Thread: out of curiosity, why am I stronger on a free-weight squat than on the Smith Machine?

Interesting.

A few questions:
Did you go below parallel on Smith?
Do you go below parallel on free squats?

How much and what rep range for squats and Smiths?

How tall are you?

....smith machine squats....


I'll pass on this one before I split a vein!

IMO: It is much easier to center the free weight over yourself than center yourself correctly under the SM weight for proper form.

I've squatted (relatively) heavy on smith machines before... it sucks. You are extremely limited within the movement, and yes, it limited the amount of weight I could use. Free weight is the way to go. If you feel you must use a smith, then you can try keeping your feet forward and cut the weight in half... it'll torch your quads.

oh no, I'm not going back to the Smith...I was just curious

no, I was just worried about doing it with free weights...I've heard so many stories of people messing themselves up on squats when they couldn't handle the amount of weight in the position...I wanted to give myself some time to get used to pushing weight in that stance....keep in mind, only three months ago I was an only-machines, didn't-know-anything type of gym member...you know the type.....anyway, some things I didn't want to jump into immediately...the Smith definitely messed with my form (mostly because I had trouble going down enough), but it allowed me to build up some strength without worrying about my back giving out under the weight.....that's the other thing..I wanted time to strengthen my back before the hitting real squats...when I started I was an undernourished long-distance runner....I've been making sure to not get ahead of myself

Range of motion.