Squat Question

[Hockey Playa]

I just started my new cycle of creatine, and been slacking, hadn't gone to the gym for 1.5 weeks, so i thought give all of the main muscles a small hit today to get them going agian. I didn BP, Squats, Chinups, Deadlifts, Rows, and abs at the end. My first time doing deadlifts Btw (ouch my traps hurt for some reason). Anywayz my squat question is does it matter if you use the guieded Bar on the machine when u squat opposed to the free bar. where u control it yourself? i find i can do it more on the guided bar, any disadvantages?

 

[Warboss Alex]

your traps should hurt when you do deadlifts, means you did em right.

and if you mean the smith machine squats, well, they're okay if there's no alternative but they're little better than a leg press. if you've got a free squat rack you've got no excuse to not use it.

get in the rack and grow.

 

[reyalp]

doing BB back squats without the smith machine works your stabilizers a lot more. unless you're having trouble squatting as little as 45lbs, you should do real squats!

When you do a BB squat without the smith machine, you're working almost every muscle in your legs + hips. You're also working your psoas, adductors, abductors, and glutes more than you would on the smith machine.

 

[Hockey Playa]

yah tru i just feel better on the guided machine for some reason i can work on my form more. Also, i get the weirdest thing happen to me when i do squats. For some reason when i rest the bar on my neck/upper back I get Share pinching pains i dont know why. Its so annoying ive tried using a towel and the padding, but it still limits how much i squat, because my neck hurts more than my quads do! Also yes i do work out my traps, so its not becuase i have a weak neck..

 

[Warboss Alex]

yah tru i just feel better on the guided machine for some reason i can work on my form more. Also, i get the weirdest thing happen to me when i do squats. For some reason when i rest the bar on my neck/upper back I get Share pinching pains i dont know why. Its so annoying ive tried using a towel and the padding, but it still limits how much i squat, because my neck hurts more than my quads do! Also yes i do work out my traps, so its not becuase i have a weak neck..

stop working out your traps if you're doing hard deadlifts.

for the squats use the free bar. for the neck pain thing I'm afraid you just gotta man up and ignore it, happens to best of us. experiment with different bar placings to see where it hurts less and squat like that.

 

[Hockey Playa]

k thanx

 

[[S]alvatore]

Does your neck get sore the day after you train, or while you are squatting? only thing I can say is to use more padding/thicker towel. Sometimes at my gym the padding is nowhere to be found, so I just have to suck it up and go with it. Try to stick with free bar squats, as you work your stabilizers etc etc. But personally I think the Smith Machine is very uncomfortable.

 

[Un-Aru]

Originally posted by Espi

I'd recommend a spotter on the free squats until your form is perfect...form is much more important than the amount of weight.

Do Free squats for full hip, quads, and hams strength.

The Smith allows for better isolation of quads.


There's nothing wrong with relying on the Smith Machine, though. Following is an excerpt from an article entitled "Arnold on the Squat,"
by Arnold Schwarzenegger - 1976

I have reverted to using the vertical sliding Smith machine for my squats. This machine enables me to concentrate on my legs. I can place my feet forward of the vertical line of my body, and I can't fall back, like I would using a barbell. Thus, with my back straight, feet about 10 inches apart, and my knees straight ahead. I do tension squats, going three-quarters of the way down and coming up to a position a quarter of the way form the top. The movement gives my thighs an incredible burn and gets the more lateral muscles. I always do this one before a contest. I burn out as many reps as I can, never completing a movement If you lock out, you give your muscles a chance to rest, and that 's not what you want. you have to torture the muscle with unusual training so that it will respond.

I used to use a lot of weight on the squat. Not anymore. I find now that concentration lends its own form of resistance. By thinking I can direct the effort, I can make every movement count, not only the sets. By doing the sliding squat on the sliding Smith machine, I am able to concentrate using less weight. I direct my attention to what the thighs are doing. I literally think the definition into them. The pleasure of my thought overrides the pain. The positive aspects of cuts and veins and shape spur me on, and the whole thing become a labor of love.

To all those newbies reading this thread, don't forget the most important word in Arnie uses in his article is 'reverted.' ie. He WAS doing squats, until he got to a basic size he was happy with then proceeded to work on the detail (which incidentally most pro bodybuilders do) Although the smith machine is better than nothing, free squats are still king...

 

[Skilla_Staz]

The smith machine is inferior and probably not a good idea compared to the free motion squat IMO. If you notice, when you squat, the bar doesn't go PERFECTLY straight up and down. There is some change in the position of the bar in comparison to your base, or your feet. With the Smith Machine, this movement is eliminated, causing an unnatural range of motion during your squat. You should probably stick with the regular squat.