[bulk then cut]

hey guys, was wondering the "effectiveness ratio" between smith machine benching and regular benching. this is bcus i no longer have a spotter

[KM]

Both are equal- smith evens things out for me. If you don't have a spotter use the machine unless your repping weight that your comfortable with.

"Effectivness Ratio" I would say equal, but smith machine evens the bar out. No difference IMO.

[bulk then cut]

alrightttttt just wat i wanted to hear bro! thank you!

[Thomas_Rivera]

I have to sadly disagree. Any machine will make things easier on you for the sole reason that they take away from the need of the stabilization muscles to operate in the way that they need to.

Freeweight exercises will work out more muscles while machines tend to isolate muscles. It's not like smith machines are that terrible, but they are very different.

[bulk then cut]

so wat would u say the effectiveness ratio is tom?>

[KM]

Hes right- just learned something- thanks!. Freeweights would probably be more effective, right?

[Thomas_Rivera]

It's all relative! A combination of both would be just fine though. With some smith machines having a slight angle that might buffer off the value of some of the weight, but don't let the numbers get to you so much, just go on the rep range.

There are benefits and drawbacks to both freeweights and machine weights. With machine weights you get good isolation on the muscle and more weight, so more overload, but you don't work out other muscles. With free weights you work out more muscles but at a usually lower weight. Its not something to worry about too much though, a healthy combination of both is the best option for bodybuilding.

[projekt0]

i agree with thomas. i started off doing regular barbell benching and once i didn't have a spotter anymore i switched to the smith machine. all the time i was doing i thought i was making good gains and everything and then when i finally switched back to regular barbell after like 3-4 months i barely made any gains at all. smith machine is much easier because you don't have to stabilize the weight, it just goes up and down nice and smooth on one set path

[Thomas_Rivera]

yup yup. And then some machines (if they aren't oiled well enough) can actually make the excercise much harder on you.

There is always a way to get to benching without a spotter. Just get a bench into the powerlifting cage, lay down, set the safetey bars to just above your chest, and set the hooks at arm range. If the bar falls, it hits the safety bars :)

[Thomas_Rivera]

[julio40]

so the giant spider sayeth so it shall be it.

[mabo]

Who cares about the ratio. It's not important.

Bench in a rack like Tom said, or use dumbbells.