It’s hard to think about one other machine that gets as much hate because the Smith machine.
Sometimes often called squat racks with training wheels, it really works by having a barbell travel vertically while guided on two rods. This helps to stabilize the burden so the lifter only must concentrate on pushing up and down.
“Yea, but it surely doesn’t work the stabilizer muscles, bro” is the overall response given by many lifters, who’ve learned barely enough to feel confident speaking about all these things (regardless that they have no research to back it up).
They are not mistaken. But, they’re also not right.
So what gives? Is the Smith machine good? Bad? Or simply misunderstood? Let’s discover.
Table of Contents:
- What Is A Smith Machine?
- Do Smith Machines Work?
- How Do Smith Machines Work?
- Are Smith Machines Bad?
- When Are Smith Machines Bad?
- Who Shouldn’t Use Smith Machines?
- 3 Smith Machine Myths
- When Are Smith Machines Good?
- What Are The Best Smith Machines?
- FAQs
What Is A Smith Machine?
Back in 1936, fitness pioneer Jack LaLanne opened America’s first health and fitness club in California. As his business grew within the Nineteen Fifties, he designed several pieces of kit, including various pulley systems and leg extensions.
One other piece of kit was a barbell with a sliding apparatus. It was meant to act as a self-spotting device to permit people to coach with heavier weights.
During this time, one other fitness entrepreneur by the name of Rudy Smith saw LaLanne’s original design. He made some tweaks and altered a few of the mechanics, after which began to mass produce them. And behold, the Smith machine was born.
The Smith machine is a big piece of kit that resembles a squat rack. A pair of rods is behind the 2 front uprights, and a barbell is attached and slides up and down on a sliding apparatus. On either side of the barbell are hooks that allow it to be secured at various heights in order that a solo person can rack and rerack the burden by themselves.
Over time, the Smith machine has seen its justifiable share of variations. One version has the metal rods barely angled back, resolving a few of the bar path issues( we’ll discuss this in additional detail below).
One other more advanced version is what’s sometimes called the 3-D Smith machine. On these, the barbell slides up and down 2 rods in a similar way. Nevertheless, these rods are attached to 2 more rods at the highest and bottom of the machine. These rods run backwards and forwards, allowing movement across two planes.
Do Smith Machines Work?
Yes! After all, the reply to this query relies heavily on what is supposed by “work.” Nevertheless, 1000’s of individuals have successfully used the Smith machine.
While free-weight compound lifts will at all times be our first alternative, that does not render the Smith machine useless. Quite the opposite, it is a proven approach to resistance training that gives useful results when utilized in the best situations.
The Smith machine moves on a set bar path which may limit the range of motion. Nevertheless, its design allows for heavy weights to simulate most exercises done with the barbell.
Doing so puts all of the concentrate on the prime movers slightly than the stabilizers, which may theoretically assist you to move more weight in the identical pattern. You’ll be able to get an idea of the sorts of moves you’ll be able to perform with this piece of kit in our article on the Best Smith Machine Exercises.
How Do Smith Machines Work?
As mentioned, the Smith machine resembles standard squat racks. On the primary two upright beams, a metal pole runs up and down parallel to them.
These two metal poles will act as a track for a barbell on a sliding mechanism, allowing the barbell to maneuver up and down with guidance. In other words, the barbell can’t move side-to-side or backwards and forwards.
As well as, larger hooks run up and down its entirety on the back side of the 2 front beams. These allow the barbell to latch onto to be secured at a desired location. If someone training alone has a problem standing a load up, they’ll turn the barbell to secure it. In this way, it acts as a built-in safety mechanism.
Using a Smith Machine, you’ll be able to perform every type of exercises, starting from the Smith Machine Bench Press to Smith Machine Squats.
Are Smith Machines Bad?
It’s tough to reply this with a 100% yes or 100% no, because the Smith machine is one among those pieces of kit that is nice in some circumstances and never in others. We dig into this rather a lot in our article that compares the Smith machine vs free weights.
When discussing whether Smith machines are bad, it really depends upon what you are doing and what type of Smith machine you may have. Don’t fret. We’ll discuss all of this.
When Are Smith Machines Bad?
There are just a few major criticisms of the Smith machine, which I need to deal with now.
