I work out alone in my gym in the early A.M. I only fear doing heavy bench with no spotter. I usually wouldn’t dream of touching the Smith machine…but when I go heavy I want to use it for safety. Please make me feel better about this!
Use a power rack as a spotter.
It’s actually safer to bench with free weights. If you get stuck under a smith machine, there’s no way to tilt the weights and let the plates fall.
I’d say just use some lower weight for more reps. It’s good for the muscle (it should confuse them, which is good) and you don’t really need the spotter. Smiths suck, period.
I see your point undeadlift. I guess I’ll do what GeneralIx says too for a while…and the idea of the power rack is good too.
I shoulda known not to go near the Smith.
I’m gonna go the opposite direction and say that the Smith is fine to use. But, I should also mention that I don’t BB flat bench at all anymore (still use DB’s), so I’m talking about inclines in the Smith (even low inclines).
I see undeadlifts point, but honestly, you should be able to lift the weight enough to get the bar to at least the first catch even if you can’t get the weight all the way up.
A power rack is also a great option though.
[quote]GeneralIx wrote:
I’d say just use some lower weight for more reps. It’s good for the muscle (it should confuse them, which is good) and you don’t really need the spotter. Smiths suck, period.[/quote]
You shouldn’t give advice.
Because of what? It has been proven over and over again that switching rep/set ranges works very well. I don’t see how that then, is giving worthless advice?
Unless you are benching a hero amount, even if you get pinned with the free bar on your chest, its very easy to roll it off of you with control. once you start benching a ton of weight and if you are going to failure that may not be such a good idea though.
I only benched once on a smith machine before(i had to) and hated the feeling of it.If you’ve been doing barbell benches for a while , maybe you could switch to dumbell pressing instead. Again , the power rack is a great suggestion.
[quote]GeneralIx wrote:
Because of what? It has been proven over and over again that switching rep/set ranges works very well. I don’t see how that then, is giving worthless advice?[/quote]
because you have only been training a year and know little.
there are much more qualified guys on here to answer the op’s question
[quote]alit4 wrote:
GeneralIx wrote:
Because of what? It has been proven over and over again that switching rep/set ranges works very well. I don’t see how that then, is giving worthless advice?
because you have only been training a year and know little.
there are much more qualified guys on here to answer the op’s question
[/quote]
Let me get this straight, since I haven’t got a lot of experience training, I can’t possibly know anything. Therefore I should only read what other people tell me. Also when I advise the exact same what most experts do, and what I have found to work, I still can’t possibly answer the question due my lack of training experience. Not to break your balls here, but that’s bullshit.
Also more experienced does not equal more knowledgeable. And therefore your argument is flawed. I know guys who’ve trained longer than me, are bigger than me, but know half of what I know. I do not pretend to know much, let alone all, but there are definately things that I do know.
i personally couldnt bring myself to lift lighter weight than i know i can…
[quote]GeneralIx wrote:
alit4 wrote:
GeneralIx wrote:
Because of what? It has been proven over and over again that switching rep/set ranges works very well. I don’t see how that then, is giving worthless advice?
because you have only been training a year and know little.
there are much more qualified guys on here to answer the op’s question
Let me get this straight, since I haven’t got a lot of experience training, I can’t possibly know anything. Therefore I should only read what other people tell me. Also when I advise the exact same what most experts do, and what I have found to work, I still can’t possibly answer the question due my lack of training experience. Not to break your balls here, but that’s bullshit.
Also more experienced does not equal more knowledgeable. And therefore your argument is flawed. I know guys who’ve trained longer than me, are bigger than me, but know half of what I know. I do not pretend to know much, let alone all, but there are definately things that I do know.[/quote]
i didn’t mention experience,i said qualifed. there will be 100’s on here that know more, hence no advice offered from me on this one, having never faced the op’s situation.
just trying to give you a friendly explanation for Scott m’s post. take it or leave it. on this particular forum you are very likely to get totally flamed if you get it wrong, beware.
[quote]GeneralIx wrote:
Because of what? It has been proven over and over again that switching rep/set ranges works very well. I don’t see how that then, is giving worthless advice?[/quote]
Because your advice is too specific for not knowing what his goals are. If he’s training for powerlifting, doing nothing but lightweight 20 rep sets will not make him stronger. What the hell does, “good for the muscle” mean anyway.
Reading what an “expert” says doesn’t mean it applies to 100% of the population. Notice that in the PS, coach thibs… an expert, still has everyone training different, based on their goals. If this guy is worried about how he’s going to manage to bench heavy, the only thing one should assume is that benching heavy is an important part of his goals.
Consider this, you recently started training and therefore you’ve been overloaded with a lot of information. Hence, you will feel like you know a huge amount, but the guys you have read 10 times as much as you AND have the experience of trying and testing almost all of it, they know more.
When you get pinned by a barbell, its pretty easy just to roll it down the front of you (Watch your nuts !) and get out from under it.
That is, unless your benching 550 plus pounds or something. Then your just fucked.
I would asume most gyms have a power rack, however I could be wrong. Anyway, I only lift at home and my rack provides an excellent spot as I usually work out alone. IMO it’s better to be self sufficient if possible. My previous workout partners have been less than consistant. GO HEAVY!
[quote]GeneralIx wrote:
I’d say just use some lower weight for more reps. It’s good for the muscle (it should confuse them, which is good) and you don’t really need the spotter. Smiths suck, period.[/quote]
This is just plain stupid advice, as others have said.
[quote]GeneralIx wrote:
Also more experienced does not equal more knowledgeable. And therefore your argument is flawed. I know guys who’ve trained longer than me, are bigger than me, but know half of what I know. [/quote]
Seems to me like they only bothered to learn the “half” that produces results.
[quote]GeneralIx wrote:
I’d say just use some lower weight for more reps. It’s good for the muscle (it should confuse them, which is good) and you don’t really need the spotter. Smiths suck, period.[/quote]
Welcome to T-Nation. You’re not the first one to be flamed for that kind of advice and for being inexperienced. When I first got here, I had even worse. Just get to know the forums first (which takes time) and you’ll be fine.
Anyway, yeah, lower weight for more reps (repetitive effort) isn’t a good idea for gaining strength. However, lower weight with a few reps AS FAST AS POSSIBLE for many sets (dynamic effort) would be a better idea. Still, nothing replaces maximal effort with maximal weights in training for maximal strength.