Best Smith Machines For Your Home or Garage Gym in 2024!

The Smith Machine has received plenty of hate over the years. Naysayers will tell you that it’s not functional, it relies on a fixed plane of motion, it doesn’t require stabilizer muscles and that you can hurt yourself while using it. But, if you are interested in hypertrophy - muscle growth - the Smith Machine is a smart training choice. However, beginners should not use the Smith machine. They need to build a foundation that integrates their neural motor pattern with the natural movement pattern of the exercise. They can only get this from free weights.

For intermediate and advanced trainees, however, the Smith Machine is beneficial. They have already learned the proper movement patterns of the muscle and know-how to make the target muscle fire. Most modern Smith Machines have a pulley system set up to the barbell. This, in effect, reduces the weight of the barbell. However, the old fashioned barbells that do not have a pulley system, are actually heavier than a barbell. With these machines, you also have the weight of the hooks as well as the weight of the barbell.

A typical Smith Machine barbell is around 15 pounds of weight when the pulley set up is factored in. However, a free weight barbell is a deadweight of 45 pounds. In effect, this means that when you put a 45-pound plate on each side of the bar, with a Smith Machine you’re lifting 105 pounds, compared to 135 pounds with free weights.​ Many people claim that using free weights is far superior to using a Smith Machine. They generally cite the following reasons:

1. Free weights force you to balance and support the weight;
2. Free weights engage more stabilizer muscles;
3. Free weights put you in a real 3-dimensional training environment.

However, using a Smith Machine will still build muscle. Former Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates did his squats and bench presses exclusively on a Smith Machine. And a lot of modern pro bodybuilders use the Smith Machine and achieve phenomenal results. The Smith Machine allows you to more specifically target the working muscle group. For example, when doing the squat, the Smith Machine takes the load away from the accessory muscles so you can focus on the quadriceps. Another huge benefit of using the Smith Machine is that they provide a safety factor that you cannot get with free weights. The Smith Machine has a built-in spotter that allows you to bail out if you get in trouble. One more plus with the Smith Machine is that it allows you to perform partial reps by locking out halfway through a repetition. This is great for building up your strength during the weakest part of the movement.

While you would never want to exclusively train on a Smith Machine, it provides a valuable adjunct to free weight training that every serious trainer needs. The Smith Machine is especially good for front squats, incline bench presses, bent-over rowing, decline press, and barbell lunges, so you'll have more than enough choices to keep your muscles busy!

One of the best benefits of working out with a Smith machine is the peace of mind you will achieve, which will, in turn, help you focus better. The reason why is very simple - the Smith machine acts as a spotter, so you don't actually need a person to help you, you can just rely on the Smith machine to keep you safe. You don't need to worry about barbells or weights dropping down on you and pinning you underneath them! Just knowing that it's almost impossible to hurt yourself while using the Smith machine is enough to calm down most people, and make them more confident as well.

One more great thing about the Smith machine is that it's basically a super-versatile piece of equipment, combining many different machines in one package. This means that you will be able to work on your whole body using just one machine. This makes the Smith machine the perfect addition to both commercial gyms and home gyms.

Smith machines were made to balance out the weight you lift, as opposed your muscles having to do it by themselves. This is a very controversial feature though because many people argue that you need to work on those stabilizing muscles as well if you want every benefit possible. But when you're not using them, you conserve energy, and you will have more strength to lift heavier weights, or to do more reps, resulting in muscle growth.

The Smith machine is also an excellent tool for squatting. The squat is definitely one of the most popular exercises out there, and it's as brutal as it is popular! The biggest problem with squatting is the pressure it puts on your knees, and if you're not squatting properly, you can hurt your lower back as well. If you have knee issues, or back issues, or your mobility is impaired for any reason, the Smith machine is just what you need to start squatting properly. The machine simply does not allow you to do the squat the wrong way, thanks to its construction. The barbell alone can wobble, you can lose your grip, you can sway, lose your balance and much more, which simply can not happen if you're working out using the Smith machine, and the only way you can go is up or down!

And most importantly, the Smith machine is easy to use. There are no pulley cables, weight stacks, high-tech consoles or anything else that can confuse you. On the Smith machine, you have the bar where you add plates, a simple bench, and the cage which keeps you balanced, and that's it, nothing to lose time over! Once you're done, you just remove the plates, put them in their place and that's it, hassle-free exercising!

One very important feature every Smith machine needs to have is a precision bearing system, also known as a guided track. The guided track is a combo of free weights and guided weight stacks. You are still going to have to add or remove the weight, but the bar itself sits on the guided track and there's no room for mistakes. Most Smith machines have a vertical track. The vertical track creates a smooth feeling when you lift, and leaves you worry-free about not being in the right form. This does limit your movements, but it keeps you safe at the same time. Some Smith machines have a horizontal guiding track as well. This track makes lateral movements a possibility. Some Smith machines have breaks at the bottom to stop the weight from hitting the floor if you drop it, or some springs that do the same thing.

One more great feature to look out for is the onboard storage a Smith machine has. The machine itself might be a bit chunky, but it makes up for it by giving you a neat place to stack your weights on. There will be no need to buy an extra rack or to put the weights on the floor, which is even worse. Most Smith machines do have the extra room for weights, so you won't have to worry about allocating even more space to put them in. Also, the Smith machine usually has many safety pins and other safety features that act just like a spotter would, allowing you to exercise by yourself.

Some Smith machines even come with a pull up bar, giving you one more option to think about. This makes the Smith machine even more versatile, yet again adding one more tool that gives you the chance to further strengthen yourself!

The durability of the Smith machine is one thing to seriously consider before buying your machine. If the machine is not durable, it won't be safe or stable either, so not only will you lose money but you also endanger yourself! Look at how the machine was constructed, and which materials were chosen to make it.

The Smith machine absolutely must support a lot of weight when you go on it. This is described by the weight capacity of the machine. How much weight your machine must withstand depends largely on your fitness level and how often you plan on using it. If you're a beginner, you don't need a machine that can withstand more than 300 pounds or so. If you're an advanced lifter and want to challenge yourself, you will need a machine that can withstand 1000 pounds or more! Anything less is a recipe for disaster. Remember that the bigger the weight capacity is, the bigger and heavier the machine will be, and the price tag will also be big. Look at how the machine was made, and what materials were used to build its frame. The more metal the machine has, the better it will be! So look for Smith machines made out of high-grade steel, with a good coating that protects it from rusting and damage. The screws, bolts, pins and everything else in between that may hold the machine together also must be very sturdy and built well.

This is a crucial feature that must be in absolute order! The machine has to have a wide base and long legs to support the whole construction. The wider the base is and the more of its surface touches the floor, the more stability the machine will have.

If the Smith machine lacks stability and you're lifting heavy, as soon as you let go of the bar or make any mistake the machine will wobble, move around, or maybe even fall, creating potential risks for injury! You can bolt some Smith machines to the floor, but then if you need to move them you will need to undo everything, plus you're going to be left with unsightly huge holes on the floor. No matter what, the machine must be stable and solid as a rock if you want to exercise safely!