Quote:
Originally posted by G5_Todd
i just actaully read an article that said the smith machine is poo poo.....saying that it can put to much stress on certain joints.....
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Could be, but I've been using them for years with no problems, and I'm in my 40s.
Some people complain that because lifting on a machine -- Smith or otherwise -- reduces the need for you to balance the weights, you're actually not as strong as you think you are, and that is probably true. But I work out alone, and I like the control that a Smith press gives me to try for another rep without worrying about not making it.
On the Smith press I use, the bar is basically the same as a free-weights press bar, and I'm told it weights about the same, which is in the 30-40 pound range. Could it be that the bar weighs more than you were told?
Although I use the Smith press, I do know that it's not the answer for all people, and your gym should _not_ have taken out the free weight bench stations. They should have both; the gym I belong to has two Smith press stations and six or seven bench press stations of different varieties.
Taking out the free weights is a sign that the people running your gym aren't really all that weight-training-oriented, and maybe you should start shopping around.