1) They Don’t Allow For A Natural Path:
Since the bar is on a single-track path, the bar is just capable of go up or down. Unfortunately, this restriction could cause unnatural positions because the barbell doesn’t at all times move in a strict path when performed with free-weight barbell movements.
For instance, during a free-weight bench press, we assume we’re pushing the bar straight up. Nevertheless, the bar actually goes up in a J pattern and curves back to your head.
At the highest of the exercise, our hands are prolonged straight up, putting the barbell over our shoulders, after which we bring the barbell right down to our chest on the descent.
Now, take into consideration doing a Smith machine bench press. If the barbell starts above your shoulders, the fixed bar path means it might stay there the entire time. Whenever you bring it right down to chest-level, imagine how tight your shoulders would get attempting to press it up with the bar around your neck.
That lack of range of motion may even result in injury over time. You may also help counteract the shortage of range of motion by learning best form on a Smith machine before using it.
2) They Don’t Train The Stabilizer Muscles:
One other concern is that the Smith machine doesn’t train the stabilizer muscles, AKA any muscle that works to offer support slightly than being the first mover.
Let’s return to the movement pattern of free-weight bench presses.
On a Smith machine, the burden can only move on one plane: up and down. It is because the apparatus guides the burden, so the one muscles that must work are those actively pushing the burden up. In turn, it takes the stabilizer muscles out of the equation. The truth is, studies have shown that a free-weight squat can have 43% more muscle activation1!
3) They Allow For Lazy Technique:
Since the barbell is attached to the sliding apparatus, your form is not as necessary in keeping control of the barbell. For instance, when performing free-weight squats, the lifter must keep the barbell over the middle of gravity. Not doing so could cause all forms of trouble.
When doing Smith machine squats, the bar is held in place, counting on muscle force production alone to propel the barbell upwards. This rigidity signifies that, even in case your form fails, you would possibly still have the option to get the bar up through sheer strength.
Now this is not necessarily the fault of the Smith machine, but it surely does occur and is something you could pay attention to.
Who Shouldn’t Use Smith Machines?
There are two trainee groups who likely won’t profit as much as others when using the Smith machine.
1) Strength Athletes & Powerlifters:
The Smith machine will likely stunt your strength gains. Plus, any strength athletes who need to compete in the large three lifts (squat, bench, and deadlift) must squat under a barbell. It’s an actual event within the competition, so if you happen to don’t train the way you compete, you will not perform.
In case your primary goal is strength, then the Smith machine doesn’t profit you much.
2) Athletes:
As well as, the transfer to athletic performance can be blunted as sports and movement occur in free space. Unfortunately, the Smith machine only works on two planes, which limits its real-world application.
Again, free weights could be the superior option for this group.
3 Smith Machine Myths
Okay, we went over the cons. Now, let’s touch on some common myths concerning the Smith machine. After all, a few of these aren’t necessarily myths, but slightly, are misinformed and do not address the complete topic.
The truth is, a few of these debunk the thoughts within the section above on what makes the Smith machine “bad.”
1) The Smith Machine Doesn’t Train The Stabilizer Muscles.
In order we saw above, the Smith machine does cut out quite a lot of muscle activation from stabilizers. Nevertheless, that assumes the person desires to train the stabilizer muscles.
There are quite a lot of machines utilized by individuals who dislike the Smith machine. For instance, the leg press is some of the common pieces of kit used almost universally by beginners, veterans, strength athletes, and bodybuilders.
Nevertheless, nobody has ever complained concerning the leg press not working the stabilizing muscles. You’ll be able to see the identical thing for back row machines, chest press machines, hack squat machine…you see what we’re getting at.
The purpose is that using stabilizing muscles doesn’t resolve a machine’s value. Reasonably, it just narrows down its specific purpose.
2) The Smith Machine Is Bad For Your Joints.
Much like the parable concerning the stabilizer muscles, there may be some truth to this. Nevertheless, that doesn’t suggest every exercise is bad. You simply must be mindful of this problem along with your exercise selection.
For instance, split squats are a terrific option as your torso should remain vertical. You could possibly argue it might even be higher for quad development because it removes the stabilizer muscles (see how the situation dictates if something is nice or bad?)
