Smith Machine

Hey guys

I train from home as the little dorpie I live in doesn't have a gym. Bought my own equipment and machines and its an ongoing process. Very expensive one. Sadly its nothing compared to admins home gym
I work in a neighboring town that is much bigger and has a gym and commute daily.

Anyway Wednesdays we have a "sport" afternoon at work so I decided to go to the local gym. Decided that wednesdays will be my leg training days seeing as I don't have a leg press machine at home. The squat rack wasn't available (I'll get to that later) so I decided to squat in the smith machine. I noticed that I can't squat as much in the smith machine as compared to free squats. By this I mean I have to use a lighter weight. Why is this? Years ago when I went to a gym daily I remember having the same issue with shoulder presses using the smith machine.

Only explanation I can think of is because the route of the weight or movement is fixed so u can't "cheat" or compensate using supporting muscles to lift heavier weight. In essence the form is stricter due to the fixed position and therefore impacting more directly on the targeted muscle group? Would this be correct?

P.S. Why do guys in a gym insist on doing all other crap exercises in the squat rack??? Surely they can't be THAT lazy to pick a weight up from the floor. Very frustrating. Definitely prefer working out alone.

Full marks for your dedication under the training conditions! Maybe it is because of the restricted range of motion you have on the Smith machine. I do my barbell shruggs on the Smith machine and do quite a bit more compared to dumbell shruggs. Not much motion involved here though

Thanks ABC! I really love this. Been training almost 11 years now but have come a long way the last few years thanks to experience and this forum. Like I said the town is quite isolated and the nearest city is East London which is not that big either. So took time to get to know the right people with the right advice etc.

Coming back to the topic, yep, can't really use the shrugs as a comparison. I generally lift much more weight with a barbell than dumbells when doing shrugs anyway. So doubt the machine has something to do with it.

To add to your assumption I also think the friction on the sliders has an influence??

Did you place your feet in front of the bar so you were at a angle and not straight up? The smith machine takes some getting used to for squats.

MikeM1 wrote: To add to your assumption I also think the friction on the sliders has an influence??

i agree with mike, feel the motion with no weight, and if it feels sticky or so thats a big factor, in my VA, the smith machines are USELESS! its like pressing 60kgs cause of how sticky the sliders are when that bar has no plates on...

PoisonedPulse wrote:

MikeM1 wrote: To add to your assumption I also think the friction on the sliders has an influence??

i agree with mike, feel the motion with no weight, and if it feels sticky or so thats a big factor, in my VA, the smith machines are USELESS! its like pressing 60kgs cause of how sticky the sliders are when that bar has no plates on...

Good idea - sticky or not. Get a feel for the motion.
Feet placing etc.

Our smith machine at VA it gives roughly an additional 15kg of friction.its not a nice machine to use.

Yep, had the form and foot placing right. Made sure of that as I know most guys make the mistake of placing their feet too forward (I did that myself when I started out years ago). I tried my best to use the same stance and form as when I do free squats and also as deep as possible. Never took the friction into consideration though and it is quite a sticky one. Thanx for that Mike!

smith machine neutralizes a lot of your stabilizers which help you to go heavier.. they force the weight onto the muscle group you are working without much play or movement.. hence why you can't go as heavy.. there's none of that ability to compensate with your stabilizers as much as you can on free weights.. at least that is what i was told in my course to take into account when shifting clients between free weights and smith.

I wonder if thia will finally shut up the people who mock those who do insane weights on the smith by saying crap like "ita easier on the smith machine coz of x, y and z"

i do upright rows on the smith machine and its a killer. free weights very easy compared to smith. hehe. i dont use it for anything else. i like free weights. works way more muscle.

Deadgoat wrote: I wonder if thia will finally shut up the people who mock those who do insane weights on the smith by saying crap like "ita easier on the smith machine coz of x, y and z"

Well it definitely isn't easier! Will be using both smith and free weight for squats on an alternate basis from now on

MCJ wrote:

Deadgoat wrote: I wonder if thia will finally shut up the people who mock those who do insane weights on the smith by saying crap like "ita easier on the smith machine coz of x, y and z"

Well it definitely isn't easier! Will be using both smith and free weight for squats on an alternate basis from now on

Its easier for me. And safer. I know where the weight is at, at all times through the rep and i can concentrate on the exercise hitting the right spot.

