If you think you can’t get injured on a Smith Machine, I’m here to set the record straight. You CAN get injured using these machines. And although you are using a bar, it’s still a machine. Meaning you’ll get sub-par results compared to using free weights and/or a Power Rack. Here are just 10 reasons why you shouldn’t use the Smith Machine or machines that are similar. For the purpose of this article, we’ll refer to these machines as “Smith Machines”.

1. False Sense of Security. You’ll tend to take more risks on the Smith Machine because the barbell is fixed. Putting on weights you might not be able to lift yet since you can stop it more easily anyway.

The Smith Machine isn’t as safe as it looks. You can injure yourself if you don’t watch what you’re doing.

Read this story at http://fitnessbusinesspro.com/mag/fitness_smith_machine_lawsuit/ and watch this video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1m6vcyQqx_Q for examples of Smith Machine accidents.

2. Unnatural Movements. On a free weight Squat your body goes down in an arched path. Smith Machines force your body into fixed, unnatural movement patterns. This can cause injuries, especially with heavier weights.

New generation Smith Machines — like the Jones Smith Machine — try to solve the problem by allowing 3D movements, including front & backward movement. But they’re still machines with drawbacks. Read on.

3, Knee Injuries. Knee pain from the Smith Machine is common. It forces your body into fixed movement patterns and places shearing loads on your knees. And it’s hard to position yourself correctly under the bar.

• Feet Position. Feet too much under the bar: more knee flexion and knee stress. Feet too much forward: more knee stress because they want to slide forward and your lower back gets in a weak position.
• Hip Extension. You’ll tend to lean against the fixed bar, causing less hip extension. Your hamstrings — knee stabilizers — will shut down. More shear force on your knees and thus more risks of ACL injuries.

4. Lower Back Injuries. The fixed bar tends to make you rest against it and the Smith Machine forces you into unnatural movements patterns.

• Lower Back Stress. You’re pushing your spinal erectors & neck muscles more against the bar. More back stress, especially with heavier weights.
• Lower Back Rounding. Feet too far forward puts your lower back in a weak position and will tend to make your lower back round.

5. No Balance. The Smith Machine balances and stabilizes the weight for you since its bar is fixed. You won’t strengthen your stabilizing muscles or improve balance & coordination. Things you need for daily activities & sports.

6. Less Strength. All exercises become easier and less stressful since the Smith Machine balances the weight for you. You won’t get as strong. Expect to lift less weight when switching to free weights.

7. Less Muscle. If you aren’t making gains: switching to free weights will often make you break that plateau. Free weights force you to balance the weight, making the exercise harder on your body. Bigger adaptive response.

8. Muscle Imbalances You only build strength in 1 plane since the bar is fixed. This causes muscle imbalances and increases the risks of injuries in the other undeveloped planes of movements.

9. Technique is Different. Common advice is to learn to Squat inside the Smith Machine before switching to free weights. The thinking behind this is that the Smith Machine is safer and helps with balance.

But it’s a waste of time. Technique is different using free weights since you have to balance the weight yourself. You’ll have to reduce the weight when switching and relearn technique from scratch.

10. Less Potential. You can minimize some of the above problems. But even if you do, the Smith Machine remains less effective for strength and muscle gains. Instead of trying to minimize problems, do the exercises with most potential.

How to Increase Safety on Free Weights. Weight lifting has the lowest rate of injury. You’ll prevent injuries by learning & lifting with proper technique. Extra tips:

• Start Light. Control your ego and leave it out the door. Start with light weights, focus on learning proper exercise technique and add weight slowly but gradually.
• Have a Spotter. Especially on the Bench Press. Your spotter should be there to catch the weight if necessary, not to lift the weight for you.
• Use The Power Rack. And set the safety pins so they can catch the weight if it falls.

Good Uses for The Smith Machine. Again, don’t Squat, Bench Press, Dead lift or Overhead Press using the Smith Machine. Here are a few exercises you could that you can perform on a Smith Machine safely:

• Inverted Rows. Put the barbell somewhat lower than your belly height and use it for Inverted Rows.
• Pull-ups. Use the Pull-up bar of the Smith Machine or set the bar high and do Pull-ups from there with your knees flexed.
• Push-ups. Not strong enough yet for Push-ups? Put the barbell at belly height and do incline Push-ups. Lower the height as you get stronger.
• Bodyweight Scull Crushers. Place the bar at a height that you can perform skull crushers using your bodyweight.
• Suspended Push-ups with some kind of suspended system.

