JP Fitness Forums - View Single Post - Smith Machine or no Smith Machine? Holy War!

NFOMan · 02-21-2008, 11:04 AM

Hi, Guys:
I'm new to this forum -- been weight training for about a year with good results (ever increasing my goals and achieving them).

I've been using the Smith machine for my squats, but have read several discussions about limited range and not encouraging good form, etc. Now that I'm seriously including squats in my routine, I recently tried the regular squat technique just to get a flavor for the difficulty of the form. (It's trickier than I thought).

So, here's the question. If your trying to start with good form and build up strength over time, is it better to start from the regular squat technique or rely on the safety and control of the Smith machine?

Opinions welcome!

02-21-2008, 11:04 AM	#1 (permalink)
NFOMan Active Senior Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 2	Smith Machine or no Smith Machine? Holy War! Hi, Guys: I'm new to this forum -- been weight training for about a year with good results (ever increasing my goals and achieving them). I've been using the Smith machine for my squats, but have read several discussions about limited range and not encouraging good form, etc. Now that I'm seriously including squats in my routine, I recently tried the regular squat technique just to get a flavor for the difficulty of the form. (It's trickier than I thought). So, here's the question. If your trying to start with good form and build up strength over time, is it better to start from the regular squat technique or rely on the safety and control of the Smith machine? Opinions welcome!