?)
 
I dont hate the smith machine, I sometimes use it for close grip bench press or as a pullup bar. I used to use it for squats when I was about 16 but at 17 I learnt how to squat and havent looked back.

I dont think it should be bashed because it comes down to peoples own decision on what they think (even if it may be misguided) works for them. I personally dont think it works for me.
 
tribal said:
The smith has safety features FYI but it was never intended for squatting. In fact the Smith Machine was an invention by a guy called Jack LaLanne whose fitness tips are still relevant even today. (Therefore the Smith Machine bashing is uncalled for if the guy does not even know it has safety features. Do we start blaming Henry Ford if guys get into cars drunk and don't wear safety belts?)
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Yeah I know it has safety features, honestly though, I'm not a veteran Smith Squatter.

So what was it actually intended for? I guess I simply assumed it was just made for people that were too lazy to figure out how to squat.
 
AZN_Dave said:
Smith machine squats= u will eventually get owned.



All the videos are decently entertaining, but skip to 5 minutes and 33 seconds (or second to last video) to see one of the many reasons I will never use a smith machine for squats.
Click to expand...

Haha that looks like Smith at the 2:00 mark. Plus the guy getting hit at 2:37, ouch. Umm, the guy at 2:40, WTF!!

The guy at 4:07 had me laughing at first by his barbell setup, then by his panzy ass recovery. And the smithmachine at the end, too funny.
 
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