smith machine vs free weight squat

Thata like asking if you should buy a car or steal a car?.. Work hard and get that damn car man.... Therfore free weights.. You trigger more muscle throughout ur body.. Hitting all ur stablizer muscles.. Ur glutes, hammies, bicep femoris, calvs, even your core man.. As far as smith machine or any machine never use them for benching..deadlift or squat.. It will promote less developement in the muscle all around.. When you do free weights you trigger more growth throughout ur whole body!!!.. Eat.train.rest.. Dont sell urself short
 
Oh come on!! The LE in that picture are busting him because he's doing an anavar only cycle!
 
I sometimes workout in the gym at my work which has a smith mach and sometimes at home in my home gym that has the power rack. I did a shoulder workout at my work doing smith mach press then did dumbells and shit like that. The next day my right shoulder was KILLING me. When I rotated it i would get a crack and a pop. I was like wtf is going on here?
Being locked into the way the bar tracks obviously caused some bad grinding that didnt agree with my shoulder.

The smithy blows!
 
yellowballs said:
I sometimes workout in the gym at my work which has a smith mach and sometimes at home in my home gym that has the power rack. I did a shoulder workout at my work doing smith mach press then did dumbells and shit like that. The next day my right shoulder was KILLING me. When I rotated it i would get a crack and a pop. I was like wtf is going on here?
Being locked into the way the bar tracks obviously caused some bad grinding that didnt agree with my shoulder.

The smithy blows!
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Exactly right. The smith machine is locked in one plane of motion. This plane maybe good for persona A but not for B, C, D, etc. It 100% absolutely cannot take into account anthropometrical differences and often leads to injury.
 
I smith machine squatted for about 4 months because I no longer had anyone who would spot me...

saw zero gains. if anything my legs were getting smaller/less defined

Went back to free weight squats, and boom, legs are massive once again
 
So I hurt my back and I can't do back squats at all but I can do front squats and leg presses and smith backs. For a leg workout I do 5x5 front squat 5x3 back squat and 5x8-15 in leg press + accessory. I have done this for 3 weeks and have been injured for over a year unable to back squat even 135 without pain. I can front squat 225x5 as of today pain free.

So you think I should just throw the smithies out?

BW these last 3 weeks are the first time I have used a smith bc I am of your school of thought!
 
I hate smith squats, but my gym doesn't have a power rack, and this is the only gym that hasn't threatened to kick me out for deadlifting. The only time I use the smith the squat is for supersets, bad on your back, body isn't meant to move perfectly like it forces you to do. its un-natural.
 
Uso said:
If squatting hurts your back... It's you not the barbell. You have a mobility and imbalance problem that the smith machine will not only just mask it for now; but I guarantee you will develop even worse imbalances leading to more issues and a worse back. No offense meant, and I don't know what's going one with you in particular; but find out what is wrong and fix it. Squatting is a very natural movement for us.

As for benefits of a smith machine... None in my opinion. Anything that trains the body to not work synergistically is more harmful then helpful. Like said before every muscle in the legs play a vital role in a squat, don't take one out of the game.

And I don't know maybe I'm just being mean but I feel anyone on a smith machine is looking to put in some easy leg work ... Squats fucking suck! And that's why so many of us crazies love them!!
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I am actually offended by this as somebody with serious lower back
Issues. For now, I'm doing everything to strengthen my lower back and abdominals, and having to use a smith machine is a big part of that. Before I got hurt, leg day and specifically back
Squats was my absolute most favorite. At 240 lbs and 17 years old I had a 455x 3 squat, nice and deep. Now I simply can only back squat with 185 max and that just destroys my back, talk about no sleep that night. With a smith machine, I get to train my squat still and the small amount of stabilizing muscles required is perfect for me and my limited back, in the last 8 weeks I've made massive improvements. I'm still always in more pain after but it's bearable and I'm able to keep lifting heavier iron.
 
