it's not about aesthetics/looking good. You will literally frick your shit up if (for example) your chest can press 225 that moves in a rail-fixed, stable path provided by the smith machine, but allllll the muscles in your shoulder that are supposed to stabilize them in the real world can't take you doing a real-world press of ~50 pounds. Also it forces you into a perfectly straight path for the weight to move, when in reality pretty much all your weight movements follow curved paths... which isn't just about ergonomics or comfort, it's (again) about not fricking your shit up. On chest press, the bar is meant to move in a J-shaped path and if you cannot get that lateral forward-backward movement, you are going to be flaring your elbows at the bottom of the movement which will wreck your shoulders over time. It is always better to just learn on dumbbells with low weight than to think you have joined the 1000 club by doing all your exercises on the smith machine, only to wreck your shit. With the smith machine you may technically be able to move a certain amount of weight but you are guaranteed doing it with wrong form and over time that bad form becomes permanent as a habit
You should be asking these questions about stabilizer muscles more in earnest because it sounds like you have a lot to learn
When you use a smith machine, you can isolate the specific muscle group you are training without having to recruit any stabilizer muscles. This allows you to push more weight, leading to more hypertrophy. There are studies that compare free weight vs smith machine gains, and there was no noticable difference between them.
I'm doing smith one day then cable then dumbbell to try to cover this kind of stuff without having to frick with bars and spotters and long plate changing times.
For instance pec: cable is double crossover starting with a low sweep up move for lower pec, dumbbell and smith are incline bench for upper. Feels weird not ever doing a flat bp but eh.
Some people can barely squat with no restriction at all. Telling them to do it on a set path with perfect form is just too much for their fragile bodies to handle. They are unable to adjust their form because of ignorance. These people will get injured no matter what they use eventually.
I tried hack squats on smith and it was fricking my left shoulder up at that weird torque angle when you're leaning back, much better on dedicated leg press machine that converts to hack squat machine specifically.
I tried hack squats on smith and it was fricking my left shoulder up at that weird torque angle when you're leaning back, much better on dedicated leg press machine that converts to hack squat machine specifically.
You can use it as a makeshift hacksquat machine if your gym doesn't have those.
> hacksquats > machines
lol wut?
this is a hacksquat
because it is OG hacksquat
you can load it as much as a machine and you have to stabilise it too
my coach is a former commonwealth games oly lifter and he swears by them for training the first pull of a clean
Yeah, I saw the webm of that woman who basically got her neck broken by the Smith Machine because she was using it incorrectly. Brutal. They should show lethal/near-death gym mishaps to high schoolers so they don't kill themselves early on.
I think it is fine, but I cringe when I see people using it without setting the safeties. you can't bail out of a rep like with a regular barbell, especially for squats
I started using free weights today after doing smith machine squats this entire time. I literally have trouble with just 25kg on each side, it feels like im going to tip over. Is this normal?
You're engaging your stabilizers for the first time. Your ego is going to take a hit since you can't lift as much weight but you'll build actual strength with free weights. Smith machines have their purpose but it shouldn't be a replacement for the basics
It's good for a short time, I use for OHP as I dont like my barbell form, also during a non push period for bench. But this shit is nothing like real bench.
Like the leg press, it could hurt you if used wrong, but we are talking moronicly wrong, it became sort of a meme that people started believing a bit too hard
it's the ultimate midwit screen. "Smith machine sucks" is learned by a lifter within 3 to 6 months experience. Of course he may 'learn' it on day one from his midwit bro. As with so many topics in life, the incurious midwit may never get beyond this stage and still be repeating it 10 years from now when he's still lifting the same amounts.
"Squatting" in a Smith machine is a oxymoron. A squat cannot be performed on a Smith machine, as should be obvious from all previous discussion. Sorry. There is a gigantic difference between a machine that makes the bar path vertical, and a squat that is excecuted correctly enough to have a vertical bar path. Muscle and skeleton should do the job of keeping the bar path vertical, not grease fittings and floor bolts.
> why the frick should i care about stabilisation?
depends if you want to be /fit or if you want to be an effeminate cosmopolitan looking to gain 'six pack abs' so you can engage in random sex with hotter people like a homosexual.
All the power to you if this is your goal. But I think you're self-emasculating.
The preening liberal women who desire the likes of Timothee Chalamet will find you off putting as you embody the cosmopolitan meathead pumping a machine for no end other than empty sex, which they'll refuse to give to you.
