The Good vs The Bad. If you struggle at any point within the rep, you have a lot of chances to lock the barbell. I am asking because I train alone and I am trying to increase my bench numbers (225 lbs to 255 lbs). The Smith Machine was invented in the 1950s by “the godfather of fitness” Francois Henri “Jack” LaLanne. You should bend the knees slightly but maintain a hip hinge movement. It is an ideal exercise for those who want to add muscle mass by explicitly targeting the hamstrings and glutes. With that said smith machines vary. Of all the deadlift alternative machines, this is arguably the one that comes the closest to conventional deadlifts. I found this would add about 15%-20% over my normal deadlift in any given rep range. Squatting will not help meet this goal. CHARLES SAYS: First, if you’re doing it on a Smith machine, it’s not a deadlift. (Quote) oh i'm just a broken old lady. IMO: Only partial ROM deadlifts using a smith machine. At the end of the day, any machine or cable system that moves the muscles through a full range of motion and allows for progressive overload is going to produce results. 1. Some Smith machines are made entirely of steel, while others use a combination of steel and lighter metals. Question #2: Smith Machine Deadlifts. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions so that you always use your chosen leg press machine safely and adequately. However, pay attention to how much of the frame is made of steel. Over time, this can decrease strength and even increase the risk of injury. Hyperextending your lower back there is absolutely no reason to DL in a smith machine, in fact i'd be scared of hurting myself since my bar path isn't necessarily the path of the machine and id be all out of balance tweaking my back. So if you're taller or shorter than the ideal fit for the machine, you could wind up with a knee, back, or hip injury due to excess strain. If you're starting to get back into deadlifts on a Smith and then transition to free weights, the bad form may carry over. I mix it up with the smith machine all the time, front squats back squats, seated squats.. Just make sure you go deep. Likewise, there's no such thing as a bad piece of equipment – just bad technique, a bad … i didn't even know deadlifting in the smith machine was a thing. Smith machine deadlift mistakes. The most common free-weight mistake people make … That means all your force can be directed towards lifting the weight. You will never go into a gym that does not have at least one Smith Machine. It’s like putting an Intel processor in an AMD socket. My PF back day was as follows: Smith Machine deadlift, dumbbell deadlifts, dumbbell rows, lat pull downs, horizontal cable rows, and other lat … Oddly enough, it is still one of the most popular machines. June 21, 2016 2:40PM . Also, the Smith machine will come with safety catches that you can put in a preset location under the bar. 3. Smith Machine Deadlift exercise is an excellent compound exercise that works the entire back, glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, rear shoulders, traps, biceps and forearm muscles. Basically the gym I use, doesn't have a free bar. all we've got that's similar is a smith machine, a few benches and free weights that go up to 40kg. … The Smith machine let me lift more weight, but it wasn’t safe. Obliques The forced path at time causes you to break form rather than allow you to follow form. December 14, 2015, 5:25pm #10 [quote]bcac wrote: I am sure this question has been answered before, but how bad is it to use the Smith Machine. There's no such thing as a bad breed of dog, only a bad owner or a bad fit. A deadlift targets the hamstrings and bent-over row focuses on the middle back muscles. In my opinion, this allows for a generous amount of safety. For example, deadlifts on a smith machine suck because: 1.You get out of position. The front squat won’t allow me to lift nearly as much as the back squat, but it’s safer, and I’ll be doing front squats only- in a rack- for the next few months. 5. The more steel, the stronger and more durable the frame. So yes, smith machine deadlifts can also give you that chiselled 10-pack set of abs you’ve been craving all along. Smith Machine Deadlifts. As a side note- while my deadlift wasn’t the main issue- I was also compromising my safety there. There's a sign on the machine saying that the unloaded weight is 45 lbs. Give it a try for 3weeks… robo1. It was part of a larger system I bought. In addition, chest up and a backwards pushed butts position is not ideal because the hamstrings and glutes muscles for lifting are not enlarged. Nothing wrong with the smith machine, it just gets hate from a lot of bros and newbies that aren't even strong All good advice but I don't think anybody has specifically pointed this out. Why The Smith Machine Works. Think of equipment the way you might think of dogs and their owners. IMHO you should show some patience til the bars are free before you go deadlifting. I've read that Smith machines may affect form. Check out this deadlift coaching session here, as well the importance of angles and anatomy for the deadlift here. I own a smith machine by default. my 1rm is 305. It’s not going to work. Deadlifts off of the floor recruit an incredibly large amount of musculature, much for stabilization as well . The Smith Machine takes a Squat, which is an incredibly complex movement requiring the coordinated effort of your entire body in unison, and essentially turns it into a Leg Extension. It also engages the core muscles to maintain the correct upper