For all other exercises use the Power Rack so you can use free weights. If your gym has no Power Rack, ask your gym to purchase one. If they ask why, have them read this article. If they still refuse to get a Power Rack after reading this article, join a different gym or build a home gym and train at home.The gym I'm at now doesn't have a Power Rack and refuses to get one. I have to perform my squats with the "Cybex Fixed Machine" because it's not safe to do it outside of the Machine because they don't have the proper set-up. But that is the ONLY exercise I will use it for other than the recommended exercises above. This is one of the reasons I plan to open my own gym within the year.  Train smart and ONLY use a Smith Machine if you absolutely have no other options. It will pay off in the end.

PS 

Today 9/30/09, I was squatting on the Cybex Fixed Machine with 3 plates on each side. Not a very heavy day, but a moderate leg day for me. When I was done performing my set, I attempted to rack (hook) the fixed bar back onto the machine, but I didn't have the hooks all the way in the proper racking position before I let go and the bar with weight came down onto my back and slammed down to the safety stops I set.  Thank God I was okay, but I did come away with a few injuries. My lower back is very sore and my right shoulder got caught up with the bar on the way down and is pretty sore itself.  Now, this has never happened to me before, but when you have a certain amount of weight on the bar, it's not that easy to rotate the bar and hook it back on the machine.  The slightest loss in focus is all it could take to really injure you. I was very lucky that I was almost completely out of the descending path of the bar.  This just shows you that these machines are NOT safer than a PowerRack. I would of never had to rotate a free bar in order to rack it.  Just something to think about.

5 Ways to Burn Fat Fast Without Sacrificing any of your Hard Earned Muscle or Strength

Here is a great article written by one of the top fat loss experts in the world, John Alvino. In this article John gives you five ways to burn fat without sacrificing any of your hard earned muscle or strength. I have been preaching these tips for years and know for a fact that they work.  So please just don't read this article...apply these tips to your own training and nutritional plan and watch the results. Enjoy!

1)      Don't decrease calories by more than 15% below your maintenance levels. This is one of the keys to maintaining all of your muscle mass during a fat loss phase. If you have a time constraint (weigh in for sport, wet t-shirt contest, etc), you may have to decrease your calories further than 15%. In these rare cases, you can decrease calories as low as 25% below maintenance, but be sure to temporarily increase your calories at regular intervals. This brings up our next point.

2)      Do not stay in a caloric deficit for longer than 5 consecutive days. Staying in a caloric deficit for too long leads to a slower metabolism, less glycogen (stored carbohydrates in your muscles that are crucial for athletic performance), and without fail, losses in lean muscle mass. This is easily avoided by "eating up" occasionally to replenish your glycogen stores and give your metabolic rate a much needed boost.

3)      Focus on force output during your cardio workouts. Many so-called fat loss "experts" love to say, "You shouldn't output a lot of force during cardio. You will fatigue and have to stop before you burn enough calories." These critics are missing the forest for the trees. There are 2 critical points that they are completely disregarding.

First, they are focusing solely on the amount of fat loss that occurs during the cardio workout itself. This is foolish, because if a cardio program is designed correctly, the majority of the fat loss from that cardio will occur AFTER the workout has already been completed. As a matter of fact, it turns out that the post-workout energy expenditure that follows a very intense cardio workout burns much more fat than a long, boring low intensity cardio session ever could.

Second, they are neglecting the fact that low intensity cardio actually encourages the fast twitch muscle fibers to take on characteristics of slower twitch fibers (for those of you who don't know, it is your fast twitch fibers that provide you with explosive strength and quickness). These are very serious consequences to a high level athlete.

For both of these reasons, I strongly advise you to stay far away from low intensity cardio. So what kind of cardio should you perform? That brings up my next point.

4)      It's no secret that a great way to integrate higher intensity cardio into your routine is high intensity interval training (HIIT). The problem is that there is so much confusion about how to perform HIIT properly, and what work to rest ratios provide maximal results.