The men who play sports will just think you're a moron.
no serious athlete bases his strength routine around machines.
> stability is too important for maximal power production
furthermore, if you want to progress onto power exercises like the clean that will make you a better: footballer, sprinter, cyclist, boxer, etc; you must be stable and mobile in the squat > you will never develop this with a machine
you may look good
but you will just be a honorary homosexual
Smith machines are unironically dope for bodybuilding and anyone who thinks otherwise has just been brainwashed by years of smith machine memes.
I wouldn’t use it as your primary lift, but as a secondary hyperteophy movement the fixed bar path lends itself to being able to focus the target muscle more directly without stabilizing muscles cutting your effort short.
Currently I only use it to do smith high bar squats on my second leg day (barbell high bar squats on main day), and the best part is you can go as deep as you fricking want without worrying about balance. Deep stretch in the quads for max hypertrophy which then has great carry over to my real squat and even deadlifts.
I intend to do a similar set up with smith incline bench press as a secondary to my barbell bench at some point. I’ve also seen the RP guys use it for bent over rows which looks interesting.
Anyone who has sworn off smith machines because some fricking YouTuber or influencer douche makes jokes about it, give it a shot. I think the anti smith memes make people avoid it not because they’ve ever used it and decided it wasn’t for them, but because they’ve been deluded into thinking it’s some pussy version of superior lifts (which it kinda is, but it still has huge value in certain contexts) so they’ve never even tried it seriously.
Because of the mechanism, smith machines do not work stabilizer muscles. If it’s all u got, it’s better than nothing.
post an example pic of big stabilizer muscles
Picrel. You barely have to brace your core if at all on a smith machine.
It is clear now you have never used one.
it's not about aesthetics/looking good. You will literally frick your shit up if (for example) your chest can press 225 that moves in a rail-fixed, stable path provided by the smith machine, but allllll the muscles in your shoulder that are supposed to stabilize them in the real world can't take you doing a real-world press of ~50 pounds. Also it forces you into a perfectly straight path for the weight to move, when in reality pretty much all your weight movements follow curved paths... which isn't just about ergonomics or comfort, it's (again) about not fricking your shit up. On chest press, the bar is meant to move in a J-shaped path and if you cannot get that lateral forward-backward movement, you are going to be flaring your elbows at the bottom of the movement which will wreck your shoulders over time. It is always better to just learn on dumbbells with low weight than to think you have joined the 1000 club by doing all your exercises on the smith machine, only to wreck your shit. With the smith machine you may technically be able to move a certain amount of weight but you are guaranteed doing it with wrong form and over time that bad form becomes permanent as a habit
You should be asking these questions about stabilizer muscles more in earnest because it sounds like you have a lot to learn
When you use a smith machine, you can isolate the specific muscle group you are training without having to recruit any stabilizer muscles. This allows you to push more weight, leading to more hypertrophy. There are studies that compare free weight vs smith machine gains, and there was no noticable difference between them.
>Leading to more hypertrophy
>Studies showed no significant difference
Lmao
I'm doing smith one day then cable then dumbbell to try to cover this kind of stuff without having to frick with bars and spotters and long plate changing times.
For instance pec: cable is double crossover starting with a low sweep up move for lower pec, dumbbell and smith are incline bench for upper. Feels weird not ever doing a flat bp but eh.
Wat you think bros
> the bar is meant to move in a J-shaped path
You’re literally a fricking moron, aren’t you?
Smith machines are bad for functional strength. If you wanna be able to not be moved and push people hard you need to train stabilizers.
imagine giving a shit about strength over asthetics
>t.powerlifter cope
Some people can barely squat with no restriction at all. Telling them to do it on a set path with perfect form is just too much for their fragile bodies to handle. They are unable to adjust their form because of ignorance. These people will get injured no matter what they use eventually.
Yeah it gets a bad rep. Bodybuilders and even strongmen like Brian Shaw, Eddie Hall and Big Z love it. Good for accessory work to save your joints.
Smith machine vs hack squat. Same same?
I tried hack squats on smith and it was fricking my left shoulder up at that weird torque angle when you're leaning back, much better on dedicated leg press machine that converts to hack squat machine specifically.
