Smith Machine Squats

[former fat guy]

Hey All,

I love squats and I like to push myself while doing them, but they also make me a little nervous. I work out alone in a home gym and don't have a squat rack and I figure that getting 'stuck' under a barbell in a full squat position could ruin my day.

In order to avoid this possibility I have recent aquired a smith machine. While I generally don't like machines, it seems to me that heavy squats with a smith machine are safer than doing them without one and no spotter.

I tried doing front squats instead for a while but found them very uncomfortable.

What are your thoughts on the relative merits of doing squats in a smith machine?

[RacerBill]

This has been hashed through not too long ago:

Smith Machine or no Smith Machine? Holy War!

[Frank.S]

use a power rack, if you fail make it so the bar hits the pins.

long ago i failed a 550lbs squat with no spotters/pins setup.. you only do that once.

[Charles Staley]

You cannot get struck under a bar. However, you most certainly CAN get stuck in a Smith machine

Originally Posted by former fat guy

Hey All,

I love squats and I like to push myself while doing them, but they also make me a little nervous. I work out alone in a home gym and don't have a squat rack and I figure that getting 'stuck' under a barbell in a full squat position could ruin my day.

In order to avoid this possibility I have recent aquired a smith machine. While I generally don't like machines, it seems to me that heavy squats with a smith machine are safer than doing them without one and no spotter.

I tried doing front squats instead for a while but found them very uncomfortable.

What are your thoughts on the relative merits of doing squats in a smith machine?

[Terry Monk]

I workout alone at home also. You need to get one of these. Best money I spent on my home gym.

Free-Spotter