HOW DO I USE A SMITH MACHINE?
There is a lot of trash talk about this machine but the truth is that it can actually be a valuable tool if you use it properly. There are reasons to love it and things you can do with the smith to incorporate into your program…and there are also reasons to hate on it and things you shouldn’t do with the smith machine. I’m here to help you know the difference between proper use and using it in a way that will have people making fun of you.
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So, the smith machine is valuable because it has a safety component that a free weight barbell doesn’t. It also provides a fixed path for the movement to work on that can be to our benefit with certain exercises. The safety aspect and fixed path aspect allows you to focus entirely on a specific movement and push yourself that much harder compared to free weight barbell movements. This is great for isolating muscles in bodybuilding or isolating sticking points with strength training. There is definitely value with the smith machine when you use it properly!
3 PROS OF THE SMITH MACHINE
Pressing Movements
-Military Press, Close Grip Bench Press, etc. are great with the smith due to the added benefit of the safety feature and the fixed path that the movement tracks on. You can essentially spot yourself and set up the bench/machine so that the fixed path is right in line with the best overall contraction for the working muscle. You can also set it up for partial reps to work within a specific range of motion and further isolation the exact muscle or sticking point on a movement that you are trying to improve.
Unilateral Movements
-Unilateral Movements like a split squat or single leg deadlift are great with this machine because of the fixed path. This provides a safety aspect that you don’t have with a barbell and allows you to push harder. Again, the fixed path allows you to set up ahead of time so you simply focus on the reps with peace of mind knowing you’re getting the best contraction. There is some benefit to the instability that you have with free weight, but for safety reasons we always use a lighter weight where instability occurs. So, in this case we aren’t working the stabilizing muscles and would rather focus on the core muscle we are targeting. If you are doing a split squat variation with free weights then the joints can benefit from stability training because free weights are less stable…however, let’s say you want to work a specific part of the leg like the quads or glutes…then the stability of the smith machine allows you to do that better on a smith for these types of movements.
Shrugs
-Shrugs are a great movement here for the same reasons listed above. You have a fixed path so you can set up ahead of time and just target the traps. You can also rack it easily with a simple twist of the wrist. The shrug is such a simple movement and the fixed path really plays into that aspect of this movement. Don’t get me wrong, free weights are bread and butter for big traps and shrug movements…but they’ll also require more stability from the core, legs, and rest of your body. You also have to stabilize the weight to get the bar to move within the best range of motion to target the traps. The smith takes a lot of these variables out with a fixed range of motion so that you can set your feet and position and then simply focus on the reps!
3 CONS OF THE SMITH MACHINE
Powerlifting/Strength Training
-This machine can be used as an accessory for strength training…but it should never be used as the primary tool for strength. The benefit of compound multi-joint barbell movements is that they require you to stabilize the weight as you lift it. This stabilization is key to adding strength and the fixed path of the smith machine takes the stabilization aspect out of it. Don’t brag about how much you can lift on the smith…ever. Brag about your barbell PR’s…not your smith PR’s.
Any curl outside of the drag curl
-Drag curls are great in the smith machine but any other curl is worthless here for the most part. Free weights are going to be much better for curls because the fixed path of the machine doesn’t allow your arms/body to move naturally with the movement. You’ll be fighting the machine and won’t be stimulating the biceps as much as you want. (Bonus info…try the drag curl on the smith as a biceps finisher though…that’s a great movement on this machine.)
Deadlifts/Squats
-I don’t care what anybody says or their reasoning behind it. Use barbells for these movements or use the various squat machines available. Smith machine deadlifts and squats should be considered useless. Use a barbell in a power rack for squats with the safety pins set to get better results. You don’t want a fixed path with squats and if you do…the squat machines are better than the smith. Deadlifts are best from the ground and a smith won’t let you start from the ground…and again, you don’t want the fixed path here either. Some people claim they use the smith for these movements because of an injury…but I say it’s better to rehabilitate that injury and use light weight with a barbell instead of waste your time doing these movements on the smith. Now…if you really wanted to make an argument that you use the smith to isolate muscles or specific parts of the lift…then I can say that it can be used there…but it’s just not that effective. If you want to isolate and target specific parts of a ilft for bodybuilding or powerlifting purposes then there are better exercises and machines to use…the squat and deadlift are compound powerlifting movements. Do them right or do something else.
The simple concept to understand with the Smith Machine is using its design to work for you as you focus on specific goals and movements. As you can see, it’s a horrible machine if you’re trying to use it to add strength on strength movements. It’s also a horrible machine to do a traditional squat in, even though a lot of people do it. However, it’s a great machine for something like the close grip bench press or unilateral squatting movements like split squats!
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There you have it…there is a lot more that can be said for the Smith Machine and I’ll cover those concepts in future articles. I hope that by reading this you understand more about how this tool can fit into your program…and how it shouldn’t. Knowing your equipment is crucial to making progress in the gym!