I have discovered after years of methodical research that there is no perfect ratio across the board. However, it turns out that each specific type of HIIT exercise does actually have its own optimal work to active rest ratio.

For example, some well respected experts have asserted that the best work to rest ratio is 1 to 3. This is true for a few specific exercises, but for many other important and popular forms of exercise, it is completely wrong.

Let's take the jumping rope, for example. Can you imagine getting a great workout from jumping rope for 1 minute, and then resting for 3 full minutes? As you can see, a "one size fits all" approach is seriously flawed when it comes to HIIT training. So knowing the exact ratios that best accompany the different forms of exercise is of paramount importance. I have spent years calculating them quite precisely, and when you hit the right combination on the button, the results are incredible.

5)      Resistance training is of the utmost importance in any fat loss protocol. However, there are just as many misconceptions about how to properly weight train for fat loss as there are about performing cardio for fat loss. In particular, be very careful not to use a "high rep" approach exclusively. This is very popular among some well known fat loss gurus, and it is the kiss of death for anyone who truly wants permanent and sustainable fat loss. Using high reps exclusively can actually cause you to lose muscle mass during a fat loss phase. This will have a negative impact on your metabolism, thus making it that much harder for you to lose your next pound of fat. Even further, this type of resistance training will cause you to lose strength and power, for the exact same reasons that low intensity cardio does.

A resistance training program is crucial to fat loss, but it must be designed very shrewdly. A specific balance between higher rep exercises and lower rep exercises must be utilized if optimal results are to be seen.

Start employing these tips right away, and you will see immediate and dramatic improvements in your strength, energy, and fat loss results.

Static Stretching--Good or Bad?

Here is a great article on the controversial topic of static stretching versus dynamic stretching.  I'm a huge believer in dynamic stretching before your competition or activity due to the way it teaches your body a greater range of motion without making the muscle weaker.

But...I will also use static stretching on certain areas of my body that I think are really tight and need about 10-20 seconds of static stretching to loosen them up a tad. A good example of one of the areas that I stretch prior to squatting are my hip flexors. I feel there is too much tightness in my hip flexors before I squat, therefore I stretch them out for about 20 seconds prior to performing the exercise to reduce the friction in this area. By stretching these tight areas for a maximum of 20 seconds, I feel that it doesn't make the muscle that much weaker but it does help me loosen up a tight area so I can perform certain explosive exercises like the squat.

Anyway...enjoy the article below...

The Death of Static Stretching

Yale Daily News

Dynamic stretching
By Monica Mark
Staff Reporter

Play almost any sport at any level and chances are you will be called to stretch beforehand. The typical routine is well-known and widespread: Reach for your toes, hold the stretch for 10 or 15 or 30 seconds, release and move on to another muscle. It warms you up, limbers you up and gets you ready for tough competition, right? Not at all, according to the results of a recent study by kinesiology researchers - a study which does not appear to have taken the Yale athletic community by surprise. Staff reporter Monica Mark investigates.

Static stretches - stretching exercises that elongate the muscles, performed while the body is at rest - are likely not beneficial to a warm-up routine at all and could actually be dangerous, according to the research headed by scientists at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The study, which the New York Times featured in a recent article entitled "Stretching: The Truth", instructed participants to perform static hamstring and quadriceps stretches and then measured their muscles' power output. The results showed static stretching produces less-than-desirable results: In fact, less force was generated from leg muscles after a static stretching regime than from muscles that were not stretched at all.

Dr. Peter Jokl, director of Yale's Sports Medicine Center, said that it is true that static stretching may weaken muscles in the short-run. But he does not necessarily agree that it is "dangerous," as the article claimed.

"They were talking about weakening the muscles - meaning how much power they can produce," he said of the study's authors. "Say you wanted to produce maximum force out of your muscles. If you disconnect links by overstretching, you can weaken the muscle in terms of how much horsepower, so to speak, you can produce."

The primary function of a warm-up should be to increase body temperature, according to Jokl. Warm muscles use oxygen and stored energy more efficiently and can withstand more force.

"Connective tissue is like Tupperware," he said. "If you put one in the fridge it gets stiff. When you run it under hot water, it's more pliable."

