Smith Machine Squats

[Mike]

I have started doing these as I am quite tall and inflexible, and have also had a few lower back and knee issues in the past - to the point I have hurt myself doing squats once or twice and have tended to shy away from them. However i've just started these and have found them really quite comfortable.

I have found that doing squats on the smith machine I can lift less but go down to parallel or even a bit lower which is great. The one thing i'm not sure about is foot placement. As the bar is in a rigid line what is the best foot place ment so that I get a solid quad workout. I get a pretty good glute workout with deadlifts and hammy's too so reall just looking to push my quad development with this move.

Cheers

[chchardgainer]

just about shoulder width is good

if your feet are 2 close together you will work the outer quads if they are far apart you will work the inner quads

feet. straight ahead or angled slightly outward.

:shifty:

[big MAC]

Smith Machine squats!

That's heresy!!

Use the bar for reps and add weight slowly. The SM will screw your back in no time flat if you ever get heavy with it.

[2guns]

The SM will screw your back in no time flat if you ever get heavy with it.

guys do 4pps on smith machine all the time, i like smith machine squats too

[big MAC]

The SM will screw your back in no time flat if you ever get heavy with it.

guys do 4pps on smith machine all the time, i like smith machine squats too

Right, if one goes deep in the smith machine you'll hugely increase your chances of injury, half or 3/4 squats, probably not. Watch a guy squat deep from the side angle, your bodies natural movement plane is never straight up and down.

[Mike Zero]

The SM will screw your back in no time flat if you ever get heavy with it.

guys do 4pps on smith machine all the time, i like smith machine squats too

Right, if one goes deep in the smith machine you'll hugely increase your chances of injury, half or 3/4 squats, probably not. Watch a guy squat deep from the side angle, your bodies natural movement plane is never straight up and down.

Ditto.

What does the OP mean by lower back and knee issues? If your lower back is healthy enough to do deadlifts it should be fine for squats. And your knees are going to be at a much on a smith machine bigger risk because you can't have any torso lean. Just sort out the inflexibility and do Barbell Squats. From a BBing POV, nothing has made my legs grow more than Barbell Squats.

[2guns]

Watch a guy squat deep from the side angle, your bodies natural movement plane is never straight up and down.

:roll: people who claim that thers a forced ROM are full of it! if u watch your form... well then u go down and you go up... u keep your back straight and look at the ceiling... its the same either way!! if not your form is not right

imo, its just a matter of preference, period. i have also found that people who bad mouth smith machines have never really trained with one, its like saying u hate a certain food and you aint even tried it

having said that it all depends on wat u want to achieve out of your training, but remember squats arent the only leg exercise u do are they

[diamond]

i have used the smith machine for all sorts. incline/decline/ flat bench press, shoulders, and lately have been using it for bend over rows.

it's a good way to train if you want to go heavy and don't have a spotter.

you can even do calf raises on a sm if you dont have a proper calf raise machine.

If you are trying to get a good overall package you should probably look at ways of using it as part of your workout from time to time.

[Goldberg]

i have used the smith machine for all sorts. incline/decline/ flat bench press, shoulders, and lately have been using it for bend over rows.

it's a good way to train if you want to go heavy and don't have a spotter.

you can even do calf raises on a sm if you dont have a proper calf raise machine.

If you are trying to get a good overall package you should probably look at ways of using it as part of your workout from time to time.

My thoughts exactly.

[ExpensiveUrine]

Bar path is not the same for S-machine squat when compared to normal back squat due to individual leverages (movement is not just vertical, there's a horizontal component to it) but if you can't do proper back/front squat with a bar then it's better than nothing.

This is still my favorite S-machine squat:

[Marcus]

If you can figure out a way to free squat I would do so, however smith machine squats are an adequate alternative. I have been using them now to take some stress from my knees, however free squats are better.

[I_lift]

I have the same issues with back and both knees. I have recently changed from doing Free Squats to Smith Squats. I'm not able to lift as much on the Smith Machine but I like the movement more. Straight line. Legs get just as sore.

[big MAC]

Watch a guy squat deep from the side angle, your bodies natural movement plane is never straight up and down.

