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Benching on Smith Machine vs. Benching on flat bench

post #1 of 36
7/26/08 at 2:17pm
Thread Starter 
I was wondering, is there a difference? Smith Machines seem to be much safer but my friends tell me that I should avoid it because I'm not feeling the full load due to the assistance of the machine. Is this true?

Thanks!
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post #2 of 36
7/26/08 at 2:33pm
Avoid it.
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post #3 of 36
7/26/08 at 3:23pm
My mom uses the smith machine. End of thread.
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post #4 of 36
7/26/08 at 4:58pm
It's not the same...best to avoid it.
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post #5 of 36
7/26/08 at 5:31pm
yes it is not the best, but please do something for your chest. if it means lifting rocks while lying down do it.
doing something is better than doing nothing.
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post #6 of 36
7/26/08 at 5:35pm
It's not the same. I can bench more on a smith rack than on a flat bench.
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post #7 of 36
7/27/08 at 11:30am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Forkit View Post
I was wondering, is there a difference? Smith Machines seem to be much safer but my friends tell me that I should avoid it because I'm not feeling the full load due to the assistance of the machine. Is this true?

Thanks!

The feel is different even if you do squats.
You can press more by doing smiths than free weight.

Apparently you engage your stabilising muscles by using free bar than smiths which actually assist you by making it easier to do weights with the machine's motions. If you dont' believe, try using some smiths without weights. The bar can actually hang in the air when its on the way down!

It supposedly can injure you because you are using the same plane of motion all the time.

I dont give a shit about the explanations but I find free bar more difficult and tougher so I do free bar most of the time.

However smiths are not without its use. I use smiths frequently as a final touching up exercise. So if I did free bar deadlifts, I will superset with smiths half rep deadlifts.

Using smiths can also help you in some exercises like squats with your back straight which attacks your butt more.

True story: I did heavy squats on smiths because my gym only have smiths. When they bought in the power rack, based on the same weight, I couldnt do squats at all. After some time, I adjusted and can handle free squats.

As for injuries, hey, even Dorian use smiths and an old smith machine at that.
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post #8 of 36
7/27/08 at 1:54pm
A bodybuilder friend of mine will use the SM occasionally, but only when he's benching 400+ by himself.
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post #9 of 36
7/28/08 at 10:50am
If you had to choose between benching on the Smith machine or benching with no spotter, which would you choose?
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post #10 of 36
7/28/08 at 11:49am
No spotter. Only deists use the SM.
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post #11 of 36
7/28/08 at 12:20pm
Yeah, a spotter really isn't necessary. It's ideal - and for the longest time I would not bench without a spotter. But once you get to know your limits, you just make sure to not go to failure. Just as a note, if you are benching less than 160 or 170, I think it's not even that dangerous if you rep slowly. I have failed previously, by myself, and simply rolled the barbell down to my stomach and got up. With heavier loads this is dangerous. Ideally, you should never get to this point by not benching to total failure without a spotter. You can still get results without failure, and some would argue better results.
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post #12 of 36
7/28/08 at 12:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by overdog View Post
If you had to choose between benching on the Smith machine or benching with no spotter, which would you choose?

I'd bench inside a power rack and set the pins so that I don't need a spotter even if I fail.
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post #13 of 36
7/28/08 at 1:51pm
The SM has restricted motion and you don't balance / control the weight as on the regular bench. That said, I sometimes like to do incline presses on the SM.
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post #14 of 36
7/28/08 at 2:01pm
what about squats on a smith machine as compared to a barbell?

i do squats on the SM bc it helps keep my back straight and i have better form. with the barbell, i cheat sometimes by not keeping my back straight.

am i really missing out on benefits from squatting on the SM?
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post #15 of 36
7/28/08 at 2:21pm
for an exercise such as bench press, you should avoid smith machine as the #1 choice.
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