Smith machine or squat rack

just_Jennie1 · September 2013

Personally, I would prefer to do free weight squats if I had a lifting partner or a power cage. I do not have either of those luxuries

This is my issue as well. For those who would say "Get some free weights" or "go to a different gym" I say this: I can't afford to, so if you would like to contribute to my gym fund, I'll give you PayPal info. I would love to have just free weights/squat rack/whatever, or be able to afford to go to a gym with those available. I can't afford either one, so therefore I make do with the few weights and the Smith machine that I do have access to. FWIW, I do other forms of squats as well (body weight, dumbell, etc) and lunges, so it's better than nothing.

Yeah I love how everyone's immediate answer is 'if your gym doesn't offer XYZ go find a new gym!" That's awesome for those people who have the luxury of a multitude of gyms in close proximity and that are (obviously) quite affordable. It's sadly not always the case.

I go to Planet Fitness. My husband has the black card so it's $20/month and I go for free No, they don't have a squat rack and have a smith machine but to quit there and go to the gym that does offer that would mean upping my membership to close to $100/month (for both of us) and if I wanted to take any of the exercise classes offered it'd be more money. Add in the fact that it would tack about 10-15 minutes on to my commute to the gym (currently it's about 1/2 an hour) I'll stick with PF based on the price and convenience. Does it suck not having a squat rack and some 'fancy' equipment? Sometimes yes but I make do by doing dumbbell squats and other things for my legs.

_errata_ · September 2013

Personally, I would prefer to do free weight squats if I had a lifting partner or a power cage. I do not have either of those luxuries

This is my issue as well. For those who would say "Get some free weights" or "go to a different gym" I say this: I can't afford to, so if you would like to contribute to my gym fund, I'll give you PayPal info. I would love to have just free weights/squat rack/whatever, or be able to afford to go to a gym with those available. I can't afford either one, so therefore I make do with the few weights and the Smith machine that I do have access to. FWIW, I do other forms of squats as well (body weight, dumbell, etc) and lunges, so it's better than nothing.

I go to a nice gym and they don't have squat racks. Even with a squat rack though, you still need a lifting partner. I have seen guys in high school drop 600 lbs on a cheap squat rack and have observed how the momentum of the weight can make the rack tip over. Youtube is filled with videos like these:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGf3oPiqmwA

k8blujay2 · September 2013

All we have in our gyms is a Smith Machine... and they call them squat racks.. :-|

false advertising :explode:

Right?! That's what I thought too... So until I get my own for at home, this is what I have to use.

bagge72 · September 2013

Also, just to play devil's advocate here, I (and many others) go to gyms that may not be as full-featured when it comes to free weights; they cram as many cardio machines into the space as they can. My little satellite gym for example only has a smith machine and no free rack.

I don't think that is really devil's advocate since the OP has the option of both.

WakkoW · September 2013

This is sort of like asking if you would rather have a Pinto or a Mercedes Benz.

JoRocka · September 2013

I go to a nice gym and they don't have squat racks. Even with a squat rack though, you still need a lifting partner. I have seen guys in high school drop 600 lbs on a cheap squat rack and have observed how the momentum of the weight can make the rack tip over. Youtube is filled with videos like these:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGf3oPiqmwA

I squat a lone all the time.

Granted i'm not lifting 600 lbs- but it's pushing 200 lbs- I've dumped front and back squats before... it happens. You get over that "I need a lifting partner chit" real quick if you want to lift. I don't lift with people- not really- I recently adopted a lifting buddy- but we only lift maybe 1 time a week together? maybe?

I life alone- and I'm just fine. Knowing how to dump a weight is about as important as knowing how to lift it in the first place.

sumeetg37 · September 2013

I'm not trying to be mean, I am actually kind of curious. I see a lot of people posting that a better gym is too expensive. In my area (ATL) many of the "smaller" gyms are really well equipped and cost about 30 bucks. There are one or two that were cheaper but were surprisingly well stocked in the free weight dept. That being said none of them fit my other needs. The "better", "bigger" what have you commercial gym that I decided to go with was.... 30 bucks a month, there were more expensive gyms that I didn't go with because they had a number of the same issues that the "cheap" ones had, namely only one location. So I'm curious if I'm just lucky to live in a city with a cajillion options or if gyms are just waaaayyyyy more expensive once you leave the dirty south.

EDIT: BTW when I say cheaper, the difference for most was about 5 bucks.

Stage14 · September 2013

Personally, I would prefer to do free weight squats if I had a lifting partner or a power cage. I do not have either of those luxuries

This is my issue as well. For those who would say "Get some free weights" or "go to a different gym" I say this: I can't afford to, so if you would like to contribute to my gym fund, I'll give you PayPal info. I would love to have just free weights/squat rack/whatever, or be able to afford to go to a gym with those available. I can't afford either one, so therefore I make do with the few weights and the Smith machine that I do have access to. FWIW, I do other forms of squats as well (body weight, dumbell, etc) and lunges, so it's better than nothing.

I go to a nice gym and they don't have squat racks. Even with a squat rack though, you still need a lifting partner. I have seen guys in high school drop 600 lbs on a cheap squat rack and have observed how the momentum of the weight can make the rack tip over. Youtube is filled with videos like these:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGf3oPiqmwA

If your squat rack is set up correctly, this isn't an issue because the weights don't have that far to fall. Also, properly dumping weights is a little different from dropping them like they did in that video. Not even a Smith Machine can fix stupidity.

