Free Weight Squat vs. Smith Machine Squat – Which is Better?
by Yuri in Fitness Training, Train Like a Pro
There is quite a bit of controversy about which exercise you should be adding to your athletic workouts – free weight squats or smith machine squats?
Some people firmly stand by the fact that free weight squats are the better way to go and that smith machine squats will only set you up for injuries. Others however, hold a much different viewpoint.
Recently researchers from the College of Kinesiology in Saskatoon, SK assessed the comparison of the two exercises using electromyography to determine if any differences were seen.
This is how the study played out.
Design
The study was designed so that six healthy participants would be chosen to perform one set of eight reps on either the smith squat machine or by doing a free weight squat. They were to lift a heavy enough weight that they would be fully fatigued by the time they hit the 8th rep, so using their 8 rep max.
Each workout had a minimum of 3 days between sessions and the researchers would take an electromyographic reading of the activity in the tibialis anterior, calves, vastus medialis, vastus lateralis, hamstrings, erector spinae, and the abdominal muscles.
Results
After the results came back it was found that those who were performing the free weight squats noticed significantly higher activation in the calves, hamstrings, and vastus medialis. There were no other significant differences between the exercises for the other muscle groups however.
Take Home Message
So from this study we can conclude that if you are looking to generate a maximum amount of strength from your squats, you really would be best off performing free weight squats. While smith machine squats may seem easier to performthey are not nearly as beneficial.
Furthermore, free weight squats are also more functional to real life movements. Think about it – when in life will you be doing squats with the assistance of a machine like the smith machine?
Binsted, G. et al. (2009). A Comparison of Free Weight Squat to Smith Machine Squat Using Electromyography. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. Dec; Vol 23(9):2588-2591.
ABOUT YURI
