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smith machine seems too easy.

cobra108

cobra108

New member
anybody use smith for squats?

I can do a lot more weight and go a lot deeper.
I do have bad knees and ankles....anyway do you think smith works the legs or not?

thanks
 
yes it dos work just as good.allmost anny way.of cores the free wate squat is better anny free wate is,but its not far off bro.if you like it better and it makes you work harder and gets more into it then do it bro.youll get good gains from it and thats all that matters.
btw I only do the smith myself for squats Iam up to 650 and i LOVE IT AND WILL NEVER DO IT ANNY OTHER WAY.
 
Free squats build more mass because the stabliziers come into play ,plus it hits alnost every major muscle group!
RADAR
 
I did smith squats the 1st time I ran madcows 5x5 squatting 3x per week and my legs really hardly responded at all, all my other lifts went up loads and size increased some but the squats always stayed a struggle.

My uni gym doesn't have a squat rack (yeah, I know) so I've recently (around 5 weeks ago) switched up from smith squats to doing deads 3x per week instead on a heavy, med and light split and my legs have responded like never before - hams and quads! I've been amazed by the difference and will be reluctant to ever go back to smith squats again unless I really have to - just find I can't get a groove with it and unfortunately unlike you can't get as low using the smith!
 
I do both smith and free weight squats. I extend my legs really far on the smith almost like doing a forward squat and its the best quad exercise period, really helps with overall gains. :chomp:
 
Free weight squats are the only way (or is that weigh? - sorry for the pun). I've done both and maybe I could do more on the smith machine, but you won't see the results as well as with free weights. As Radar said, free weight squats (ass to floor) get nearly all major muscle groups in the body. You'll build more mass and more strength this way.
If you have trouble doing atf squats, put a 2X4 under your heels. I use a 10# plate under each heel and it lets me go all the way down. I'm not gorilla strong like some of the guys here, but I put up 315# (1rm) last week, which was pretty darn good for me. Make sure your doing your deads free weight also.
 
I rarely do barbell squats, I put my feet in front of me and go as deep as possible while putting all the emphasis on my quads. for hams I do the same thin with a wide stance and toes pointed out. I strongly disagree that free weight squats build more muscle overall. actually, that's wrong, they build more OVERALL muscle because it works everything, however, when I wanna work my legs, I concentrate on my legs, not everybody part at the same time.
 
I wouldn't do it, but if you find it works more power to ya.. imo the smith has its uses but squatting isn't one of them. The safest, most powerful movement pattern for the squat looks nothing like the movement you get using a smith.
 
HunterUk said:
I did smith squats the 1st time I ran madcows 5x5 squatting 3x per week and my legs really hardly responded at all, all my other lifts went up loads and size increased some but the squats always stayed a struggle.

My uni gym doesn't have a squat rack (yeah, I know) so I've recently (around 5 weeks ago) switched up from smith squats to doing deads 3x per week instead on a heavy, med and light split and my legs have responded like never before - hams and quads! I've been amazed by the difference and will be reluctant to ever go back to smith squats again unless I really have to - just find I can't get a groove with it and unfortunately unlike you can't get as low using the smith!
Click to expand...


So what does your routine look like now? Did you drop Squats completely or do you do them once a week in place of deads? What do your heavy, med and lite days look like for deads?
 
On vacation I used a gym that only had a smith machine for barbell bench. I put on my normal weight and it felt about 25% lighter. I didn't think the smith machine would make bench that much easier, but it does. You don't have to stablize the bar, you can bring the bar down to an exact spot on your chest and you can push agaist the rails pressing up. People who do those instead of free weight benching are not developing as many muscles for sure.
 
smith puts your body in angles which is not meant to bear naturally, and over long term will stress joins....imo smith machine only good for calf raises or very short range movements.
 
Micker said:
On vacation I used a gym that only had a smith machine for barbell bench. I put on my normal weight and it felt about 25% lighter. I didn't think the smith machine would make bench that much easier, but it does. You don't have to stablize the bar, you can bring the bar down to an exact spot on your chest and you can push agaist the rails pressing up. People who do those instead of free weight benching are not developing as many muscles for sure.
Click to expand...
Also, most smith's are counterweighted- the bar has weights attached via a cable to smooth out the movement adn take about 35-40 pounds off the weight of the bar. I can move the bars on the smiths at my gym with my pinkie, so I'd guess it's like 5 pounds at most when the counterweights are factored in.
 
Tweakle said:
I wouldn't do it, but if you find it works more power to ya.. imo the smith has its uses but squatting isn't one of them. The safest, most powerful movement pattern for the squat looks nothing like the movement you get using a smith.
Click to expand...
I totally agree with this. There is no way you want to be locked into a linear plane of motion (be it 100% vertical or the slight incline built into some smiths) when squatting or performing just about any exercise.
 
The squats I usually see being performed on the smith are with feet way in front of the body and close together. I read somewhere it totally takes the hamstrings out of it which creates a lot of shear on the knees.

On the other hand, I told my friend ATG were better for his knees and when he tried them he said it hurt more than the smith, so what do I know?
 
I reckon your friend had no worthwhile stabilizers. I should have kept a link to my tirade against the Smith because that was one of my problems after moving to free-weight squats. Another aspect to ATF squats is not relaxing all the weight when you are at the bottom. I've found that it stretches the knee out which currently hurts me. Keep it tight at the bottom after settling-in.

I think your friend has to accept that he's a cripple tied to his crutch of a Smith machine or bite the bullet and work light on the squats until the neglected muscles come online.
 
I think you are right. He spends quite a bit of time on the hammer machines, only uses freeweights for benching, that I've seen.

Plus he's pretty big like 6-2 270. And he doesn't go like to go light...so when we were front squatting I advised him to start light but he said 'nah I'll just do your weight'. And sometimes I'll be deadlifting and warmed up to my worksets and he'll come over and 'jump in'.

But he's one of the Young and the Wreckless, I suppose. No wonder he has so many aches and pains.
 
I can relate. I used to poo-poo and eschew any consideration of warming up. Slap the plates on and blast five or six reps out for however many sets. Two months later I'm taking a week out with a pulled muscle and cursing my bad luck. I think it was only the ten-minute brisk walk to the gym which kept me at all functional.

There's probably not much you can do for him in the few minutes of a gym interaction since he likely thinks you're completely wasting time on warmups.
 
I can never decide whether it's worth having a 5 minute jog on a treadmill before hitting the warmup sets. It doesn't seem to make much of a difference to me.

Is going straight into warmup sets sufficient? What does everyone else do?
 
When I was younger I used to just charge into the gym and get busy. Now that I'm older I really take my time :)

Foam rolling and active stretching for ~15 minutes. 5 minutes on the bike at a leisurely pace. Usually I'm writing my weights down for my workout. Then go to the weights.

I need to be more diligent about stretching afterwards, though.
 
10 mins on the eplitical, or a 30 min walk to the gym if it's leg day to get the blood flowing and my joints warmed up, 5 mins warmups with the bar and stretching, then a bunch of progressive singles. I'm getting into extreme DC stretching after the last set, it seems to have helped my shoulder pain some
 
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