Smith Machine

Squats are like sprouts, you either love them and eat them by the bucket, hate them and pretend you love them and eat them by the bucket, or you run a mile whenever they are mentioned. Sure enough, we’re all told to squat because ‘they are the best exercise for building the lower body.’ It’s typical that an exercise which is disliked happens to be the best, but, facts are facts: squats are the best. But what if you can’t squat properly. I mean, really can’t. I’m not talking about lacking form, I’m talking about having the kind of body which makes it impossible to have effective squat form. Well, my friend, read on and find out.

Before all you meat heads who can squat a car pipe up – pipe down. Squats may be the best overall lower body exercise but, squats are primarily done by people who want bigger, stronger quads. Some people simply aren’t built to squat.

If you have the kind of build where your legs are short and you have a longer upper body, you are going to make a formidable squatting machine, as you can keep your back almost bolt upright and squat deep, keeping on your heels and keeping all the weight on the quads. If, on the other hand, you are a long legged, short bodied squatter, you are going to have to lean so far forward it can almost resemble a safety bar squat in all the pressure being placed on the lower back and in the glutes as you almost have to push from the toes to keep from falling forward. And, you certainly can’t lean backwards or you’ll crash backwards.

Smith machines are an excellent machine alternative in that they allow the longer legged squatter to squat in a way which they never could before – more upright and deeper meaning the quads get fair play rather than the lower back and glutes taking so much strain.

If you suffer the long legged squat curse, try it and you’ll see just why the smith machine can be better for some people. And if you train at a gym and some meatheads laugh, just ignore them and keep smithin’ and in a few months time your quad size will wipe the smirks from their faces, and you’ll be the one laughing.

About the Author:

Paul John Jackson has trained with weights for around 5 years – both free weights and machines – and has developed his own open minded approach to resistance training. Check out his website on Home Gym Machines.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Why Smith Machines Provide Superior Squatting For Some People