:roll: people who claim that thers a forced ROM are full of it! if u watch your form... well then u go down and you go up... u keep your back straight and look at the ceiling... its the same either way!! if not your form is not right

imo, its just a matter of preference, period. i have also found that people who bad mouth smith machines have never really trained with one, its like saying u hate a certain food and you aint even tried it

having said that it all depends on wat u want to achieve out of your training, but remember squats arent the only leg exercise u do are they

Mate, I started off using a Smith for squats and used them a ton when I was a thrower. Read expensiveurines post, I stand by that point of view. I'm not saying they're evil, but from an injury perspective, they're hardly safer. If one can't squat properly there are a ton of ways round it, but learning to squat is always a great idea.

[AK]

Bar path is not the same for S-machine squat when compared to normal back squat due to individual leverages (movement is not just vertical, there's a horizontal component to it) but if you can't do proper back/front squat with a bar then it's better than nothing.

This is still my favorite S-machine squat:

That is the deepest Good Morning I ever seen :pfft:

[Mike]

Man that got alot of replies. With regard to my back and knees. My knees tend to skew inwards alot whenever bend them and I find that with the smith I have more control over the speed at which I move. I can deadlift alot more than I can squat - I don't think that my lower back is bad from an injury per say just that my BB squat technique is far too poor and I end up injuring my lower back. Have slipped a disk twice doing this.

But as for SM squats being heresy and a bad idea - isnt anything better than injuring yourself...? I'd rather do these than waste myself doing something else and be out for ages.

[2guns]

But as for SM squats being heresy and a bad idea

they are not, personally i do free squat with a bb as part of my leg routine as well as smith machine and i can tekll u they arent a no no at all

[ExpensiveUrine]

Looks like you made up your mind already. Of course you can always go back and learn proper technique on the back squat. Just keep in mind that you can get injured on both.

That is the deepest Good Morning I ever seen :pfft:

Yea, he's got the eccentric part down...

[AK]

With regard to my back and knees. My knees tend to skew inwards alot .

Hmmm... if your knees buckle in there are a few issues you will need to adress... Number 1 is your glutes are probably not activating or not strong enough. They are very important knee stabalisers ... if your glutes do not fire than the surinding dominant muscels like the spinal erectors / hamstrings will take over the movement.

( Probably one of the reasons you can deadlift significantly more than squat... all the work you done made some nice contribution to your spinal erectors ... but wonder if in your deadlift your but shoots up relativelly early and way before you lock out your deadlift???)

My advice would be to do a search on glute activation (especially glute medium... x - band walk etc... )and mobility work also read everything you can fing from Mike Robertson he has his on website do a search... articles like buletproof knees and fix your force couples come to mind.

Hope it helps .....

On the free vs SM squat .... this is what I have to say ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vE3nOTQn-0

just my 2 cents...

[Goldberg]

Hmmm... if your knees buckle in there are a few issues you will need to adress... Number 1 is your glutes are probably not activating or not strong enough. They are very important knee stabalisers ... if your glutes do not fire than the surinding dominant muscels like the spinal erectors / hamstrings will take over the movement

AK is correct, it sounds like your Glute muscles are your weak area, you need to really focus on your glute muscles when performing the Concentric part of the movement.

I usually only do 2 sets of squats, I do 1 set of 4-8 reps with free weight barbell squats, then i do 1 set of 20 reps on the smith machine

[AK]

I usually only do 2 sets of squats, I do 1 set of 4-8 reps with free weight barbell squats, then i do 1 set of 20 reps on the smith machine

Goldberg...

You may find this article intresting / informativ. Hope you enjoy it...

http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=459292

[Dumbelldog]

I find them very good and I can go extra deep with them.

However there is a secret to them.

[rigger]

Come on DB Dog. I know you want us to ask. What is your SECRET oh mighty one.

[Killer T]

How much does a Smith Machine bar weigh?

[2guns]

How much does a Smith Machine bar weigh?

depends on the machine from my exp. but only a tosser would count the smith machine bar as part of the squat weight or wateva the exercise might be

[Killer T]

How much does a Smith Machine bar weigh?

depends on the machine from my exp. but only a tosser would count the smith machine bar as part of the squat weight or wateva the exercise might be

Thanks buddy...thanks, but that doesn't answer my question