I'd like to talk about one of the most versatile pieces of equipment found in modern health clubs, the Smith Machine. It is amazing how many cool things you can do with this one device. I'll list just a few of my favorites.
- Hanging a TRX: this is a great place to hang a TRX suspension trainer, without getting in the way of people doing barbell squats, pulls ups, deadlifts and all sorts of productive exercises. The TRX is awesome, not as awesome as heavy weights, but a good compliment to them nonetheless.
-Attaching bands for mobility and speed work: Tie your bands to the frame and stretch away! Or sprint away(don't worry you'll come back)!
-Pull Ups: When wanna-be bodybuilder bro is doing cable crossovers or some other variation of flailing around under the pull up bar, and you don't want to risk your well being or sanity being anywhere around any of that, you can do pull ups hanging from the bar on the Smith Machine.
-Push up progressions and body rows: Adjust the bar to the appropriate height and crank out some body rows or push ups, both are really great exercises when done properly.
Exercises to AVOID on the Smith Machine:
-Everything it was (erroneously)designed for: Squats, Lunges, Bench Press, Shoulder Press, basically anything where you put weights on the bar and move it. All of these exercises are better done with actual barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, the Liberty Bell, Blue Bell Ice Cream, really with ANYTHING BUT the Smith Machine.
Oh, I forgot, it's a great place to hang a towel too.
