Smith machine squats?

[|D_J^B_J|]

Can ANY benefit whatsoever be derived from squatting on this machine?

Unfortunately, my gym has no squat rack. I have complained about it numerous times and thankfully, they are getting one in a couple of months or so.

My legs have always lagged compared to the rest of my body and I'm wondering if this could be the reason?

 

[JohnRobHolmes]

yeah, thats your reason. you CAN get some benefit from smiths, but its only compared to sitting on the couch. you lose all the core training and risk knee injury using the easy machine.

until you get a squat rack at your gym you should deadlift if you arent already. all that takes is a bar and weight.

 

[pentatonic]

Smith Squats are great for legs if done right. It's very important when using the smith machine to make sure your feet are out in front of you so when you squat down your knees are not past your toes, this will elimate excess stress on the knees. If you had a choice then I would say do regular squats but a smith squat is not too far behind.

 

[view]

Well, the smith machine is a massive piece of junk 99% of the time, however in your situation, you might have to use it. i would start off with a free weight exercise like db lunges, or db stepups to start off though.

 

[kiosk]

Smith Squats are great for legs if done right. It's very important when using the smith machine to make sure your feet are out in front of you so when you squat down your knees are not past your toes, this will elimate excess stress on the knees. If you had a choice then I would say do regular squats but a smith squat is not too far behind.

well thats what I thought, but unfortunately the smith machines causes a lot of "hidden" shearing forces on the knee because there is no lower back support and you are leaning on the bar on the way up, that will cause knee damage on the long run. A much better machine is the "tru-squat" machine that provides full back support, but this one is rare to find.

 

[Ulter]

Well, the smith machine is a massive piece of junk 99% of the time, however in your situation, you might have to use it. i would start off with a free weight exercise like db lunges, or db stepups to start off though.

I assume you mean for squats. I use my Smith for resting my head on for two hand db rows, behind the head seated military, and to hold my towel. So it's very versatile.

 

[bignate73]

no squat rack in your gym of any kind?....you have my deepest sympathies.

 

[Smurfy]

the people who run "gyms" and equip them with a smith machine and no squat rack are complete wastes of space.

 

[Ulcasterdropout]

I use the smith for things, but I would never advise it for squats, waaay to awkward....

 

[|D_J^B_J|]

Given the unfortunate fact that I can't do free squats for another couple of months, would a better overall leg mass builder be Smith squats or the leg press machine?

 

[Madcow2]

Pick one and get better at it while you are waiting for the squat rack.

 

[riverrock]

The Smith Machine serves a very limited purpose. Personally, I'd do things like lunges, deadlifts, and Box-Ups (grab 2 dumb-bells and stand up on a knee hight box with them one leg at a time from a static postion - brings out your Hammys no end) until the squat rack comes in

 

[Clean]

I wouldn't use the smith machine, it doesn't let you have the freedom of movement to prevent spinal stress.

 

[blut wump]

If you are using the Smith machine for squats you have two very distinct styles.

One is as described above where you have your feet out in front of you and you are leaning against the bar and push up and back which makes it more like a standing leg press or a hack squat than a real free-weight squat.

The other is to have your feet much more in line with your body and to do it more like a real squat. Because the Smith limits your vertical motion you need a stance which goes well with this which pretty much requires that you position the bar very high on your traps. It can help to keep your feet wide and flared out slightly. With the bar high on your traps, the movement is not too dissimilar to a real squat. It can take a little while to get your feet well positioned since you can't move once you've started.

When you get back to a free bar, take it very carefully for the first month since your stabilizer muscles will have atrophied. Doing leg press instead of Smith squats won't really help with that. You could try both types of Smith squat. Listen to your knees.