Squat (Smith Machine)
Trains the quadriceps, with help from the hamstrings and glutes. You need a machine. None of our programs use it yet, but you can add it to any session you build.
Free to use. The app works out every weight and times your rest.
In the programs
None of our programs use the Squat (Smith Machine)
It is in the app, so you can add it to any session and log it like anything else. It is just not written into one of our 50 free programs. If you want a quadriceps exercise that is, there are 16 on the Quadriceps page.
Muscles worked
What Squat (Smith Machine) trains
Technique
How to do the Squat (Smith Machine)
- Set the bar of the smith machine to shoulder height. Position the bar across your upper back, grip it with both hands slightly wider than shoulder-width, and step your feet slightly forward of the bar, shoulder-width apart.
- Rotate the bar to release the safety hooks. Lower your body by bending your knees and pushing your hips back, keeping your chest up.
- Descend until your thighs are parallel to the floor, keeping your knees tracking over your toes.
- Push through your heels to return to the standing position. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions, then rotate the bar to re-rack it.
Form cues
Getting it right
- Position your feet slightly in front of the bar to keep your knees in a safe position as you squat.
- Keep your chest up and your core engaged throughout the movement.
- Breathe in as you lower down and exhale as you push back up.
- Lower yourself with control rather than dropping quickly to protect your knees and lower back.
Substitutes
Swap Squat (Smith Machine) for
The app's swap picker ranks these the same way: same muscles, similar movement, similar equipment.
Let the app run the Squat (Smith Machine) for you
Durata picks the weight, times your rest and adds load when you earn it. That works on any of our 50 free programs, or on a session you put together yourself.