Smith Machine Squat

What it is

This exercise is a guided squat movement performed on a Smith machine, offering stability for lower body training. It primarily targets your quadriceps. You will also engage your glutes, hamstrings, calves, and lower back during the movement.

Technique tips

• Set the bar at shoulder height for easy un-racking and re-racking.
• Adopt a shoulder-width stance with toes slightly pointed out for balance.
• Maintain a straight back and keep your chest lifted throughout the movement.
• Descend until your thighs are parallel to the floor or slightly below.
• Ensure your knees track in line with your toes, not past them.
• Inhale as you lower the bar, then exhale as you push up.

How to track your progress

Log the weight and reps of each set. Straddly turns every set into an estimated one-rep max, so a heavier single and a strong set of eight both count as progress, and it flags a personal record the moment you beat your best.