The incline bench press still makes a J pattern when benching, so this may increasingly not be nearly as good for the Smith machine, but in shoulder presses, the bar moves straight up. Briefly, some exercises work higher with the Smith machine, while others don’t.
So again, these statements are myths because they only apply the statement to certain situations.
3) You Cannot Construct Strength With The Smith Machine.
That is just silly. You’ll be able to improve muscular strength with nearly any movement that permits progressive overload.
So here’s a thought experiment: As an instance your 5-rep max on Smith squats is 200 kilos. You then use progressive overload and increase your five-rep max to 225 kilos. What happened?
Naysayers will likely say something about how it is not real strength because the stabilizer muscle groups aren’t being trained. While this is not entirely unfaithful, your primary muscle groups are still getting stronger.
To be clear, free weight exercises are superior, but acting as if basic physiology doesn’t apply to the Smith machine is silly.
Still, what if you happen to don’t care about strength? Not every exercise we do is good for strengthening a muscle. Some are more geared toward hypertrophy, but that does not make that exercise bad.
When Are Smith Machines Good?
Smith machines are definitely useful in several situations. Listed below are legitimate times when chances are you’ll want to take a look at the Smith machine.
1) You are Training For Hypertrophy:
Again, many complaints concerning the Smith machine assume that folks need to train for strength. Yes, the machine stabilizes the burden, but so does every other machine.
Many individuals prefer stability for muscle hypertrophy because it allows a lifter to hit a muscle group hard. At the identical time, it allows compound exercises which implies you’ll be able to move heavy loads.
2) Rehab:
Some people going through rehabilitation cannot profit from the added stability within the movements. The truth is, machines are generally the popular piece of kit utilized in rehabilitation settings.
The Smith machine allows a big number of movements with only one machine, making it a helpful tool for this population.
3) Elderly And Special Pops:
Again, not everyone can do barbell squats or other exercises with a barbell. Perhaps their balance is off, or their core muscles aren’t strong enough to support the instability.
Because the Smith machine provides added stability with its double rail system, these groups can profit and still get a protected workout.
What Are The Best Smith Machines?
In the event you’ve reached the purpose by which you’ve got determined a Smith machine is best for you, your next step is to search out one which works well.
For detailed guidance on this, you should definitely take a look at our article on the 7 Best Smith Machines.
My personal favorite is the Force USA G3 as it is not only a Smith machine but a full cable pulley system machine as well. It might make an awesome singular piece of kit for a house gym!
FAQs
Let’s address a few of your more often asked questions.
Is the Smith machine bad for squats?
As a result of the limited movement restrictions, the Smith machine can place unwanted stress on the back. Due to this fact, we recommend doing a free-weight squat and possibly using the Smith machine for split squat varieties.
Is A smith Machine Bad For Bench Pressing?
Since the bench machine goes up and down, it doesn’t accommodate the natural J-pattern in a correct bench press movement.
Is the Smith machine good for anything?
Absolutely. The Smith machine works well to concentrate on muscles during compound movements.
Is a Smith machine bar 45 kilos?
No. The barbell of most Smith machines weighs around 30 kilos. Nevertheless, as a consequence of the friction from the sliding apparatus, the barbell can feel even lighter. Different machines can have barely different measurements, so consider this when counting your load.
Is A Smith machine higher or worse than free weights?
We’re not going to make use of the word “worse.” Nevertheless, normally, free weights are higher than the Smith machine. The free barbell allows freedom of movement and requires more muscle activation. So, for instance, for major moves just like the bench press, a free weight bench press is probably going the higher option.
Are Pushups Bad on a Smith Machine?
No! Many individuals use the Smith machine for incline and decline pushups. Because it allows different heights, it might make these pushups more or more easy.
Are Smith Machines Dangerous?
Smith machines be dangerous as a consequence of the fixed bar path. But if you happen to use correct form and perform the best sorts of exercises on them, they usually are not.
So, Are Smith Machines Bad? What We have Learned
With the Smith machine in comparison with free weight movements equivalent to the barbell bench press or barbell squat, we still think the barbell is the superior training method. The human body just is not meant to only move on a singular plane with a set path.
But this does not imply the Smith machine is not helpful in the best scenarios.
Loads of gym goers successfully use the Smith machine to attain their goals, so don’t let the naysayers keep you from incorporating it into your workout.