Increasing blood flow - another effect of warming up - also makes muscles more flexible, he added.

Experts recommend light jogging or comparable aerobic activity as a way to start a solid warm-up routine. The warm-up should last from five to 10 minutes, which will raise the body temperature between two to three degrees Fahrenheit, according to Jokl. However, the athlete should be careful to avoid too intense of a warm-up, which can itself lead to muscle strain or other injuries, he explained. Even if you do avoid injury, a burnout of a warm-up can have a second unpleasant side effect: It could simply wear you out.

But, Jokl added, "The study over dramatized the idea that traditional stretching may not be good for you."

Over dramatized or not, within Yale athletics, static stretching as a stand-alone warm-up went the way of leg warmers as fashionable workout gear a long time ago.

"This info is not new," Richard Kaplan, assistant athletic trainer at Yale, said of the pitfalls of static stretching. "We have already instituted a 'dynamic workout' ... with most of our teams and reserve the static stretching for right before our cool-down period."

Indeed, dynamic stretching has taken the place of static stretching in many collegiate environments, though the latter still reigns supreme in amateur athletics. (Dynamic stretching is a process in which the muscles are stretched while moving - including squats, lunges, or the "Spider-Man," which requires the athlete to get down on all fours and crawl as though he or she were climbing a wall.)

"We do a full dynamic warm-up," Yale track and field head coach David Shoehalter said of the team's pre-practice routine, "I've been coaching now for 20 years and have been doing dynamic warm-ups the entire time."

In response to the claim that static stretching is dangerous, he added, "I wouldn't say it's dangerous, but it's not helpful, and it can lead to injury."

Alina Liao '09, a member of the gymnastics team, said she was also skeptical of the idea that static stretches are dangerous if they are performed properly and at the right time.

"I've never seen anyone injured directly from static stretching," she said in an e-mail message. "I don't think it's particularly harmful unless you do an extreme amount of static stretching immediately before active exercise."

Still, according to Shoehalter, static stretching is problematic for reasons beyond muscle weakening.

While he says dynamic warm-ups wake up your nervous system, "static stretching sends the message to your brain that your muscles are done."

"So the message the brain is getting is 'All right, I'm finished," he said, "and then all of the sudden, there you are redlining it, which can lead to muscle strains or pulls."

But that's is not to say static stretching should be nixed altogether.

Within the Yale track and field program, Shoehalter said, athletes perform an extensive static stretching routine following workouts, as opposed to preceding them.

Liao, whose warm-up routine includes both dynamic movements such as leg swings and static stretches like splits, also emphasized static stretching still has a place in a safe and healthy workout.

"Static stretching still might be important for preventing muscle tears or strains," she said. "Especially as a gymnast, if my muscles are not already fully stretched and thus ready for the flexibility my sport demands, I certainly risk tearing a muscle."

In the end, it may be more a question of power than of peril.

"More so than static stretching leading to injuries," Shoehalter emphasized, "dynamic stretching enhances the ability to perform at high levels."

In other words, static stretches won't necessarily hurt you, but they won't provide the performance boost of their dynamic counterparts - and could leave you sore and your muscles strained if used in lieu of an aerobic warm-up.

So if this research isn't really new at all, then why are so many people outside the world of collegiate athletics hearing of it for the first time? Why is dynamic stretching such a well-kept secret?

"It's hard to say," Shoehalter said. "It's kind of an 'old-habits-die-hard' situation. I think static stretching is the old school way of doing things, but if you look at any kind of major collegiate track program, they're doing full dynamic warm-ups."

Having come from amateur athletic environments, Shoehalter continued, many athletes have never been exposed to dynamic stretching, so when the warm-up is over, they ask why they haven't yet had the chance to stretch.

"You just kind of have to change what they think is stretching," he said. "You have to change their perception of what actually works."

BATTLING ROPES

The Battling Ropes Tsunami is quickly becoming the wave of the future when it comes to a standard way to test an athlete's ability to maintain and sustain velocity and power generation. The Battling Ropes Tsunami is simple in concept, however, extremely difficult to maintain for any duration of time. This technique was developed by Battling Ropes creator John Brookfield. Everyone who has tried the Tsanami, without exception, has been completely amazed by its effectiveness to test the individual's ability to generate and maintain power and velocity.

