No problem. With the versatile Smith machine, you can safely push yourself to your limits for serious results.
By Michael Berg, NSCA-CPT
Photos by Ian Spanier

Imagine if someone invented a weight-training machine that was simple to use, allowed you to safely perform challenging exercises and could work almost all of your bodyparts effectively. Amazing, right? Lo and behold, such a machine really does exist! It's the Smith machine, and almost all gyms and health clubs worth their weight in plates have at least one on hand these days. The reason is clear -- it's an incredible tool for getting in shape and making a good workout better. Here's how you can put the Smith's versatility and ease of use to work for you.

Locked-In Benefits
While you'll find some style differences among competing brands, at its heart a Smith machine consists of a barbell that slides up and down along a vertical plane. The bar can be loaded with weight plates on each side, providing the resistance. Two hooks attached to the bar catch onto a series of pegs and lock the bar in position along any point of the range of motion, providing the added safety of a built-in spot.

Many of you have probably used the Smith machine for basic moves -- a squat or seated shoulder press, for example -- but fitness pros and exercise professionals have found truly inventive ways to use the Smith to its full potential. Take IFBB fitness competitor Lisa Reed, MS, CSCS, director of strength and conditioning at National Cathedral School in Washington, D.C., who uses it for a supported bent-over row, transforming an intimidating exercise into a more palatable one. "Set the bar to the bottommost position, and place a 45-degree incline bench in the Smith machine so the back extends over and beyond the bar," she explains. "Lie with your chest against the pad, then reach down and grasp the bar with an overhand grip. Pull the bar up to the bottom of the bench, then slowly lower it under control."

Reed also performs an inverted row as part of her back workout. This innovative bodyweight exercise, shown below, provides an alternative for those trainees who don't quite have the strength to perform a regular pull-up.

Fitness pro Laura Mak, MS, CSCS, likes the Smith machine for beginners because of the controlled environment it provides to learn proper form. She also sees value for more experienced gym-goers, because of the many options available to increase exercise difficulty. "For example, a stationary Smith lunge would be the base move, while a more advanced variation is a knee-lift lunge -- lunging while lifting your rear leg up into a knee lift on each rep," she notes. "Taking it to another level, you can do a Smith lunge with your back leg resting on a bench."

The Moderate Approach
The Smith machine is a handy device, but like anything in life, too much of a good thing isn't ideal. In addition to Smith-machine exercises, you should continue to make ample use of barbell and dumbbell moves -- preferably done earlier in your workout when your stabilizer muscles are fresh -- which help teach your body balance and control while giving your muscles the variety they need.

Insert some Smith-based movements into your current regimen. We give you four solid choices to start with. Pick a couple you'd like to try and put them into your corresponding bodypart workout in place of a similar exercise (for instance, substitute steep incline presses for seated dumbbell presses or inverted rows for seated cable rows). Eventually, you'll find new ways to make use of the Smith in your training, just like the pros, and accelerate your quest for a perfect body.

Squat
USE IT: To lead off or near the beginning of your leg workout.

START: Set the bar, unloaded, at a height just below the level of your shoulders. Load the appropriate weight. In a shoulder-width stance, step under the bar so it rests across your upper back just above your shoulder blades. Straighten your knees and unlock the safety latches.

INSIDER TIP You can also use this alternate stance that works your legs slightly differently. By moving your feet forward about 18 inches (vs. keeping them directly underneath you), you more strongly emphasize your glutes and hamstrings.

MOVE: With your eyes facing forward and your lower back in its natural arch, bend your knees while shifting your hips back, as if you were sitting down in a chair. Be sure to position your feet properly so that your knees don't pass in front of your toes as you descend. When your thighs reach a point parallel to the floor, drive through your heels to return to a standing position.

Stationary Lunge
USE IT: As the second or third exercise in a leg workout. Follow it with isolation moves such as leg extensions and lying leg curls.

START: Set the bar to just below shoulder height, load it with the desired resistance, then step under it so it rests across your upper back (in the same place as the squat). Unlatch the bar from the safeties. Step slightly forward of the bar with your left leg and slide your right leg back until it's extended behind you, heel off the floor. (You don't need to go on your toes with your back foot, as shown).

MOVE: With your chin up and lower back in its natural arch, bend your front knee and lower yourself into a split-squat position. At the bottom, your front knee should be ata 90-degree angle and your back knee should be an inch or so off the floor (don't let it touch down). Rise by driving through your front heel until that leg is straight, but don't lock out the knee, and continue for reps. When you complete your reps with your left leg forward, switch positions and complete the same number of reps with your right leg leading.

INSIDER TIP: You know your forward foot is in the right spot if, when you're in the bottom position, your front knee lines up almost directly over your heel. "To help keep your body in alignment, think about keeping your shoulders over your hips and your hips above the knee of your back leg," Mak advises.

Steep Incline Press
USE IT: As your first exercise in a shoulder-and-chest workout or as your main press in your delt routine.

START: Set an adjustable bench so that it's 1-2 clicks below 90 degrees (about 65-80 degrees). Center the bench within the Smith machine so the bar will just barely clear your face on the descent and approach your upper chest. Once you're set, load the bar with the appropriate amount of weight, sit with your back on the pad and your feet planted, grip the bar outside shoulder width and unlatch it.

MOVE: Lower the bar in a controlled manner to a point just above your upper chest, then push strongly to reverse the movement, stopping just short of elbow lockout at the top. Repeat, trying to maintain an even cadence throughout the set.

INSIDER TIP: "Don't bring the bar all the way to your chest," Mak warns. "Just bend your elbows to about 90 degrees. If you bend them much more than that, you could place unnecessary stress on your shoulder joints, possibly causing injury problems in the long run. You'll reap all the intended benefits of the exercise if you follow the 90-degree rule."

Inverted Row
USE IT: Anytime during a back workout; it's especially effective as a final move for your upper-back workout if you do it to failure.

START: Set the bar's height to a few inches above the level of your hips when you're standing. Take a faceup position under the bar, using a shoulder-width grip so you're hanging, heels on the floor. Keep your body flat.

MOVE: Flaring your elbows out to the sides, pull yourself up until your chest almost touches the bar, then slowly allow your elbows to straighten back to the start (dead-hang) position.

INSIDER TIP: For added difficulty, put your feet up on a flat bench. To maintain the plank position, Reed suggests isometrically squeezing your glutes and abs throughout each set.