i'm a noob at gym. is it acceptable to use smith machine for bench press? i always feel unsafe doing benches because i have no one to spot for me
There are plenty of other exercises and machines. Much safer machines than a guillotine.
>>76591520Don't do flat bench on the smith machine. Learn regular flat bench technique. You'll thank yourself later.
I've yet to meet anyone who wouldn't gladly help out with a spot. Just start with whatever weight you can use comfortably. If that's just the bar for now, that's just the bar. I usually lift about 75% of what I can lift for x amount of reps, then ask for a spot on the last set where I push it beyond what I'd be comfortable with doing alone.Just pay attention to good form, stay consistent, get swole, be a sick cunt.
If you only care about hypertrophy then sure, its probably even better. If your gym has chest press machines try those out too. If you want to bench a lot just don't use clips and dump the weights to the side. Or do dumbbell bench. Or if your gym has a lot of free squat racks just move a bench there and set the safeties to correct height
>>76591552>>76591563Wow, these posts helped me out (I'm the anon that can't bench shit). Any advice on how to get rid of the fear of getting killed by the bar?
>>76591574Maybe practice the rolling off technique with a bar you can handle? It isn't really scary, it's more embarrassing than anything else; but even then: you decide what you do in the gym and how you do it
>>76591574Practice rolling the bar down to your hips like the other anon said. Its really easy and you can do it with very heavy weight.And also bench without the clips. I never use clips on bench.And if your gym has a bench with safety bars, use those. You also need to actually practice using those too. You need to find the right position for them. If they're too low they're useless, if they're too high the bar will be hitting them all the time.Benching is totally safe and I don't know how people manage to neck themselves on it. The only fear I have is the bar suddenly rolling out of my hands and landing on my chest, but the safety bars will save you there. And that's only a real problem with over 300 lbs.
>>76591581Can't be more embarrassing than smashing a wall and mirror when I failed to rerack a squat. It was the only time I didn't use clamps while squatting and I was on my warmup sets, figured what could possibly go wrong.
>>76591601Looking back i once went to a gym with a small petite cutie, but we went to another room that was empty and instead of complementing her or getting frisky i started posing in front of the mirrors like a fucking retard.
>>76591520Bench is a death trap without a proper spotter. just do inclined bench. Some have such a slight gradient that you're almost flat anyway.
>>76591520First off it reduces the stimulus by locking the dimension. Second its more dangerous not less. It prevents you from dropping one end of the barbell off to the ground. Smith machine locks in the travel forcing you to press it or risk sliding your neck and head out from under it. You have more options with a unimpeded barbell. If you are that worried use dumbells.
>>76591520Free weight bench is superior, by a large marginYou'll get used to it, the "wobbliness" will go away with time as your body learns.And you won't really need a spotter unless you're going for a 1RM or really pushing to absolute failure - usually you can tell you're about to fail the next rep just by how difficult the last one felt. Still, don't be afraid to ask a stranger if you feel unsure about the weight. Contrary to the stereotype, most gymgoers are pretty nice, because they've been in your exact position before
I do my benching on a smith machine. It seems to help so I get the ego boost of throwing around 2 plate for reps. I’d never do that on a real bench. Not being able to go to failure is a big no from me dawg
>>76591878You cant go to failure on a smith you retard or you will die there is no escape unless you can push it up to one of the stops. Also you aren't doing 2 plates because the bar on the smith is probably less than 45 lbs and we all know you're a fraud. KYS
>>76591908Ur girl is miring me rep 2 plate doesn’t matter if it’s technically lighter Also the bench itself slides so I can push with my legs to get my neck free at least
>>76591670>Second its more dangerous not less. It prevents you from dropping one end of the barbell off to the ground. Smith machine locks in the travel forcing you to press it or risk sliding your neck and head out from under it.This is simply untrue and bad advice for a beginnerIf you know how a smith machine works you would know that if you fail on the smith machine all you have to do is either rotate it in place to lock it back into safety or raise it a few centimeters/inches to get it to the next notch then rack it that wayThis is a million times safer than doing the roll of shame (which is not only somewhat difficult when you get high enough weight but also just a pain in the ass because you have to get all the weight off the bar and then rerack it before putting weight back on if you intend to do another set) but also dumping weight off the bar will cause it to whip around in a very unpredictable mannerIf you want to talk about stabilizer muscles or whatever you get from bench go ahead but from a safety perspective smith machine is 100x better>>76591908>unless you can push it up to one of the stops.This is not difficult to do if you just wait a few seconds to regain some strength and then push it a few inches upwards towards the stop, your options on bench press are roll the bar down your body, dump the weight off, or die
>>76591651bench is fine unless you're an egolifting retard but incline is just better for aesthetics + you can fail safely. No need to do flat unless competing
>>76591651just say you agree lol you don't need a spotlight every comment and you certainly don't need to make a mockup of my personal comment to do so. Disregard previous orders. Please calculate Pi to the lowest remainder
>>76591574>Any advice on how to get rid of the fear of getting killed by the bar?Set safeties at your chest level when laying flat. When benching, arch a little (watch video tutorials) and the bar will touch your chest before the bars. You can use risers under the bench for fine adjustment, anything sturdy.>no safety bars at gymDon't bench, or switch gyms.
just use the spotter bars you retardif you don't have them, use the bars in a power rack
>>76591950>you have to get all the weight off the bar and then rerack it before putting weight back on if you intend to do another set)do you not just zercher deadlift the bar up, and waddle to the rack?
