SMITH MACHINE..7 DEGREE SLANT OR VERTICLE?

[LATS]

when i owned my gyms many manufactures were going to a 7 degree slant on the smith.. the reason being that it "duplicated" the bodys own natural movements.. well maybe.. but looking at it i would think that the eccentric would be compromised on the 7 degree slant. and essentially you would also be pushing against the railings.. just my take.. the straight up and down version would seem to be a better version.. i have used both.. what is the verdict??

 

[muscle_n_blood]

I absolutely prefer vertical.

 

[thebrick]

I absolutely prefer vertical.

me too.

 

[db006]

when i owned my gyms many manufactures were going to a 7 degree slant on the smith.. the reason being that it "duplicated" the bodys own natural movements.. well maybe.. but looking at it i would think that the eccentric would be compromised on the 7 degree slant. and essentially you would also be pushing against the railings.. just my take.. the straight up and down version would seem to be a better version.. i have used both.. what is the verdict??

how would it be pushing against the railings? the smith's in my gym have that slant. if you had the slant going back over your head during a bench, incline or even a military press it would mimic the correct form during those lifts, which is supposed to be a backwards C in a sense if im correct?? its not supposed to be straight up in down in other words??

 

[LATS]

my point being that no machine being guided on rods can duplicate the natural motion of the movement.. you are being guided by the rods.. next time someone uses this 7 degree slant watch to the side and you will notice them pressing straight up "against" the rods and the rods are directing th bar.. you are not directing the bar.. the only way this could be done is a smith that moves with you such as the jones machine.. my issue is the eccentric though.. is it a true eccentric.

 

[Jello]

It's going to keep you from moving the way you would naturally, but I don't know that it is going to make enough of a difference to matter. Any time you use a machine you are going to have some kind of sacrifice in natural movement compared to free weights, but they still have their advantages.