Smith Machine... Good for what?

[bosox1362]

Lately I have been doing squats, bench, and military press all with the Smith machine.

Well I have recently learned that it is very bad to do squats on the Smith Machine, so fine, I can/will switch over. No big deal. However the problem is I have no workout problem. Quite frankly no one has the dedication to keep up with me. I go to the gym 5 days a week, and would need a spotter for three of them...

Military press is fine aswell. I am going to start doing that with a barbell. No real risk of failure if I use the squat rack.

However when it comes to bench it sucks. I WANT TO GO TO FAILURE SO BAD. However that is not a possibility without a workout partner. Asking random people in the gym does not work! So how much am I losing by using the Smith Machine to do bench?

[Mikey1]

- get off that piece of junk

- start using free weights

- STOP GOING TO FAILURE !!!!

[bosox1362]

- get off that piece of junk

- start using free weights

- STOP GOING TO FAILURE !!!!

Alright, well I am not exactly a noob... I know freeweights are better, and use them as much as possible, period. However the last peice of advice you offer suprises me. I have heard that going to failure/doing assisted reps, is one of the best things you can do.

I suppose the alternative, which you are implying, is to use intensly perfect form, and lighter weights? Or are there negatives with going to failure?

[Canadian Iron]

Or are there negatives with going to failure?

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=634720

[Jamps]

yo, i haven't read that going to failure thread yet, but what i'd do is only use the smith for only one exercise/week. I doing it for every single exercise might pose a risk in the future. What i do is i use it once ever 2 weeks with my alternating exercises. Plus im like a solo mofo' at mah gym so yeah i mess witht he smith but not that often....

[Mikey1]

. I have heard that going to failure/doing assisted reps, is one of the best things you can do.

you heard wrong