BeachIron · September 2013

Personally, I would prefer to do free weight squats if I had a lifting partner or a power cage. I do not have either of those luxuries

This is my issue as well. For those who would say "Get some free weights" or "go to a different gym" I say this: I can't afford to, so if you would like to contribute to my gym fund, I'll give you PayPal info. I would love to have just free weights/squat rack/whatever, or be able to afford to go to a gym with those available. I can't afford either one, so therefore I make do with the few weights and the Smith machine that I do have access to. FWIW, I do other forms of squats as well (body weight, dumbell, etc) and lunges, so it's better than nothing.

I go to a nice gym and they don't have squat racks. Even with a squat rack though, you still need a lifting partner. I have seen guys in high school drop 600 lbs on a cheap squat rack and have observed how the momentum of the weight can make the rack tip over. Youtube is filled with videos like these:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGf3oPiqmwA

If your squat rack is set up correctly, this isn't an issue because the weights don't have that far to fall. Also, properly dumping weights is a little different from dropping them like they did in that video. Not even a Smith Machine can fix stupidity.

It also helps to actually get under the center of the bar. That poor guy was off kilter from the beginning . . . lolz

joshdann · September 2013

This is my issue as well. For those who would say "Get some free weights" or "go to a different gym" I say this: I can't afford to, so if you would like to contribute to my gym fund, I'll give you PayPal info. I would love to have just free weights/squat rack/whatever, or be able to afford to go to a gym with those available. I can't afford either one, so therefore I make do with the few weights and the Smith machine that I do have access to. FWIW, I do other forms of squats as well (body weight, dumbell, etc) and lunges, so it's better than nothing.

Yeah I love how everyone's immediate answer is 'if your gym doesn't offer XYZ go find a new gym!" That's awesome for those people who have the luxury of a multitude of gyms in close proximity and that are (obviously) quite affordable. It's sadly not always the case.

I go to Planet Fitness. My husband has the black card so it's $20/month and I go for free No, they don't have a squat rack and have a smith machine but to quit there and go to the gym that does offer that would mean upping my membership to close to $100/month (for both of us) and if I wanted to take any of the exercise classes offered it'd be more money. Add in the fact that it would tack about 10-15 minutes on to my commute to the gym (currently it's about 1/2 an hour) I'll stick with PF based on the price and convenience. Does it suck not having a squat rack and some 'fancy' equipment? Sometimes yes but I make do by doing dumbbell squats and other things for my legs.

I think if you total up the fuel costs for that 60-minute round trip 3-4x per week, and the monthly dues on top of it, a nice used set of barbell weights becomes much more affordable. All you really need is a squat rack, a flat bench, an olympic barbell, and a set of iron. 2 of each size plate should be fine to start with. That can be had around here in great shape for less than $500, or less than a year of gym membership plus fuel. There's also the time factor... you would get back an hour of driving time in your day. I'm certainly not trying to tell you what to do, just pointing out that it might be more affordable than you think to build a very effective home gym.

jlclabo · September 2013

I go to a nice gym and they don't have squat racks. Even with a squat rack though, you still need a lifting partner. I have seen guys in high school drop 600 lbs on a cheap squat rack and have observed how the momentum of the weight can make the rack tip over. Youtube is filled with videos like these:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGf3oPiqmwA

I squat a lone all the time.

Granted i'm not lifting 600 lbs- but it's pushing 200 lbs- I've dumped front and back squats before... it happens. You get over that "I need a lifting partner chit" real quick if you want to lift. I don't lift with people- not really- I recently adopted a lifting buddy- but we only lift maybe 1 time a week together? maybe?

I life alone- and I'm just fine. Knowing how to dump a weight is about as important as knowing how to lift it in the first place.

i have zero worries about lifting alone either. ill dump weight quicker than you can blink if i feel things going south. my last dump specticle was a 385 squat session that i was just careless about set up. the weight moved off my base about 1/2" so i tossed it. thats one main reason i do not like a spotter or like to spot someone squatting. i dont care who you are if a significant amount of weight starts to come down you are not going to stop it, most likely you will suffer some injuries. i squatted on a smith machine one time, and never again. range of motion sucked. very uncomfortable.

JNick77 · September 2013

Hey! Love squats and just got into heavy lifting! Is it best to use the Smith machine instead of the squat rack??

Squat rack, always always always.

Jacqson84 · September 2013

The squat rack, it is then! Thank you all!

MyssPhytt · July 2014

Been using a Smith's machine for my 5x5 workouts and yesterday I tried with free weights. Much, much, harder and I could tell I had to really work to stabilize and use more muscle. I think the Smith's machine was a great way to start out and try to work on technique but at the same time it ended up hindering my technique to some degree and I nearly hurt my back doing military presses. I also had to start off using less weight when working with free weights so it was somewhat discouraging feeling like I was starting over again. But in the long run, I think free weights is a better choice.

ValGogo · July 2014

For me, as an official noob, I prefer the squat rack. I don't want the machine to do anything for me. I need to use all those little stabilizing muscles. And the word is that I will get stronger that way.