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Anonymous
My gym has no power rack, and since I'm a beginner I tend to shy away from front squats. However there is a full ROM smith machine. It has the ability to be unlocked at the bottom so it can move foward/backwards as well as up/down.

Is this safe to use for squats? Will I still be able to focus on proper squatting technique with the guides on the bar? I don't want to destroy my back with an unnatural squat..halp /fit/ !
>> Anonymous
smith machines are pretty much shitty dicks
stabilizes the bar for you so you really don't have to use your core as much
>> Anonymous
Plus they force you to move the weight in only one dimension instead of three. You lose gains in your synergist muscles and risk injury as a result.
>> Anonymous
try to do that shit over head
>> Anonymous
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>> Anonymous
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>> Anonymous
Smith machines are total crap. You're better off doing a leg press machine (hammer strength FTW)

...but nothing beats SQUATZ
>> Tarzan !3GqYIJ3Obs
Use a little imagination. Not much peeps in my gym. Don't have a squat rack either. So i use the dip rack.
Load the barbell on the handle and then start carefully adding the weight. Don't let the barbell go out of balance.
then take position and forward yourself out of the dip machine. And squat away full time.
>> Anonymous
>>337050
Except for clean jerks, snatches and deadlifts
>> Anonymous
The smith press is perfectly safe for squats but it will screw you up significantly if you ever go to a regular squat after you have grown accustomed to the smith. The smith allows you to simply push in any general direction upward, where as a normal squat takes balance and the right technique. It is fine for development, but in the long run it is taking away from your regiment.
>> Anonymous
>>337096
i would love to see some fucking idiot use a smith machine for cleans and snatches?

deadlift? most of the people that deadlift know how to do it right because if you don't then you're almost 100% going to fuck up your back
>> Anonymous
>>337031

If anything, the technique for front squats is MUCH easier than back squats. You're pretty much forced to stay upright.

Use a clean grip (i.e. elbows towards the sky) if you can. It'll be uncomfortable at first but it's better than using a cross grip in the long run. Narrow stance and go ass to grass.