Smith Machine vs. traditional benches

[Nymusclehead]

As I get older I find the need for working out safer and smarter, Ive hurt myself doing military press's with the regular milatary bench and find it safer on the smith machine,Now its not only military press's, its various exercises/bodyparts that I need to beware of,getting older has takin a toll on my joints,so I find it easier with these machine and others(hammer strenght)so on ,you get my drift,as far as dumbells Oh well I do what I can and I dont seem to have as much problems with those,but the heavier routines that warrant bench pressing/squats/shrugs Im finding it better for me personally. So I just wanted to hear what some of you guys felt and ideas you could share Thanx..........

 

[Braven]

I use smith machine when doing incline presses for my heavy sets when going to failure because i train alone, so i can train 100%. just use dumbells for flat, flyes and military presses cos if i fail i can just drop them. No point risking an injury

 

[G-MAN]

Hey I have used the smith machine for the last year and I have made great gains from it I do flat incline and decline. I also use it for shrugs and shoulder press along with squats. You can concentrate on the muscle group better and I think it hits the area harder. I due have a partner and it works fine with or without. the risk of harm is less and the concentration on the muscle group is excelent.
I still do regular exercies but less on the bench and more on the smith best of both worlds..

"Train hard Train smart"

 

[phreak]

IMO the smith machine makes you more prone to injury, because it locks you in a motion that may not be ideal for your biometrics. add to this the ability to pack on more weight than you would use with freeweights and you are asking for it (once again IMO)

i would rather use freeweights with less weight, concentrating on proper execution. you get better growth this way anyways, because you are using all the assistor groups you don't need when using the smith.

 

[MrWannabe]

I tend to agree with phreak. Your body knows perfect biomechanics. A smith machine going exactly straight up and down is not how your body would perform the movements whether squating or pressing. I actually had some bad back issues a couple of years ago and the first incidence occured while squating with a smith machine! I understand peoples likes of the smith machine, hell I still love it and it has great upsides. No doubt though the safest and healthiest way to train is to let the body move in its own natural patterns. It may seem hard to do but real training is damn hard as you know, to do free standing squats with great form is hard but it is the best and safest way to build leg strength/mass, and the same should be applied to all the other body parts and their basic movements. You gotta train with weight that allows you to do the exercises properly so that you can maintain the stability of your joints while still exhausting the muscle group. When you can handle that weight well its time to push yourself again and slightly use more weight. This is how you should train regardless of age, this is simple progressive overload. Thanks for listening to me folks...Peace.

 

[cchrisjj]

Hurt

I agree smith machine limits natural movement. Use less weight and use traditional machines. SOund like you might not be using the best form. hire a personnel trainer, a good one, and have them watch your form.

 

[ironone1]

I use free weights. The Smith machine doesn't let your other stabilizer muscles get involved. Its actually lesser weight because of the counterweight that balances the bar so it doesn't weigh anything.

 

[oldfella]

phreak and mrwannabe I agree. Been training a long time and I use the smith machine on occassion for chest work. Great when training solo. I prefer free weights as the above posts mention. Allows for free range of motion and that ='s less stress on joints. I think IMO that free weights build a more dense looking muscle.

 

[MT]

I totally agree with phreak here. The Smith machine dictates a predetermined straight path to your movements which is not how the body naturally moves. Especially with squats. This all results in more stress and strain in your joint areas. I hope Big A can chime in here, as i believe he too is a Smith machine hater!

 

[iron fist]

I use free weights. The Smith machine doesn't let your other stabilizer muscles get involved. Its actually lesser weight because of the counterweight that balances the bar so it doesn't weigh anything.

What counterweight are you talking about? I have a smith machine in my home gym, and bar weights 50lbs. If you stick your head under it and let
go, i promise your going to feel a 50 lb steel bar bash your head. LOL

 

[Ashop]

I think smith machines have there place in training equipment...I prefer the hammer strength line.

 

[TestPolska]

I feel they have their place in any training regiment. Either to just switch things up, or for safty. But training all the time on a smith won't work stabilzer muscles. Which if you tried to go back to Free benching you'd definitly be held back.

