I had a go on a smith machine today. The Smith machine is a nifty bit of gym equipment used for weight training. Its basically a barbell fixed on a rail on a steel frame. The bar has two hooks you can use to stop the falling of the bar with a twist of the arm. This means that you don’t have a spotter. However, I found that due to the bar being stuck in a totally linear motion you cant really move naturally. For this reason, I found myself unable to squat anywhere near what I am used to. About 60kg when I would normally do 120.
Not much of a fan of the smith machine I am afraid. The problem is that’s what most gyms have!