My gym has everything but the Squat thingy (free weights version), so i was thinking of taking the weight barbell off the bench press (which i use for deadlifts) and having someone prop it on top of me, but that sounds kind of dangerous and radically insane, plus i dont want to break something important so early on in my training.anyway, so they have this thing there too called a smith machine i think, but i've also heard people rag on this thing a lot, how bad is this compared to free weights? I really have no other choice but to do the other thing I mentioned above but that sounds crazy dangerous. this is what wiki had to say:"A central dogma within weight training is that the Smith machine is inferior to free weights (the paragraph above pretty much sums up the debate). The benefits of free weights over Smith machines may be overstated. Researchers at Drake University , Iowa tested the premise and found that lifters were able to lift greater amounts on free weights than they were on a Smith machine. As reported in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, bench press strength was about 16% higher for the free-weight bench press as compared to the Smith machine bench press. However, squat strength was about 4% greater for the Smith machine as compared to the free-weight squat"So yeah, i just want a good looking body and to improve my strength. I dont want to obsess over it though so I go into cardiac arrest because I cant lift that extra 4% that everyone else can. smithy can still give me gains cant it?If i shouldn't use the smith machine is there some other way of doing squats? and is the smith machine really that ludicrously bad?TL;DR: is it really strongly advised to not use the smith machine?
>My gym has everything but the Squat thingy (free weights version)SQUAT RACK, SON! IT'S CALLED A SQUAT RACK!
Smith machine is fine if you don't have access to a squat rack.
do you think the old guy who runs the gym will rage if I ask him to take the shitty Smith machine out and put a squat rack there instead?I think im gonna ask him....
>>320459ENJOY HAVING YOUR BRAIN SPLATTERED ON THE FLOOR
Smith machine is awesome, the only good machine in a gym.Use it.USE IT NOW, NIGGA.
I cant believe i'm getting so much encouragement to use this machine.All everyone else does is give me a lot of shit about it. I guess i'll use it then, thanks guy.
>>320475Using the Smith Machine is like paying Satan to rub your shoulders.
>>320478I do not get this analogy.
>>320478Like chosing a tricycle instead of a bicycleClean the fucking bar, press it up and lower it onto your backIs what I do till the idiots get a power rack put in there
>>320491You know, I can't exactly clean 315 ilbs...
>>320495That means you are weak, work on that.