But hell if you feel its working for ya. Then by all means. Do some damage!

 

[Testosterone Junkie]

I typically will use the Smith machine towards the end of my chest workout. By the time I'm done with a heavy set of incline DB presses and incline DB flyes, sometimes I'm just too fried to go heavy on a flat DB press so I'll use the Smith. Although I just saw my gym has a flat bench machine by Cybex that has grips with a range of motion that looks promising.

 

[ironone1]

What counterweight are you talking about? I have a smith machine in my home gym, and bar weights 50lbs. If you stick your head under it and let
go, i promise your going to feel a 50 lb steel bar bash your head. LOL

The machines I've seen I can hold the bar up with one finger. The counterweight definitely balances the bar. Your not really getting that extra 45 pounds that you would get from using a freeweight bar. That is why most people can lift more on a smith machine. I don't know, maybe yours is different.

 

[SVFootball]

i know everyones focusing on the smith machines.....

but what about hammer-strength machines?

what do you guys feel about those?

 

[bigtwig]

I like the smith for pressing exercises. Especially shoulder press and flat bench. I don't care for it for squats, prefering free squats and leg presses.

bigtwig

 

[Nymusclehead]

Thanx for the input

Thanks for all the input on this question,I got alot of different opinons and thats exactly what I was looking for,I do train by myself and I know thats one of the main reason I use this machine,its not exclusive to my workouts but it does have its place in them,I totally agree with most of what was said on stabilizer muscles,I still bench on a regular bench but I do my incline on the smith machine,maybe I just got use to it, the rest of my chest routine is done with free weights .I do squat using the smith machine as well,I still enjoy lifting heavy and by yourself IMO its the safest way Im not one to be asking guys to spot me while I squat,I just dont,plus I enjoy training on my own I set my own pace and no one has to wait for me or keep up with me,I do use the Hammer Strenght machines as well Im just not a big fan,but I do use them to break shit up,Ive trained for over 20yrs now and it sometimes gets stail I know we all experiance that so IMO it good to use equiptment we dont use ordinaraly,Thanx again brothers....

 

[Chuck999]

Years ago I got a full shoulder separation in a Judo tournment that basically ended my Judo competition career. They pretty much had to sew my shoulder back on. After about 6 months of recovery, no major problems for years, then as I've gotten older, I've learned that I just can't do flat bench barbell presses anymore. Fucks up my right shoulder rotator cuff bad. Have a problem with it in some other things also. I can do flat dumbbell presses, and can do them on the smith machine.

In my earlier years I used mostly free weights, and mixed in a lttle machine stuff occasionally. I totally understand the deal about needing free weights to get the stablizer muscles involved. I use a combination of both, and for a guy over 60, am doing pretty good. I never competed (in BB'ing) and originally got into AS mainly because all the national level Judo competitors were on. (I was at the national level for a few years). Anyway, just thought I'd throw in my two cents. I think everybody who posted has a point. I think this is one of those things that somewhat depends on each individual. your body, your age, what you are trying to do with your training (competing, just trying to stay big and in shape, sports, etc.) However, it would really limit my workout if I didn't have the machines available.

Like someone said, also sometimes at the end of a workout, I can squeeze a few sets in on a machine that would probably be risking an injury to try with freeweights.

 

[iron fist]

The machines I've seen I can hold the bar up with one finger. The counterweight definitely balances the bar. Your not really getting that extra 45 pounds that you would get from using a freeweight bar. That is why most people can lift more on a smith machine. I don't know, maybe yours is different.

Now that i think about it i remember what your talking about now. Its been
10+ yrs since i was at a gym. I decided to build my own gym. Yes, the one
i have is cheap so it doesnt have counterbalance.

 

[GIXXER130]

I actually increased my squat using the smith for a month.I actually increased my one rep max from 405 to 455 and increase my reps at 365 from 8 to 12.Dont know why but I believe its the isolation of the quads from the smith.