For anyone wondering a Smith Machine is essentially a barbell on a fixed plane. Meaning usually it only goes straight up and down, that means you dont have to use stabilizer muscles or try and balance, you can just load up the weight and fully isolate the muscle. A great tool to combine with compound lifts
@96hatt the muscle that needs to be worked with a specific movement is the one you can focus on because you don't need to worry about engaging other muscles for balance or stability. for example, you can focus entirely on the chest with bench press without having to worry about balancing/stabilizing the bar with other muscles.
@@yasashii89 he answered the question though? he said it in a long winded way but it boils down to "it can be useful if you mix it in with free weights"
Wise words, rule number 1 should be no injuries, controlled machines like the smith tend to ignore stabilizer muscles, but they help as you learn form or go heavier for hypertrophy. This is a man who will be training his physique into his 80s. Listen to him.
When I want lift heavy weight, and I don't have any spotter around probably I'll take the Smith machine just to feel secure lifting heavy weights. Bench incline press above all.
@@Censton The bar had dropped to your chest, you roll your chest right and dump the wts. Now you have a little over half the wt. The roll you chest left. Now you have just the bar to lift.
I love to use it to load up weight without a partner. If you get into trouble you just rack it. On a regular bench with no partner I’m not going above and beyond pushing my limits.
@Thomas I’ve always been able to lock on the smith. Plus it has a safety plunger that you can set for height. The regular bench lets you dump one side and the other side becomes a trebuchet.
Smith machine is all about safety. There's nothing wrong with being careful and wanting to workout without getting injured. You can even push yourself harder on machines than free weights too.
What I have at home is a Jones Smith machine. A great self spotting machine for lateral and vertical movement. However, free weights assist in balance and coordination. So always use both.
As a dyspraxic discovering the smith machine opened up fitness for me. We aren’t the most coordinated people in the world but gosh! It really helps! Especially with chest exercises
What's the difference between the Smith machine bench press and the barbell bench press as you have stated that the barbell bench press is no good for you.. isn't it the same???
I used to be really down on the smith machine but if you just push the intensity they’re fine. Most people I see complain about them look like shit but saw some jacked guy complain about them so they think that’s the correct answer. Intensity is key no matter what equipment you’re using!
The biggest benefit is the "safety pin"! Once the safety pin is in place, you don't even need a spotter and you feel more confident to put even more plates / weight without the fear of being squashed by the bar if you fail.
It gives me confidence because I have a permanent partially dislocated shoulder and when I max out reps or weight it can give out. The smith machine makes it so I can push to the limits and if it gives out I just lock it up wherever it is.
as I’ve told those before, the secret is that everything works, you just have to maintain proper form and understands the basic principles of exercising to utilize the potential of each exercise to build muscle.
How is this guy still pumping them weights? I’m 44 and have been lifting on and off my whole life. I can barely do compound movements anymore due to the strain on my tendons. Golfers/tennis elbow, constantly tearing muscles in my ribs, wrist issues etc. Kudos.
I'm 45. In my life I've seen so many bad things become good things, and good things become bad things. Ive come to realize that most things are still better than no things. Do something. Dont get hurt. You may not look like this guy or that guy, but you'll look and feel good for you.
“What I love about the Smith machine is you’ll see me squat on the Smith machine, you’ll see me bench on the Smith machine..” he doesn’t even answer his own question.
Thank you for mentioning the angles of the smith machine. I see alot of people neglect this concept and work against the machine when doing some exercises
Wish Jay would become a preacher. How cool would that be. Hearing Mr Olympia preaching about Nephelim giants, and how they became that way. And why they are returning in the form of UFOs.
We were just discussing the pros and cons about this.I think the Smith machine is safer than dealing with free weights,but having a training partner/spotter can take down the element of injury no matter what you use 😎👍🙏🤗💪
Dumbbells are my favorite too but when you set the smith up in the perfect position it feels incredible. Like I said I prefer dumbbells though as they really give me the best pump
they’re really good for beginners i feel like, i’ve just started going the past 2 months and that’s all i really use for squats because free weights kind of scare me and i don’t have anyone to spot me, and i just want to try and work on my form and the bar going directly vertical in a straight line really helps
Using a smith machine helps greatly if you have bad form. It kind of forces you to follow exactly one clear path, so you can focus on the correct muscle groups. Free weights are better in my opinion, but not if you have bad form.
I use the Smith machine sometimes depending what I'm doing for example, I prefer doing decline bench press close grip bench press, shoulder presses and shrugs on Smith machine.
