Why smith machines are bad

With the smith machine, because you have the barbell fixed in the frame and will only move in a vertical line, you will automatically compensate for this by correctly positioning your body. It is also good for you because the bar will not drop or pull you in any way. For example when doing bench press, rather than positioning yourself in the unracking position you have to place yourself in a position which will permit you to lower the bar in the same spot as you would do in free weight training.

If you do not do that, then your shoulders might go too far back. This will cause you to have a forced internal rotation of your rotator cuffs which can then result in injury. With the smith machine, you are able to position yourself correctly. Hence, making sure you can perform a wide range of exercises safely, even without a spotter. Many will debate that the smith machine does not isolate specific muscles.

However, it has already been proven that one of the major benefits when using the smith machine is that it can be utilized in order to effectively isolate a specific group of muscles. The smith machine allows you to significantly change the mechanics of certain movements that you are doing in order to train specific muscles that you want to adapt, since the equipment removes the element of stabilizing a bar.

Furthermore, because in the smith machine, the bar is locked into a fixed plane of motion, as a result, you do not need to use nearly as many stabilizer muscles as you would if you were lifting with free weights.

So when you are doing a bench press on a smith machine, it is possible to isolate your chest more than you might on a regular free weight bench press. Moreover, when you perform a smith machine squat, if you were to move your feet slightly forward, then you would definitely put more stress onto our quads. In this way, the smith machine squat acts more like that of a hack squat. This will be a great substitute in isolating your quad muscles especially if your gym does not have a hack squat machine.

In addition to that, the Smith machine can also provide significant advantages for the classic hip thrust exercise. The classic hip thrust is a glute exercise. This is performed through sitting on the ground with your shoulders propped up against a bench and a barbell on your lap. This is frequently done with a few padding on the bar in order to protect your fun bits.

After that, you extend your hips into the air. This may make people feel awkward especially when performing the exercise in the gym with many people. But, this exercise is also considered as one of the best glute workouts. With the smith machine, you can isolate your glutes better for more defined muscle toning and development. Another misconception that people have with the smith machine is that it does not train your stabilizer muscles.

As many people will say that one of the positive benefits of the smith machine is that it can be utilized in order to isolate certain muscle groups, as stated above. Many would also debate that a point against it is that the smith machine does not effectively make use of your stabilizer muscles.

However, all of this depends on your perspective. For many exercises, especially those that involve compound movements, they utilize more than one primary muscle group. This can include several stabilizer muscles that aid you in stabilizing the weight throughout the exercise.

For example, in performing a bench press, you need the stabilizer muscles of your shoulders. If someone who just started to workout performs the bench press, chances are that he or she will be shaking all over the place, because they have not yet developed the appropriate stabilizer muscles. Hence, it is not only important to be able to press the actual amount of weight but also stabilize the weight so that there are better exercise outcomes. This is where most people think that the smith machine can be a problem.

They think that if you keep using the smith machine for the majority of your sets, it will only make it more and more difficult for you to stabilize your muscles and to lift properly in the future.

This may be partly true. However, it must be noted that you must never perform all exercises such as bench press solely in the smith machine. That is not just logical. You must train your muscles using the smith machine, and then alternate it with a free weight exercise. The smith machines are designed to aid you in targeting a specific muscle group, just like what has been stated above. Staying on the chest workout, you might do your first work set on the smith machine in the flat bench press position.

To work your stabilising muscles, just add some sets of push ups after the smith work. On leg day, grab your weight plates and perform some lunges or split squats to compliment your squats on the smith machine. Well it is true that the smith machine does have a fixed range of motion. Yes the bar might follow a different path as compared to a barbell bench press and barbell squat. However is it any less natural than the movement of a leg press, leg extension, preacher curl, lying leg curl, seated calf raise machines I could keep on listing all the machines you find in a gym which most of us use.

To say that using a smith machine will lead to muscle imbalances and weaknesses should really be qualified. Smith Machines, like any weight training equipment or exercise when done improperly will lead to muscle imbalances, weaknesses and most importantly injury.

But if these people used the machine properly, with correct form and in the right order in their workout, they would see that the smith is a very valuable tool.

Just like any machine, you first need to learn how to use the smith machine to suit your own body shape. Simple things like adjusting your grip when benching enables you to shift the load on to different muscle groups. You can also position yourself under the bar, so it will be higher or lower on your chest to once again target different areas. Once again, the same applies for squats. Rather than standing in the same position when doing squats we can step forward and vary our feet width to shift the load in order to activate the targeted muscle or muscle group.

Plus front squats are easier for most to do on smiths — this is practically a different exercise to back squats, so adding this to your repertoire is priceless. For the record I hate to doing barbell front squats because my wrists are torched from heavy benching, so the smith machine is the only way I would do this great exercise. The main argument against using smith machine was that they cause injuries due to muscle imbalances and weaknesses after prolonged use.

Ironically the opposite is true, smith machines are frequently used in rehab to help build and strengthen the injured muscle. That is why you see them in elite sporting facilities. When an athlete is recovering from an injury and the joint is unstable, the smith machine allows them to work muscle groups with greater stability.

The smith machine is also a great tool to prevent injuries, as it is much safer to do some exercises when training by yourself.

When benching at the extremes like I do, lifting off the j-hooks without a spotter can be potentially dangerous as I have to overextend my shoulders which exposes me to risk of injury. We all have those days in the gym where we feel super strong and you want to push hard. But if there is no one here to give me a spot I might steer clear of the barbell bench press.

Doing this I have complete confidence, even going for a rep that I am doubtful as I know I can always lock out part way through the rep. It is this sort of extreme effort that helps to redefine your boundaries. The day SoCal Powerlifting gets a smith machine is the day I quit. The catch? So can everyone else, and literally no one cares.

Of course not. This is powerlifting. The sport of arching on the bench and pulling ultra wide stance sumo. One of the most common complaints against the smith machine is that it locks you into a specific range of motion, increasing injury risk. I agree with this critique whole-heartedly. Defenders of the smith machine will argue that this is the case with all machines, including those beloved by powerlifters such as the leg press, hack squat, chest supported row, etc.

Most of these machines support the back, but the smith machine does not. Without a neutral spine, the risk of injury skyrockets from the shearing forces created in the arched or rounded positions. They make you use your core muscles in order to maintain balance. As a result, they strongly reduce the risk of you injuring yourself outside of the gym from a basic task like bending over to pick something up.