Smith or Free??

[tjlaplant]

is it better to squat with the smith machine or freeweight... in retrospect of an athlete

[Darkhorse]

An athlete should be trying to attain FUNCTIONAL strength...Free weights.

[knig22]

personally, the smith machine KILLS my knees. Free weights don't. Just make sure you have catches or chains set in case you fail

[tjlaplant]

would you say that it is ok to use a stool or chair so i can get a feel for where i need to stop going down or should i just go down and up naturally?

[knig22]

The danger in using a chair or a bench when squatting is that everyone's A2G squat goes down to a different level. To get used to squatting just start way below your max weight and gradually work your way up to a max over several workouts. This will allow you to work on form while not worrying about failing at the bottom of the motion. Search this forum for squats or find some articles that will explain proper form. Most important thing to remember IMO is to always LOOK UP when you are performing a squat (or a deadlift for that matter) in order to keep your back straight.

[BG5150]

No use in using a smith machine when free weights are available.

[Conan Steven]

Another vote for free weights.

Smith won't work any of the stabiliser muscles which is what you want in real life situations.

[Madcow2]

If you are going to squat I would really recommend you read the entire Arioch squat writeup linked here: http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/sh...&postcount=825. It will provide you with all the basics and answer all the questions. I have his writeups for other lifts on my site: http://www.geocities.com/elitemadcow...nts_thread.htm

The relevant piece for the smith machine is quoted below:

Certain misinformed and so-called “personal trainers” will have people squat in a smith machine, which is, quite simply, an idea both hideous and destructive. This is often done under the misguided “squat this way until you are strong enough to perform a regular squat” premise. Even if one overlooks the obvious fact that it is better to learn to do something right than build bad habits from the start, there are numerous other factors to be considered. The smith machine stabilizes the bar for the lifter, which does not teach the skill of balancing the bar, balance being important to any athlete, as well as the fact that free weight squatting strengthens the synergists which goes a long way to preventing injuries. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and the smith machine leaves far too many weak links. To say nothing of the fact that free weights provide a greater transfer of functional strength than machines. (23)Furthermore, the bar moves straight up and down, and very few people squat in this manner, which means that the smith machine does not fit a lifters optimal strength curve. (24) The smith machine also requires that the lifter either squats with his torso much closer to vertical than would be done with a real squat, which mechanically decreases the involvement of both the spinal erectors and the hamstrings. While this would be fine if it was done by the lifters muscular control, when the smith machine does this it is disadvantageous to the lifter by virtue of decreasing the ability of the hamstrings to protect the knee joint. Another mistake made, aside from simply using it in the first place, is allow the knees to drift forward over the toes, the chance of which is increased by the smith machine. As was previously mentioned, this greatly increases the shearing force on the knees. This from a device touted by the ignorant as “safe.”

[EricT]

You can find that Arioch squat writeup posted here on BB.Net

http://www.bodybuilding.net/training...squat-925.html

Here is a thread with a lot of squat stuff posted by 0311 (some from Madcow)...

http://www.bodybuilding.net/training...ighlight=smith

[Madcow2]

Originally Posted by Eric3237

Here is a thread with a lot of squat stuff posted by 0311 (some from Madcow)...

http://www.bodybuilding.net/training...ighlight=smith

For what it's worth, I didn't write this. I think this was Freddy over at Meso. I've seen it before somewhere.

http://www.bodybuilding.net/18111-16-post.html