Love smith machine when focusing on angles like hitting the upper chest. You can really mess around with it, once you get the sweet spot, it’s always going to be right for the next sets. It definitely help develop my upper chest since I was able isolate it even bette
I've heard the smith machine is bad for squats and benching because it forces your body to move along a strict path, causing straining and stress on joints
I used to do Incline bench press on a smith machine and it would cause my shoulders to hurt. After I switched to normal Incline with a barbell this no longer happens since I can use proper range of motion, I'm able to use more weight as well
Yeah I just switched to dumbbells for better range of motion on all my chest pressing. I've seen a HUGE difference. Now I just use the smith once in a while to ego lift when I see 3 or 4 big guys gathered around it and I want a challenge. I lift for aesthetics so every now and then I like to see if I still have raw strength. 👍🏽
Squats are fine, it can be good to get greater rom due to a lack of instability, almost like a hack squat. oh press should be ok but definitely not for chest pressing or deadlifts
Smith machine presses are good once in awhile for variety, but in my opinion people should stick with dumbells and probably Hammer Strength presses as a secondary pressing movement over Smith machine presses. The main problem I encounter with it is getting the shoulders aligned just right (to maximize tension on the pecs rather than the shoulder joints), which is why I recommend doing at least 2 warm up sets before going heavy (even if you're well into your chest workout already) to give you the opportunity to adjust where to align your shoulders under the bar. Once you've found that sweet spot, THEN go ahead and go relatively heavy (minimum 8 reps; I wouldn't recommend going for low rep sets or singles or doubles; too much chance for injury). When doing Smith presses, I like to close my eyes and just mentally focus on feeling the muscle expand and contract until I get to failure (picture when Flex Wheeler used to train; he often would have his eyes closed). Good luck everyone.
They’re also helpful for those recovering from an injury. They have the extra stability and additional safety features. It gives the person the peace of mind while working out and a lil boost confidence
Love when bodybuilders reinforce that using a machine that helps you control your movements doesn’t make you anything less than. I’ve heard (rarely. Maybe 1-2 times) people “joking” on someone else because they’re not free handing the barbell “like a man would”.
I have always loved the Smith Machine my personal favorite. Why? Because you dont need a spotter so you can progress more efficient. I love doing squats, incline and my ultimate favorite excercise decline bench pressing. Its just a drag having to move the benches towards the machine, but that machine is worth every penny.
Wow such a direct and to the point answer to the question how does it compare to free weights. I learned so much and am glad I know this information now -_-
I have a pro for the Smith machine. You can use it to test the waters, if you want to go up in weight. Which works for the solo man. I tested if I could bench 250 on the Smith. Did it, tried it on free weights. Passed
If you’re talking about isolation, smith machine is great, I find it allows you to squeeze out an extra reps per or two set but you don’t get the foundation of stability like with barbells or dumbbells
Smart answer as he didn’t answer the question leaving people in the comments to infer what he meant. This resulted in people assuming he was agreeing with their view…on both sides of the debate.
I injured my left shoulder over head pressing 405 lbs. I was out for 18 weeks. The smithmachine brought me back! I used it for shoulder press only, but it allowed me to safely work my way back to the open cage. At age 44, I healed and came back to a 415 seated strict overhead press. In the cage free weight! It's a piece of equipment that absolutely has its place in the gym.
I think it's ths machines are good to start on but they lock your mobility so where you may have been able to do another rep with a little swinging on your way back up that smith machine locks your movement to that track
Thank you so much Sir. Your these shorts have been invaluable resources for me to execute my workout more effectively. For the last few months, I have been seeing some gains that I didn't see for years cause I was doing everything wrong.
One exercise i truly miss was smith machine hack squats ,almost at the end of leg work out ,you can literally sit on your caves and get such a deep stretch since everything is full of blood and warm ,even 135 for reps feels amazing
I've always used a Smith Machine because I couldn't count on training buddies not showing up or showing up late. So then out of habit and comfort (mentally) I've always used a Smith.
Smith machine always do the work....I'd start with dumbells press and continue on Smith machine press and then using various machine press for chest.....it always do the job for me....
First off this goes back to 94. Yes, that would be 1994. So off and on. I STARTED with Smiths and continue to use them. Doesn't mean I don't free weight. You internet know it alls crack me up. Thanks for the laugh
I remember reading smith machines constrain you to a certain muscle group because the motion is controlled, where as free hand weights engage more muscles due to the small corrections/movements you do during lifting. Although I get better pumps on some machines, so there are benefits to both.
I was using it, had shoulder pain because it doesn’t follow the natural path of the shoulders movement. There is an arc at the top, the smith machine just goes straight up and down. When I switched to a barbell, the pain stopped. That’s just me!