> hacksquats
> machines
lol wut?
this is a hacksquat
Wtf why? Why would you do this ever?
because it is OG hacksquat
you can load it as much as a machine and you have to stabilise it too
my coach is a former commonwealth games oly lifter and he swears by them for training the first pull of a clean
It kills people
Yeah, I saw the webm of that woman who basically got her neck broken by the Smith Machine because she was using it incorrectly. Brutal. They should show lethal/near-death gym mishaps to high schoolers so they don't kill themselves early on.
statistically far more people die from free weights than smith machines.
Post the numbers.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20139328/
Only because they don’t use safeties. If you use safeties there is zero danger.
I think it is fine, but I cringe when I see people using it without setting the safeties. you can't bail out of a rep like with a regular barbell, especially for squats
It serves no purpose. Its like making a road bike with training wheels, makes no sense.
You can use it as a makeshift hacksquat machine if your gym doesn't have those.
I started using free weights today after doing smith machine squats this entire time. I literally have trouble with just 25kg on each side, it feels like im going to tip over. Is this normal?
yes its normal, keep working on it and your stablizers will strengthen up
You're engaging your stabilizers for the first time. Your ego is going to take a hit since you can't lift as much weight but you'll build actual strength with free weights. Smith machines have their purpose but it shouldn't be a replacement for the basics
they're noisy.
It's good for a short time, I use for OHP as I dont like my barbell form, also during a non push period for bench. But this shit is nothing like real bench.
now post the stats for how many people have died from freeweights. we will wait.
zero
source: me
frick you
Like the leg press, it could hurt you if used wrong, but we are talking moronicly wrong, it became sort of a meme that people started believing a bit too hard
it's the ultimate midwit screen. "Smith machine sucks" is learned by a lifter within 3 to 6 months experience. Of course he may 'learn' it on day one from his midwit bro. As with so many topics in life, the incurious midwit may never get beyond this stage and still be repeating it 10 years from now when he's still lifting the same amounts.
"Squatting" in a Smith machine is a oxymoron. A squat cannot be performed on a Smith machine, as should be obvious from all previous discussion. Sorry. There is a gigantic difference between a machine that makes the bar path vertical, and a squat that is excecuted correctly enough to have a vertical bar path. Muscle and skeleton should do the job of keeping the bar path vertical, not grease fittings and floor bolts.
most gyms dont take care of it, so one side has almost always more residence
everything
> why the frick should i care about stabilisation?
depends if you want to be /fit or if you want to be an effeminate cosmopolitan looking to gain 'six pack abs' so you can engage in random sex with hotter people like a homosexual.
All the power to you if this is your goal. But I think you're self-emasculating.
The preening liberal women who desire the likes of Timothee Chalamet will find you off putting as you embody the cosmopolitan meathead pumping a machine for no end other than empty sex, which they'll refuse to give to you.
The men who play sports will just think you're a moron.
no serious athlete bases his strength routine around machines.
> stability is too important for maximal power production
furthermore, if you want to progress onto power exercises like the clean that will make you a better: footballer, sprinter, cyclist, boxer, etc; you must be stable and mobile in the squat
> you will never develop this with a machine
you may look good
but you will just be a honorary homosexual
Smith machines are unironically dope for bodybuilding and anyone who thinks otherwise has just been brainwashed by years of smith machine memes.
I wouldn’t use it as your primary lift, but as a secondary hyperteophy movement the fixed bar path lends itself to being able to focus the target muscle more directly without stabilizing muscles cutting your effort short.
Currently I only use it to do smith high bar squats on my second leg day (barbell high bar squats on main day), and the best part is you can go as deep as you fricking want without worrying about balance. Deep stretch in the quads for max hypertrophy which then has great carry over to my real squat and even deadlifts.
I intend to do a similar set up with smith incline bench press as a secondary to my barbell bench at some point. I’ve also seen the RP guys use it for bent over rows which looks interesting.
Anyone who has sworn off smith machines because some fricking YouTuber or influencer douche makes jokes about it, give it a shot. I think the anti smith memes make people avoid it not because they’ve ever used it and decided it wasn’t for them, but because they’ve been deluded into thinking it’s some pussy version of superior lifts (which it kinda is, but it still has huge value in certain contexts) so they’ve never even tried it seriously.
Literally what's their point beside stealing your gains?
Hating smith machines is the gyms dunning kruger effect
Incline bench on the smith is the best chest exercise there is
only if you have no shoulder stability
which the lack of will mess up your bench press
because stabilisation is required for max force production
>"MUH STABILIZATION"
>physique still looks like shit
>smith chads mogging