body position and to support the lower back. I've done a few months of smith machine squats and went back to free weight and was even stronger.. Unfortunately, most people use it for the wrong exercises. Both exercises involve unsupported forward flexion, which has been termed contraindicated, but is a necessary functional movement. Performing smith machine deadlifts targets this muscle. The Smith Machine has been one of the most criticized pieces of equipment in the gym for the past 7 or 8 decades. The tracked bar drastically reduces the work your body needs to do to stabilize during the lift. Although the Smith machine squat has been shown to allow heavier training and the forward adjustment of foot positioning, the fixed nature of the Smith machine doesn’t call numerous stabilizer muscles into play. The Romanian deadlift on Smith machine is a variation that allows you to primarily focus on hamstring development and a little less toward your glutes. And doing deads on one is awkward. I'm pretty sure it's correct because my Smith bench is only slightly higher than barbell bench. Quote: Originally Posted by the1 == smith squats/smith in general has its place, but I don't believe you should use it to teach a "free weight" movement like squat, bench, or military press. That way you're utilizing proper form while engaging all necessary muscles associated with free weights. [SUBSCRIBE TO MY CHANNEL] http://youtube.com/omarisuf[JOIN US ON MY FACEBOOK ARMY] http://www.facebook.com/chefbuff[MY FEMALE WORKOUT CHANNEL!] While deadlifts are no Roman chair sit-ups, proper smith machine deadlifting does a good job of targeting the rectus abdominis, also known as the abs. In that sense, the smith machine can certainly be used as a tool for building muscle and strength. As others said it was more like a rack pull than a deadlift but I did work my way up to 285lbs with decent form and built some decent back and leg muscle. You can deadlift on a Smith machine with just a few simple steps. I currently use Planet Fitness because I'm a poor grad student and that's what I can afford and what's available to me at the moment. Then it isn't 225. Nearly all Smith machines have steel in the frame, which allows the machine to safely hold more weight. However, if you make any of these 10 fatal deadlift mistakes, then you may well be causing your body unnecessary stress—or worse, irreversible damage. Deadlift variations would likely be best used in their “stiff leg” form versus a conventional deadlift, for multiple reasons (we generally want lighter loads, there may be less of a shift left and right as you pull the bar from the bottom, and you are unlikely to be restricted by the smith machine being at the bottom setting). Even with full range of motion I found deadlifts in a smith machine were easier than with a free weight barbell. The biggest problem with Smith machine squat is that the machine locks your body into a path of motion—which could be entirely wrong for your body. 6. singingflutelady Member Posts: 8,708 Member Member Posts: 8,708 Member. Luckily for me I still have a rack and safeties for a free bar outside the smith machine. Using the Smith machine can potentially make both exercises high risk when poor posture and heavy resistance are involved. The goal of deadlifting on a smith machines is to work the back muscles. OP here. This is the method I used to bring up my Bench, Deadlift, and I am now using for my Front/Overhead Squat. Therefore the hip movement is essential. Couldn't fit my details into the limited space. HOW TO DO SMITH MACHINE DEADLIFT Korin Sutton is a Master Fitness Trainer, Health Coach, 3x Pro Vegan Bodybuilder, Author, Speaker, and Vegan Chef! It works the same muscle, and even uses the same movement pattern and technique. And you'll always be able to lift more in a smith since it takes all the stability work out of the lift. As we all know, the Smith machine has several notches where you can lock the bar in. The first is to add your desired amount of weight. Squats of any type, whether with free weights or on a Smith machine, can be dangerous if they're performed incorrectly. I … The Smith machine is one of the biggest scapegoats, yet there’s little evidence that anything is inherently bad about a Smith machine. The Smith Machine was created by a man named Rudy Smith back in the 1950s. Despite what some people say, performing a deadlift on Smith machine stations isn't an accident waiting to happen. Smith Machine.....Really that bad for squat and deadlift? From the viewpoint of built-in safety features, injuries are less likely in Smith machines. The limited range of motion on a smith machine would not allow you to lock out completely. Along with all the other machines; leg press, shoulder press, multi machine etc. Unlike the standard Romanian deadlift, you do not use free weights in this exercise. Unless your smith machine is 45lbs which most aren't. Instead of using free weights (as you would do in other variations), the sumo deadlift on Smith machine involves doing the exercise on a weight machine with a fixed barbell. Why not start out with free weights, but with a lighter load? But is the smith machine good for stimulating muscle size and strength gains? READER: If all I have access to is a Smith machine, is it worth deadlifting on it or should I do something with heavy dumbbells, one-sided stuff, or what? Your chosen leg press, shoulder press, shoulder press, multi machine.. The barbell, you do not use free weights or on a Smith machine was created a! 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