Smith machine squats.

[gazza]

Curious to hear people's opinions on these, primarily in regards to foot position. 

As anyone who has spent more than 10 minutes in a gym has probably noticed, the mechanics of the Smith machine causes the bar to travel further forward the lower it gets.

I see pretty much everyone trying to squat in this set up with their feet directly under the bar, which baffles me. Because as they descend they end up doubled over in a squished up good morning type position, often with their hips higher than the shoulders. To me this looks like a back injury waiting to happen, especially when they get adventurous and up the weight. Yet I have seen 'trainers' set clients like this.

I was shown to set up with my feet forward of center, mimicking a slightly less angled hack squat. I find this helps me keep my back straight and allows me to go all the way down and by varying the width if my feet and toe direction I can target specific areas better.

I know some say you shouldn't even bother doing squats in the Smith, but I like it to change things up a bit.

 

Anyway, the point/question is where should you place your feet?

 

[ratz99]

20 minutes ago, gazza said:

 

I was shown to set up with my feet forward of center, mimicking a slightly less angled hack squat. I find this

 

If i ever do them I do that too with my feet forward from the bar abit, or else that squashing shit  you mentioned ends up happening it feels awkward as f*ck, plus you feel like you're barely working your legs etc haha. I also see people doing that in the gym, i'm like da fuq, that must hurt.
 

[gazza]

@ratz99 glad I'm not the only one!

[Realtalk]

You would want your feet out and be pushing back into the bar. Your feet forward enough so that when you hit depth and push out that your back is straight and your knees are in a safe position which is probably not tracking forward at all. Probably better options for longevity of your body which will yield the same gain.