IamFuzzy said:
I am actually offended by this as somebody with serious lower back
Issues. For now, I'm doing everything to strengthen my lower back and abdominals, and having to use a smith machine is a big part of that. Before I got hurt, leg day and specifically back
Squats was my absolute most favorite. At 240 lbs and 17 years old I had a 455x 3 squat, nice and deep. Now I simply can only back squat with 185 max and that just destroys my back, talk about no sleep that night. With a smith machine, I get to train my squat still and the small amount of stabilizing muscles required is perfect for me and my limited back, in the last 8 weeks I've made massive improvements. I'm still always in more pain after but it's bearable and I'm able to keep lifting heavier iron.
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I don't particularly see why you'd take offense to that post but he's absolutely right. All you're doing in a smith machine is masking the problem. Also You cannot train your squat on a smith machine, a squat is a free weight compound exercise and a natural human movement form centuries of evolution, a smith machine is a cheap hydraulically assisted power rack. IMO, trying to classify a squat performed on a smith machine as a squat is an futile
 
DreDay187 said:
I don't particularly see why you'd take offense to that post but he's absolutely right. All you're doing in a smith machine is masking the problem. Also You cannot train your squat on a smith machine, a squat is a free weight compound exercise and a natural human movement form centuries of evolution, a smith machine is a cheap hydraulically assisted power rack. IMO, trying to classify a squat performed on a smith machine as a squat is an futile
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I agree they're not in the same class. Ultimately and ideally I'm trying to squat again, but the biggest part is fear that I'm going to hurt myself. I'm not the only one I've seen a few posts of people afraid to squat after injury. I guess it is right to say its a bandaid I can't disagree with that
 
IamFuzzy said:
I agree they're not in the same class. Ultimately and ideally I'm trying to squat again, but the biggest part is fear that I'm going to hurt myself. I'm not the only one I've seen a few posts of people afraid to squat after injury. I guess it is right to say its a bandaid I can't disagree with that
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Ok so now we're getting somewhere lol. Your goal is great if you're trying to get under a free bar instead of smith machine brother. Years ago I was a planet fitness member and that's all they had so I've been on Botha ends. The best thing to do is start light or body weight squats and work your way back up slowly. You cannot squat 500lbs without having developed all the muscles and CNS activation to do so. My point is we all start somewhere, our progress is gauged by how far away we get from out starting point. It's no race so going slow to reduce risk of Reinjury is prudent. My adovdenis to start light weights or body weight and increase in weight gradually. Once or twice a week depending on how you set your training up. Keep reps relatively low, intensity should start to get higher after a few weeks and volume can be done light or heavy. Make sure to use good form. Another great option is to do box squats.

What exactly was your injury and how long ago? What treatments did you do and how do you feel now? Let's get you out of the smith machine and under a real bar bro, you will be much happier for it in the long run.
 
I should start off by saying I'm only 2 years out of highschool. I stopped my training at the end of my graduating year, I didn't want to but I just started working and had a long distance relationship, I was busy. Despite gaining 25 lbs but losing an incredible amount of strength and muscle, I played another season of community footbal after highschool. In the all-star game last April, I didn't actually do anything specific, and the doctors think my lower back just detiroated over time, but since the game the MRI 's show two herniated disks that I'm slowly been recovering from.
I believe because I gained so much weight but lost all of my core strength is how I screwed my back, I wanna get back in football shape is my goal and I've made a lot of progress in the past 6 weeks. I think I'm going to take your advice about getting under that squat bar starting next week.
 
imo barbell is the best mass builder since its a free weight and the exercise move with you but to me the smith machine is more isolated and youre in a fixed movement similar to a hack squat so i would save it toward then end one legs were fully pumped and angle my feet to target different parts of the quad or else i just feel it in my joints instead of my muscles
 
This has been a motivating read. I used to squat heavy and got to where I was moving some impressive weight for reps. Due to knee, lower back issues, and Dr.'s advice I backed off the barbell squats and have been pre-exhausting with extensions, leg curls, and leg press before doing smith squats. Now I think I will try barbell squatting again. That is if I can get the curlers out of the squat rack. Several guys at my gym love to curl in the squat rack.
 
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