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YB
@yb
I enjoy smith machine squats a lot more than barbell (mainly bc easier to have good form and hit ass to grass). Any downsides to not doing barbell? As long as I’m lifting heavy and pushing, shouldn’t matter too much right?
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pal 🟪
@pal
You might ask yourself, "why is it easier", and the answer probably is that the machine is doing work that you're depriving your body from doing. Basically what everyone else is saying about missing stabilization muscle and core activation but phrased a little differently.
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John
@silentjohn
Can you name a "stabilization muscle" that needs to be worked that isn't worked by machines? I'm not folding in half on Hack Squat machine, so I assume my core is doing something...
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pal 🟪
@pal
this study on Smith Machine vs Free Weight bench precess found "Activation [of medial deltoid] was significantly greater on the free weight bench press compared to the Smith machine bench press... " - https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/abstract/2010/01001/a_comparison_of_muscle_activation_between_a_smith.143.aspx
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pal 🟪
@pal
Presumably there's an equivalent on squat. @silentjohn do you find you can squat an equivalent max amount using barbells vs the Hack Squat machine?
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John
@silentjohn
I don't compare numbers across machines vs free weights. I don't care about any of that. I'm interested in stimulating my muscles to force them to grow. I will tell you that once I ditched bb squat and did hack squats and bulgarian split squats, my quads and glutes blew up, and I have way less lower back pain
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