Basics
The Smith machine features a tall stand with various rungs and a weighted bar that can move down the rung guides. While the machine may look fairly simple, it provides a safe way to keep a bar steady while performing various exercises, such as squats and bench press. How a Smith machine works depends upon how you are using the machine for exercise and muscle-building purposes.
Leg Exercises
The Smith machine is often used for performing exercises such as lunges and squats. To begin, you add weight to the bar using weight plates that range from 2.5 to 45 lb. each. You should add the largest weights first, then the smallest weights to the outside. A padded pillow can be added to the bar to make the bar more comfortable.
Rest the bar on your shoulders, then spin the Smith machine bar away from you to free the bar from the rung it currently is placed on. This is one of the positive aspects of how the Smith machine works: while normally performing these exercises would result in placing a weighted bar that was unstable, the Smith machine keeps the weight evenly placed while you squat or lunge.
Additionally, the machine works to protect you if you can't rise back up following an exercise. For example, if you lunge, yet are not able to support the weight coming up, you can place the bar on the Smith machine in one of the lower rungs, where it will rest so you can safely get away from the machine. For this reason, exercises that normally require a spotter do not require one when you are using a Smith machine.
Arm Exercises
Arm exercises on the Smith machine include placing a bench under the machine's bar and performing bench presses or using the bar to perform shoulder raises. The suspended barbell helps to protect your arms and chest by catching on a rung. Additionally, the machine helps you pull or raise the weighted bar evenly up and down without the bar wobbling as it could during a typical exercise.
Member Comments