Why You Should Use The Smith Machine

Oct 28, 2024

I love using the smith machine.

If you asked the typical "if you could only have one piece of equipment" question, I'd probably say smith machine (functional trainer is a close second, for what it's worth).

Before I get into the reasons, let me get this out of the way...

The smith machine, like anything else you use in the gym, is a tool.

It has upsides and downsides.

There are trade-offs to everything.

But it is certainly NOT "non-functional" and it certainly does NOT "do all the work for you" as some anti-machine "educators" claim.

It is literally just a bunch of metal with a bar that falls toward the center of the earth.

So what do I love about the smith machine?

And why would I recommend including it in your program?

Reason #1 - you can do a bajillion different variations.

First and most obviously...

there's a TON of great exercises you can do on the smith machine.

The list is, practically speaking, endless.

2-leg squats
Reverse lunges
Split Squats
RDL
Bench
Incline Bench
2-arm row
1-arm row
Triceps Press
Drag curl

the list goes on...

especially if you have a home gym or are equipment-constrained, the smith machine provides many viable options.

Reason #2 - safety.

During a typical barbell movement, the user can place safety bars on either side of the rack.

Smith machines have that too.

But smith machines also have hooks that directly attach to the bar.

When you twist the bar, the hooks lock into and out of place with the machine.

Practically speaking, this allows you to "rack" the weight at any given point in the range of motion.

It provides an additional safety net - one that can save you at any point.

I personally love this feature, because it allows me to fail at the "bottom" of a bench press or squat variant without having to worry about dying under the bar.

Reason #3 - a constrained path.

Unless you're the hulk, the bar path on a smith machine is fixed...

the bar is only capable of moving in one of two directions - up or down - with a single load direction, in a single path.

Why is this so helpful?

Imagine you're doing squats.

The smith machine allows you to fit any kind of squat to match your body (rather than forcing you to fit your body to a particular squat that a free barbell would).

Ultimately, the user can customize the motion to whatever is most suitable and comfortable, given their unique anatomy and abilities.

And this is because you don't have to balance over your feet.

The bar path isn't going to magically change if your feet or hands aren't under the bar.

You're effectively able to alter how to bar loads you however you like, because you don't have to fight falling forward or backward (or side-side) the entire time.

"Balance" becomes a non-factor.

And this is far from trivial.

Imagine you're a coach who trains a 6 foot 9 athlete in the NBA.

But you also train a post-op elderly woman who's just recovered from knee surgery.

You can train both of these people using the smith machine, making simple adjustments to bar height and the user's joint position to account for their abilities, preferences, and goals (and if you need to, you can also take load off of the weight of the bar itself by using reverse bands!).

The possibilities for adjustment are (literally) endless.

Reason #4 - the smith can teach you.

How can the smith teach you...?

Because the smith machine bar is constrained to a single path, and because you can organize your body around it, you can easily set yourself up for success for different patterns.

Let's look at two different goals:

1. Training the quads with a squat.

2. Training the glutes with a hinge/squat.

These are two distinct patterns that people often have a tough time coordinating with traditional free-weight motions.

But because most smith machines are angled, the user can face different directions to accommodate for different goals.

To train the quads with a squat in the smith machine, you can face in the direction the bar is titled, like this:

When you face in the direction of the tilt, you can place your feet in front of the bar (because you can't fall backward), lower down, and your knees will automatically travel forward with the bar's direction.

This allows for a very quad-specific squat, because your knees are the primary loaded joint.

But imagine you also want to train the glutes with a hinging motion now.

Would it make sense to face the same direction?

Or could you simply turn around so that the bar assists the intended pattern, like this?

Now that you're facing away from the direction of the bar path, your hips are the joint encouraged to move backward, and you don't need to worry about your quads getting involved at all.

Generally, the joint(s) that can pivot in the direction of the bar are the most loaded joints.

And by simply facing a different direction, you can train the pattern of "squat for quads" and "hinge for glutes" seamlessly, without having to go through the mental gymnastics of coordinating either motion.

The coolest part?

When your body and brain learn these motions in this "assisted" environment, you can then translate these patterns to other exercises that perhaps you previously struggled with.

And this allows the user to instantly acquire skills they may otherwise have never learned with any other exercise (especially if the user isn't able to hire someone with expertise to guide them through the learning process).

You can also do this with upper body pressing motions, wherein certain kinds of pressing goals are more suited to facing in or away from the direction of the bar's tilt.

Of course, there are limitations and downsides to the smith machine, just like any other tool.

Every tool ultimately provides certain benefits, and those benefits always come in pairs with drawbacks.

But if you've never used the smith machine because someone told you not to, I hope this information encourages you to at least try it out to see how you like it.

I think you'll be surprised, in a good way.

-Ben

P.S - if you want to learn how to target any muscle in the body (instantly), click here.