MCJ wrote: Hey guys

I train from home as the little dorpie I live in doesn't have a gym. Bought my own equipment and machines and its an ongoing process. Very expensive one. Sadly its nothing compared to admins home gym
I work in a neighboring town that is much bigger and has a gym and commute daily.

Anyway Wednesdays we have a "sport" afternoon at work so I decided to go to the local gym. Decided that wednesdays will be my leg training days seeing as I don't have a leg press machine at home. The squat rack wasn't available (I'll get to that later) so I decided to squat in the smith machine. I noticed that I can't squat as much in the smith machine as compared to free squats. By this I mean I have to use a lighter weight. Why is this? Years ago when I went to a gym daily I remember having the same issue with shoulder presses using the smith machine.

Only explanation I can think of is because the route of the weight or movement is fixed so u can't "cheat" or compensate using supporting muscles to lift heavier weight. In essence the form is stricter due to the fixed position and therefore impacting more directly on the targeted muscle group? Would this be correct?

P.S. Why do guys in a gym insist on doing all other crap exercises in the squat rack??? Surely they can't be THAT lazy to pick a weight up from the floor. Very frustrating. Definitely prefer working out alone.

This morning there were ou's doing:
1. Seated dumbbell curls on the bench press benches
2. Those seated crunch things where you sit on the edge of the bench and bring your knees to your chest.

They took up BOTH bench press benches! When there are OTHER benches to use... grrrrrrrr.....

jackrabbit1 wrote:

MCJ wrote:

Deadgoat wrote: I wonder if thia will finally shut up the people who mock those who do insane weights on the smith by saying crap like "ita easier on the smith machine coz of x, y and z"

Well it definitely isn't easier! Will be using both smith and free weight for squats on an alternate basis from now on

Its easier for me. And safer. I know where the weight is at, at all times through the rep and i can concentrate on the exercise hitting the right spot.

Yeah but u not normal JR. LOL

Warrenpridgeon wrote:

MCJ wrote: Hey guys

I train from home as the little dorpie I live in doesn't have a gym. Bought my own equipment and machines and its an ongoing process. Very expensive one. Sadly its nothing compared to admins home gym
I work in a neighboring town that is much bigger and has a gym and commute daily.

Anyway Wednesdays we have a "sport" afternoon at work so I decided to go to the local gym. Decided that wednesdays will be my leg training days seeing as I don't have a leg press machine at home. The squat rack wasn't available (I'll get to that later) so I decided to squat in the smith machine. I noticed that I can't squat as much in the smith machine as compared to free squats. By this I mean I have to use a lighter weight. Why is this? Years ago when I went to a gym daily I remember having the same issue with shoulder presses using the smith machine.

Only explanation I can think of is because the route of the weight or movement is fixed so u can't "cheat" or compensate using supporting muscles to lift heavier weight. In essence the form is stricter due to the fixed position and therefore impacting more directly on the targeted muscle group? Would this be correct?

P.S. Why do guys in a gym insist on doing all other crap exercises in the squat rack??? Surely they can't be THAT lazy to pick a weight up from the floor. Very frustrating. Definitely prefer working out alone.

This morning there were ou's doing:
1. Seated dumbbell curls on the bench press benches
2. Those seated crunch things where you sit on the edge of the bench and bring your knees to your chest.

They took up BOTH bench press benches! When there are OTHER benches to use... grrrrrrrr.....

I think complaining on this forum about this is like preaching to the converted - but it is damn irritating! In my gym there's always this oke doing EVERYTHING in the squat rack. From barbell bicep curls (with 5kg plates a side), bent over rows right through to shrugs.

But what's more irritating is a gym that charges R510 per month and only has one squat rack.