They have been equally amazed at the difficulty of the exercise when it comes to pushing the athlete to their limit very quickly. One unique thing about the Battling Ropes Tsunami is that the user must generate pure output without any momentum. When no momentum is used the body is forced to perform at its highest level of performance. With all other methods of training, momentum is used as gravity takes over and this gives the body a slight chance to rest.

When trying to train or test an athlete, this momentum factor is poison for the individual who wants to train their body to operate at its highest level. The Tsunami technique is done with a rope and, as the name says, a tsunami, or powerful wave, is created by the person's power and velocity generation on the rope. The only thing is that the person must create and sustain these powerful waves for as long as possible without stopping or losing the flow of the waves. It is important to understand that if the person is strong, but not fast, he will struggle with the technique. On the other hand, if the person is fast, but not strong, they will struggle to sustain the Tsunami. You will also find that the user must have a great anaerobic threshold to maintain the Tsunami and score well on the test. Every muscle of the body and every physical and mental fiber must be used to maintain the Battling Ropes Tsunami. The testing and training method will also quickly expose any weak link the athlete may have and start to improve the weak link. Even though the Battling Ropes Tsunami is becoming a standard way of testing the athlete, it is also a way to train the athlete to produce tremendous results which will produce transfer into any sport or battlefield.

The Battling Ropes System is a complete strength and conditioning program like no other. The Battling Ropes System was created and developed by John Brookfield. John is a multiple world record holder and the author of the popular book, Mastery of Hand Strength. John spent over a year developing this system strictly for himself. He was using this advanced training system to skyrocket his strength and stamina to new heights, despite the fact that John has just turned 49 years old. John has continued to improve setting new records that require strength, endurance and mental toughness. After using the Battling Ropes for his own personal goals, John decided to show the basics of a few of his friends. They thought that this system was simply the best due to the incredible results that the system produces. The key word here is RESULTS.

These results will come to absolutely anyone who trains on the Battling Ropes. The system allows the world-class athlete or competitor to push their limits to the point of failure in a safe manner. However, the Battling Ropes System allows the average person wishing to lose a few pounds and get in better shape a user-friendly workout as well. Simply put, the Battling Ropes can be used by anyone regardless of their goals. The reason for this is because you control the system, it does not control you. The system is the airplane and you are the pilot.

The Battling Ropes produce these incredible results, because they introduce you to two new elements. The first element will train your mind and body to maintain power over a greater period of time. This power is a combination of strength and explosiveness. This maintaining power will carry into any arena. Whether you are a swimmer, martial artist, runner or a football player, you will be able to perform at your highest level for a much longer time due to the Battling Ropes. You will find yourself wanting to push harder and harder to climb to new levels.

This training will give anyone great results whether your performance is a must in sport, military, law enforcement, or you simply wish to look and feel better. The key point to remember with the Battling Ropes System is that you will not only generate more power, but maintain the power over a much longer duration.

The second element that is new to any training you have ever done before is the strength aspect of the Battling Ropes. This aspect will put you into a mechanical disadvantage. This disadvantage is completely safe. However, it produces maximum results. You will find yourself actually pushing and pulling at the same time. You will also find yourself doing an isometric while you are performing a full range of motion. With this strength system you will find that you will get the maximum results in the shortest period of time. You will also find that there is a constant tension throughout the exercises, unlike other types of strength training.

As you train with the Battling Ropes you will get a great aerobic workout. Once again, you are in control of how hard and how long you workout. You will quickly notice how the Battling Ropes Training will transfer into your sport or activity. You will not only have a lot of fun with your training, but you will also find yourself more motivated in general. This is due to the increased physical and mental discipline you will gain.

Here are just a few of the benefits of training with the Battling Ropes:

• Increased aerobic and anaerobic capacity
• Increased power and strength
• Increased power and strength for longer durations
• Increased motivation and mental endurance
• Increased performance in all aspects of your life

Battling Ropes is just another one of the many things we do at Peak Fitness & Performance's Outdoor Training Facility. To see a short demo...please click on the video below. In this demo, Kevin is using one end of the 2" Anaconda Rope.