Bench Press Free Weights Vs Smith Machine

The smith machine is designed to make the bar glide up and down and the apparatus on the sides of the machine that allows it to slide also can make the bar lighter.

Bench press free weights vs smith machine.

Free weights are proven to have more benefits. Really the bench press has a lot of versatility to it. However in the smith machine the weight is often lighter. Equipped with guide rods you don t have to worry about balancing the barbell.

The two pillars of weight training. Many smith machines reduce the bar s weight by 10 15 or 20 pounds. For those who are unfamiliar barbell bench presses involve olympic flat benches and free weights whereas the smith machine bench press used a bar that is attached to the machine. Different weights can be used.

They require more effort recruit stabilisers and help you build more muscle. The path of the bar is different for each bench press. The smith machine can be used for several types of exercises but is mainly used for doing squats and presses. In addition a 2005 study in the journal of strength and conditioning research found that the average one rep maximum on a free weight bench was 16 percent higher than that on a smith machine.

Machines refer to fixed standalone pieces of equipment that use pins pulleys cables and weight stacks. Benefits of smith machines. Each side greatly praises the benefits of each and conveniently downplays the cons. The smith machine offers several advantages.

However is the barbell flat bench press the king of benching and chest movements. Machines and free weights. No weight lifted on any machine is the same as using free weights. The smith machine is a tricky one and could potentially fall into this category but for the purposes of this article i ll be considering that on the free weight side.

Provides stabilized weight many smith machines include a self balancing barbell. This includes machines like the leg press leg extension chest press lat pulldown and machine curls just to name a few. No weight lifted on any machine is the same as using free weights. You can use free weights or a smith machine.

In some cases the smith machine itself has a counterweight that reduces the weight of the bar and often there is no way to know by how much. In all cases less effort is required to stabilize the weight making the lift easier.