The Smith Machine and Squat Rack look the same but widely in use, function, and result. The Smith Machine is one of the rare machines pretty much known around the clock. Squat Racks, on the other hand, are possibly the most used machines in any gym.
Smith Machine
Smith Machine is a new piece of fitness equipment and better than the barbell and dumbbell. Smith Machine is the best option for weight training that improves your metabolism, maintains bone density, and saves you from injury.
A smith machine is a barbell fixed into a rack of steel rails along a sliding vertical or near-vertical track.
The Smith Machine is an outstanding option to build muscle and increase strength. It can help you improve your training sessions’ safety and stability. It helps take your workouts to the next level.
How To Do Smith Machine Squats?
Smith machine squats are a possible option for the free-weight version. But not many differences other than using a bar locked between two rails. Here is a step-by-step breakdown of proper squats with the Smith Machine.
Set the Right Bar Height
The first and foremost thing you like to do before adding the weight places the Smith machine bar at the proper height so that you can un-rack it efficiently.
The bar should be around at the upper chest delts level. You should physically get under the bar in your normal squat posture and do a few warm-up reps.
Then you can attach the bar in position near the top part of the squat but depart enough room to where you can un-rack the bar and separate the hooks from the pegs without having to extend on your toes.
Bar Position and Form
Hold the bar on both sides, palms facing ahead, dip under it, and set yourself so that the bar is sitting on the middle part of your trapezius muscles in a relaxing spot, not too high or low.
Bring your feet ahead and a few inches in front of your body at a roughly shoulder-width distance. Point the feet outward to ensure your feet track in the same way as your knees. Keep your torso upright and head up looking, directly forward.
Smith Machine Squat
Tight your core muscles hard, then move through your midfoot and heels to lift the bar and turn the hooks off the pegs. Sit your butt directly down by flexing your hips and knees until your legs are below or around 90 degrees.
Push your feet to the ground until you stand straight up in the starting position. Repeat for the repetitions.
Squat Rack
A squat rack is a fitness machine used at a gym that aids a weight lifter in the performance of squats. The squat rack is a metal frame that supports a barbell and weights at various levels. The technique is not that easy and needs a lot of practice before the action can be performed safely and in perfect form.
The athlete can place himself beneath the barbell and complete the squat lift by placing his shoulders underneath the barbell, standing up, then squatting down before finally rising and putting the weight back onto the squat rack.
You can improve and develop the hamstring, thigh, and lower back muscles group by doing squats rack.
How to Use a Squat Rack?
Before doing squat racks, safety bars should always be used. So be sure to adjust the bars to a proper height based on how low you squat. Here is a step-by-step breakdown of the right squat rack.
Set the Right Position
First of all, set the bar to the right position height. Your arms should be parallel to the ground. Hold the bar tightly; your hands should be wider than shoulder-width apart. Keep your grip tight and weave under the bar, ensuring that your head is in a mid position.
Because you’re not in the center of it, the balance of the bar will be off, and you could injure yourself. The bar should sit on your upper back and shoulders – never on your neck.
Lifting The Bar Off The Squat Rack
Before you swipe the bar off the rack, take a deep breath and tighten your core muscles. Brace yourself for the weight you are about to lift during a squat rack. This will protect you from a back injury. You should keep your shoulder edges pressed tightly together and pulled towards your bum.
After your core is braced, the barbell placed on your back, and your grip tight, you are ready to stand up and carry the weight off the rack.
Setting a Reliable Foot Position
After getting a stable position with the weight on your back, skate one foot back in a straight line so you don’t rock the bar side-to-side in the setup.
You can now adjust your foot position, shoulder width, and toes slightly turned into a squat stance. Now you are ready to sit back into your squat. Repeat for the repetitions.
Difference Between Smith Machines and Squat Racks
Smith Machines and Squat Racks are used for performing squats. Basically, they are used for the same workouts, but they are different in many ways.
Different Weight Capacities
Smith machines get a slight advantage over squat racks, as with the fighting of squat vs. the leg press. Because when you work with free weights, you’re not just concentrating on pushing the weight straight up and down; your muscles have to work on lifting the weight and keeping your balance simultaneously.
While this is useful for your overall fitness and dexterity, it reduces the “focus” of the muscular force. Some muscular strength is diverted from the primary squatting training and used to maintain balance and stability. With the machines like Smith machines and leg press machines that work along a fixed course.
Space Conditions
Smith machines are big in size, heavy-duty machines that take up a lot of areas in the gym or at home. But there are compact smith squat machines developed for at-home use that will be much more compact and settle far less room.
You can fit a squat rack into your home or at your small gym and other equipment, but you’ll require a lot more free space for a Smith machine. The Smith machine is not ideal for working in a small garage and basement.
Stabilizer Muscle Recruitment
You’re skating the bar up and down along a fixed circuit with the Smith Machine. Instead of fighting to maintain your balance, you can lean back against the barbell, and the slide rail keeps it firmly in place.
On the other hand, squat racks use free weights that don’t move in a fixed orbit; your other stability muscles must work much harder to keep you upright through the full range of movement.
Jay Cutler with Smith Machine Squat
The former Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler loves to perform squats with the smith machine. Jay Cutler uses the smith machine to get strength on his chest day.