| Machine Mechanics: Meet Mr. Smith |
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| by Diet Detective Editorial Staff | |
| Friday, 30 June 2006 | |
 This rack is a great way to help you focus on form and factor more safety into a number of essential exercises.Have you tried a Smith rack? You've almost certainly seen one and probably even used it, though you might not have known it by name. The Smith rack is the one in the free-weight area that looks like a squat rack with an Olympic-size bar fixed on vertical rails, or glide rods. The glide rods let the bar move up and down without tilting or twisting. This keeps you more stable and eliminates the possibility of dumping weights when the bar tilts. The bar also has hooks that let you rack it anytime during the lift by twisting it and adjustable safety stops at the bottom that limit how low the bar can go. You can start your set at the top or bottom of the motion, and if you're too fatigued to finish a rep, you can lock the bar out wherever you are in the lift. This means you can really push that extra rep without worrying about getting stuck at the bottom of your squat or caught with a bar on your chest. The Smith's design makes it an obvious choice for squats, but the options don't end there. Having such a stable bar makes it easier (but no less effective) to do balance-intensive exercises, such as lunges and single-leg squats. Lunges are stationary, however, since you can't move the bar forward to step into them. You can also do calf raises with one or both legs without worrying about losing your balance. For the upper body, the Smith rack is a great way to do upright rows or shoulder shrugs. And if you slide an adjustable bench under the bar, you can do any kind of bench press or even a military press. Two caveats: One, most manufacturers design the Smith rack so that the bar weighs less than the standard 45 pounds. How much less depends on who made the machine, but the bar may weigh as little as a few pounds. So, if you want to lift the same poundage you would on a regular bench or rack, add plates. Two, you should be able to lift more weight, because the Smith rack's lack of lateral motion means you don't have to put energy and muscle power into stabilizing the bar. Smith racks are also available in more compact versions for home use. Because of the built-in safety factor, they can really earn their keep. You can push yourself harder while lifting alone with less worry about the accidents that can happen when fatigue sets in. If you're in the market for a home gym, give a Smith rack serious thought if you usually lift alone and prefer plates to weight stacks. If your health club has a Smith rack, give it a try. It's a great option for pushing through plateaus and trying new lifts safely. Christine "CC" Cunningham, MS, ATC/L, CSCS is the owner of performENHANCE sports performance training in Chicago (http://www.performenhance.net). She is a frequent writer and lecturer on personal training, functional exercise and human performance enhancement. CC can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .
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