Using Smith Machine for squatting

I see nothing wrong with it, it's actually safer since most likely you don't have a spot.

 

No safer at all. Smith machine will **** you up.

 

not very good.

 

You can use the smith machine for everything. Squats, bench presses, military presses, deadlifts you can put the bar up high and do some pull ups!
While all the brainless muscle heads are busy ignoring the versatile smth machine, you can be in and out of the gym in no time!

Smith Machine!!

 

Its better than nothing. You could try front squats or dumbell squats as well since its easy to bail if something goes wrong. You could also add weight via db's and do 1 legged squats or pistols or bulgarian split squats. For the latter you get up on a bench and step down with 1 foot but not too far or it becomes a lunge, bend your front leg until your back knee almost touches the floor and stand back up.

 

that is a joke right? thats where I see all the muscle heads do everything.

 

I had the idea the other day of going on a guerrila campaign against the smith machine in my gym. So, I typed up this one page flyer and left copies around the smith and the cubbyhole area where people stick their coats and bags and such. The day after the first time I put them out there, they were gone. So, anticipating this, I brought more. Heheheheheh

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Why You Should Avoid The Smith Machine


Machines are never superior to free weights. Never. Ever. I’ll say it again….Never. And the Smith machine is the worst of the worst. Yes, I know your trainer or your best friend told you that the Smith is a wonderful thing, and one of the most functional and safest pieces of equipment in the gym. They may have even told you to stop using free weights and to use the Smith because it's safer. They’re dead wrong, and I'm going to tell you why.

1. Pattern Overload Syndrome: The Smith machine locks you into a fixed plane of motion, which can lead to what is known as 'pattern overload syndrome'. The more fixed the object, the more likely you are to develop a pattern overload, and the Smith follows an extremely fixed pathway. This fixed pathway repetitively loads the same muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints in the same pattern, encouraging micro-trauma that eventually leads to injury. If you always uses a Smith machine for your bench presses, you end up working the same fibers of the prime movers in the bench press all of the time: triceps brachii, pectoralis major, long-head of the biceps brachii, anterior deltoids, and serratus anterior. You can't change the pathway; the bar will always be in the same position. This commonly leads to chronic injury over time.

2. Reduced Stabilizer Training: The weight is stabilized for you. However, joints normally operate in multiple planes, and recruit a myriad of other muscles to help stabilize load. Use of the Smith machine greatly decreases this stabilizer activity. This creates a problem when translating your strength and muscle gains back to real life. If you have not trained the stabilizing muscles, you create size and strength imbalances in these muscles that would normally be assisting in the lift. In addition, having weak stabilizers will serve to shut down the prime movers before the prime movers are ready to shut down. If the stabilizers cannot maintain joint integrity there is a feedback mechanism that will cause the prime movers to shut down, or “fail.” When you’re helping your buddy lift that heavy piece of furniture, or pulling that heavy sack of groceries from the back seat of your car, it won’t be attached to a bar that assists your move and travels in a straight up and down plane of motion.

3. Compromised Center of Gravity: When you squat with your knees out in front there is added pressure on the spine. When you free bar squat, the path of the bar is traveling over the instep of your foot and you are driving through your natural center of gravity (COG), the COG you create by moving your hips back and bending your knees on the decent of the squat. When you are on a smith machine with your feet positioned out in front, you are causing your body to drive through a false center of gravity. Now, instead of the weight being over your feet, it is directly in-line with your spine and your feet are out front, placing your new (false) COG somewhere about mid thigh. The problem this poses is that your spine is not in a healthy position to stabilize force. Your hips are there not only to move the lower body, but also, to stabilize forces being placed on the body. If you put them out front you take that ability away from them causing all of the weight to be compressed on the spine without anything to absorb the shock. NOT GOOD!

These principles clearly apply to any exercise you might want to do on the Smith. Take, for example, the squat. Because of the mechanics of the knee joint, the body will alter the natural bar pathway during a free-weight squat to accommodate efficient movement at the knee. A fixed bar pathway doesn't allow alteration of the plane of motion for efficient movement of the joint, thereby predisposing the knee to harmful overload via lack of accommodation. And, for all of you that like to put your feet out in front of you, in addition to the COG problems outlined above, if your feet are out in front of you, you tend to push back against the bar. Doing so changes the function of the hamstrings role in the move, removing it’s stabilizing, protective effects on the knee joint. The result is an increased sheering force on the knee. Again, over time, chronic injury, and even possible traumatic knee injury.

So. Now that you’re armed with the facts, you know to stay away from the Smith (actually any machine that locks you into one plane or arc of movement, but we’re taking about the Smith here). Do yourself a favor and get acquainted with the barbells and dumbbells this fine establishment has to offer.

 

I didn't type the above post!

http://www.tmuscle.com/free_online_...sionid=ED5ECAF3FD06B933F3C8D059B0FA6A64.hydra

 

The aboce poster is exactly correct. Watch someone do squats? Does the bar go down in a perfectly straight line? Never. It slides back then down then in. Avoid smith machine, use free weights. If machines were best, don't you think all weight lifters would use them? Unfortunately, they don't use a single machine in their workouts.

 

Just caught up on this thread, and was going to answer, but the above, detailed post sums up my thoughts. I would always use free weights where possible.

Ask yourself if you can substitute the squats for another exercise - do you have to squat? Could you go outside and push your car up the street, can you do pistols, could you bang out a few sets of glute ham raises, perform wall sits etc? I know they are not a direct substitute for squats, but in my experience, too many people think squatting is the be all and end all of strength training. Don't get me wrong, squats are a superb exercise, but sometimes you have to pick another exercise due to people using the squat rack and such like. Out of the alternative exercises, smith machine squats would come very near to the bottom of my list.

 

I dont see any problem with the smith machine. I use to use it for squats and decline bench press. The difference is if you use a barbell you use more muscles to balance the barbell while you squat. With the smith machine you dont need to balance the weights you just need to squat them. Alot of people use the smith machine when they are coming back from injury because it isolates certain areas. So for that reason i cant see any problems with the smith machine.

 

The only reason the bar doesnt go down in a staright line when using a barbell is because of the balance factor. If you went down in a straight line using a barbell you would fall backwards. When using a smith machine you dont need to balance the weight all you need to do is squat it, therefor it isloates the movement. The advantage of using a barbell is you use more muscles to balance the weights. But there is nothing wrong with using a smith machine.

 

The reason the barbell goes down in a varied pattern during regular squats is because it is the REGULAR motion of your body while you squat. So do it irregularly will cause harm to your knees, hips, and back. Your idea of isolating quads during smith squats is very wrong. Isolating quads would mean you were doing resisted knee extensions or quad isometrics. In no way do you isolate during a squat which is one of the most all encompassing exercises.

 

when using the smith machine you dont need to use any stabilizing muscles, you onky use your quads because you dont need to balance the weight. I disagree with you saying the smith machine will damage your knees, hips and back. The smith machine is recomended to people with knee injuries because it is a verticle motion and not a stabilizing motion like the arc motion with a barbell.