shrugs on smith machine good or bad??Reps

**hugowrx04** · 08-07-2007, 09:38 AM

^ that is the question

**mark118** · 08-07-2007, 09:40 AM

Why not? If it helps you focus more then why not?

Personally I like holding the bar behind or I use dumbells

**BLSjacked** · 08-07-2007, 09:44 AM

i do both DB shrugs and smith.

**DJAuto** · 08-07-2007, 10:16 AM

Personally, I do not do them. But, if they're working, use it.

**macv_72** · 08-07-2007, 10:45 AM

Originally Posted by hugowrx04

^ that is the question

I'd say: use DB instead because you can do shrugs (front,side or back) and don't have to hit your behind or guts anyway...

**hugowrx04** · 08-07-2007, 01:32 PM

actually i have never tried them, but i was just wondering if they would be better that regular barbbell shrugs. thank you for the replies

**Leenad** · 08-07-2007, 01:40 PM

If you go from barbell to smith shrugs find out the weight of the smith bar because it's going to be less than a barbell.

**Ex-Terminator** · 08-07-2007, 01:54 PM

The Smith sucks for compounds like bench and squats, but for isos like shrugs and calf raises, why not?

**klen** · 08-07-2007, 02:11 PM

I don't see a problem with Smith Machine shrugs. I use them and get a good ROM from it

**snitz** · 08-07-2007, 03:44 PM

I always have a hard time with the TEETH of the smith clanging into the little placements on the columns. I've tried it once, and then went back to the power rack!

Good luck with 'em

**Land Shark** · 08-07-2007, 05:15 PM

if they have one of the smith's with the bar that has a slight angle on its path of motion use that one, i like that one a lot more than on the smith that moves up and down on a 90 degree angle, i actually like them on that one more than with dumbells

**mofugger** · 08-07-2007, 05:35 PM

does anyone do shrugs on the calves machine?

**Feny** · 08-07-2007, 05:36 PM

thats a good exercise... i like doing some facing the machine, doing wide and close grips... and also turning and facing away from the machine... and doing it that was also...

**Determ1ned** · 08-07-2007, 05:43 PM

I do shrugs on the Smith Machine and another machine we have at my gym but I dont know the name of it. Both work great!

**Starz** · 08-07-2007, 05:45 PM

deadlifts and pendlay rows hit my traps enought that i dont need to do shrugs.

**Ace28** · 08-07-2007, 06:31 PM

sure why not, switch it up and do whatever it takes to shock your traps. I recently used some hammerstrength squat machine or whatever it was to do traps this week. Kind of akward but i was sore the next day, not something i will do every week, but throwing in different exercises and using different angles to hit the traps can't not make them grow, good luck!

**ColdHardMetal** · 08-07-2007, 09:09 PM

I don't use the Smith Machine for anything because I hate the artificial feel of the motion it allows. That being said, in a Shrug the bar is really moving no more than a few inches which would make the artificiality barely noticeable. Go for it if it is working for you.

**sirwazzles** · 08-07-2007, 10:14 PM

Originally Posted by hugowrx04

^ that is the question

I'm going to say bad simply because I think the smith machine is a death trap. I refuse to do any exercise on it.

**MrSinister** · 08-07-2007, 10:18 PM

depends how you like them yourself, and if they're giving results
i find them worse than free barbell, which i both find inferior to dumbells.. i just dont like front/back shrugging my sweet spot is on the side

**cap10raygun** · 08-07-2007, 11:22 PM

I only use the smith for behind the back shrugs because my ass gets in the way when I use a regular barbell.

**markyg** · 08-08-2007, 01:04 AM

Originally Posted by mofugger

does anyone do shrugs on the calves machine?

Hell yeah. Gives me a great workout because my grip sucks but I have been incorporating DB and BB shrugs as well but never seem to get as good a workout.

**Kinmssive** · 08-08-2007, 01:17 AM

I have been using shrugs on the smith in my latest program. Has been going really well until the other nite, I was working up to my heavy sets and was lifting 100kgs (not that much) I took a breath I think halfway through a rep and bang, one of my vertabre in the middle of my back pushed a little to far one way and seriously pinched a nerve.

Didn't think much of it at the time. Anyway three fays later I pulled a water bottle (4kg) out of my cruiser and f$#@en bam. I could hardly breathe etc. After xrays I was told that I have somehow missaligned my spine in the past and that the shrugs had seriously aggrevated it??? So I'm now in a corrective manipulation program for the next few months.

But other than that they were going well and I will go back to them for I believe they really isolated my traps.

**Tyrbolift** · 08-08-2007, 01:31 AM

Originally Posted by hugowrx04

^ that is the question

Originally Posted by hugowrx04

actually i have never tried them, but i was just wondering if they would be better that regular barbbell shrugs. thank you for the replies

I much prefer to use the smith instead of a barbell. Front shrugs I grip wide, and rear shrugs more narrow.

For one, you can place your feet such that the bar does not strike your front or back when you pull up. Secondly, the motion is restricted to straight vertical, which is the line you should be doing shrugs in anyway.

To the poster who had a vertabrae problem, I always wear my lifting belt when doing smith shrugs, and it really helps keep my torso aligned.

btw: I like different shrug variations. There is the box frame apparatus where you grip the hammer-style handles on the top. There is the regular standing DB shrug. I also like the seated but slightly inclined DB shrug, which focuses more on the frontal area of the traps.

**jmusclehead** · 08-08-2007, 07:36 AM

Originally Posted by hugowrx04

^ that is the question

If you are getting good results, why not? I like to use heavy db's for shrugs and have them at my sides. For whatever reason I seem to concentrate better with db's.

**JayWesson1** · 08-08-2007, 08:10 AM

I use the smith machine for Shrugs when the power racks are full...

**hulkinout** · 08-08-2007, 01:52 PM

Originally Posted by sirwazzles

I'm going to say bad simply because I think the smith machine is a death trap. I refuse to do any exercise on it.

Spoken like a true 16 year-old...

Originally Posted by mofugger

does anyone do shrugs on the calves machine?

Yes, I'll sometimes use it as a finishing move, especially after my grip's fried. Just stand on the ground instead of on the platform.

Like someone else mentioned, if I do use the Smith for shrugs, it's usually for behind the back shrugs because it makes the mvoe a little easier to get started. You could also try shrugging with a trap bar.

**Juggernaut33** · 08-08-2007, 02:08 PM

I prefer shrugging with dumbells so I can get a good peak contraction at the top of the movement.

**adpayne** · 08-08-2007, 02:22 PM

If it works for you, go for it.

To those of you who only use dumbbells, your gym must have much heavier ones than mine. My worksets are 400+ with a barbell. I like the feel of dumbbells, but ours only go up to 100lbs, which isn't worth more than a burn set at the end.

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