Squats - Smith Machine or Free weight?

[GreekGodGenetics]

Please!! FREE WEIGHTS, GET BIG the right way. That is the sissy way out, using the smith machine. If you wanna get big do it the hard way.

jus' tellin it like it is...

 

[supersizeme]

fro, whoever wrote that article i guarantee you is standing on pool cues. let's say for argument's sake that there is equal stress placed on the glutes, hams, and quads for smith machine and free weight squats. what they did not take into account was the release of GH by your body during these exercises. we all know that it's a little bit easier to do a smith machine movement than a free weight with the same weight. the added benefit to not having something stabilizing you, is that you're straining harder to keep everything in balance while at the same time pushing. this will in turn will make for a larger GH release. that's why people are always raving about deads and squats being great for your arms is due to that growth promoting release. bottom line is, you're not helping yourself out by convincing yourself that smith machine squats are just as good as free weight squats. if you want to go the safe route and not grow as much, by all means get int that smith machine and hammer out "squats." but if you want your legs to blow up, lose the training wheels.

 

[the nature boy]

Mr Smith is going to be pissed off at all of you for talking bad about his machine.

 

[Arioch]

The guy who invented the idiotic thing was not even named Smith, although I do not recall his acutal name.

The smith machine will decrease the firing of the hamstrings, which can be hazardous in the long term as one of the funcitons of the hamstring is to protect the patella during flexion of the quadricep through co-contraction.

The other problem can be that if you are one of the few people who can actually get your feet lined up under the bar and still squat, the linear motion of the machine will not match the flattened "S" shaped curve of the bar path which can lead to fluctuations in the compressive force on the vertebrae as well as the shearing force.

 

[BodybuildingUniverse]

Yeah, I think the machine was "named" after an early endorser of it, not the maker.

 

[frorider6]

I'll stik with free weight squats. But it did seem like an interesting article.

 

[Madd Hatter]

Ok, but what if you can squat twice the weight (or more) with the machine? Then which one is helping more and will lead to bigger legs?

 

[Arioch]

Well, if the machine is helping you squat twice the weight, obviously it is contributing the increase, not you.

To say nothing of the benefit vs. risk factor.

 

[bignate73]

Ok, but what if you can squat twice the weight (or more) with the machine? Then which one is helping more and will lead to bigger legs?

have you ever done a single leg squat with weight? it doesnt require much weight to get you feeling like you are with twice the weight on a smith machine or the regular squat weight. its not about more load, its about stimulus to the muscle. the muscle's percieved load is what leads to bigger legs, not the numbers on the plates or what the machine allows you to lift.

as for the use of the smith machine, remember it was designed to be self-spotting for UPPER body work.

 

[javaguru]

I prefer the free weight squat to the vertical leg press.