 Question is from Chrissy Cobb, is squatting on a Smith machine still beneficial if your gym doesn't have a free weight squat rack? Yeah, you know, we make a lot of fun of the Smith machine, but the reality is it does have some value, especially if you don't have access to a squat rack where you can, you know, take a barbell off a rack and do exercises. So nothing inherently wrong with a squat machine, it's just not as good as a free weight version of the exercise. But here's what I'll say about it. I don't like squats on a Smith machine. It doesn't work well with with squats because because the bar travels on a fixed path, it ends up looking like a, like you're doing a squat on a sled with your feet in front of your body, which is that's okay too. I'll say this, if you're going to use a Smith machine, do standard do stationary lunges, stationary lunges on a Smith machine far better than squats on a Smith machine. What do you guys think? Yeah, I mean, I could, I could see the lunge argument with that because you could create like a more vertical path and a lunge sort of, you know, it bodes a little bit more well with that direction. But I honestly think like a hack squat machine or like some other kind of machine, I think would bring more value than even, you know, a Smith machine squat. I just don't, I feel like it almost creates the worst patterns when you go then to create, when you get to like an actual squat rack where you're doing free, free motion like type movements with that. So well, this is an area that I know that we have our peers in our space that there's, there's quite a few that are friends of ours that disagree with us in this. And that's just, I mean, that's just personal preference. I too wouldn't coach on it. I just think there's, and here's the thing, it's not that I think it's so bad. And that I think that somebody can't use it and have great benefits. It's that as a trainer, I can think of a lot of other things that I can do instead of it. Like I would, I would do a dumbbell goblet squat. I would do a Bulgarian split stance squat with dumbbells. Good luck trying to do those with 80 pound dumbbells. You want you, you're so strong and try doing some Bulgarian split squat with holding some heavy dumbbells and you want to see your legs explode and you want to see incredible benefit. I mean, do something like that or lunges. Like you, there's a lot of things that you can do a single or do a single leg body weight squat. I mean, there's a lot of things that I can do. If I have a client, I'm trying to develop their legs that if I don't have a traditional barbell squat rack that I can do. I mean, it's, and, and give them great, great results and never have to touch the Smith machine. So that's just no carryover, you know, like from, from that, that specific machine, like the, like the Smith machine, you get good at the Smith machine, you know, and to your point, like I would totally prefer to do anything with the dumbbells because you're, you're, you have to stabilize. You have to, you know, your body has to work all harmoniously to be able to pull off those movements where this is like, you're just sliding on a track and it's all doing it for you. Well, and a great, okay, to your point to carryover, right, would somebody who squats, let's say 275 on a Smith machine, would they get more carryover to a barbell squat from that or being able to do holding, okay, 80 pound dumbbells doing Bulgarian split squat. I'll tell you right now, the person doing the Bulgarian split squat holding the 80 pound dumbbells will be better at squatting with a barbell on their back than the person who was in a Smith machine. So, and that, and that's just where it's at for me. It's not that I think it's so bad. It's, oh, you can't do it. It's just, it was an accessory. It wasn't, it wasn't designed for lower body. Okay. If you know the history of the machine, it was designed for an upper body exercises. So it wasn't designed for that in the first place. Have people manipulated it to use it for lower biases? Sure. And can it work for them? Did it work well for some? Sure. Okay. As a trainer and a coach for me, the wrist versus the roar, the carryover to a regular barbell squat, I have other things in my back pocket that I would use that I think would be far more valuable for the client. And so I would do things like that. That's just, that's where I stand on it. I don't, but I mean, I'm not, I'm not so hard on like it's, it's the worst thing ever for you. It's like, no, I mean, I, I know I can get under there and do it and not hurt myself. Well, it's funny because it's machines have the, you know, there's a belief that machines are lower risk of injury, but some machines actually have a high risk of injury. Smith machine squats, I'd say is one of them. And the reason is because you're fixed on a track. So you're going to cause, you can potentially, depending on how you move, cause yourself back problems. Leg press is another one. People think leg press is super safe for the low back because you're laying down on your back or whatever. But I've seen more people hurt their low back from doing a leg press than from doing squats because at the bottom it causes your pelvis to rotate up and then you press off. And I've seen people actually hurt themselves really bad on a leg press. I'll give you some exercises on the Smith machine that I'll do occasionally. And when I say occasionally, I mean, rarely, but these are the exercises. If I do use a Smith machine, I'll do, uh, I like upright rows on it. I get a really good pump from using it. And I do, I use a technique that's really good. Sometimes I'll even try barbell rows. It feels more like a machine row when I'm on there. And then, uh, sometimes I'll do like a behind the neck press or an incline, uh, chest press. Oh, I, I love it for an incline press or a chest press or a shoulder press. I love it for that. And when, especially when I'm doing drop sets or strip stress. Yes. That's when it's really good. I mean, it's when I'm by myself and I'm one, because I always train by myself and I haven't done a drop set or a strip set in a long time. And I'm like, I want to, I'm going to hit my chest like that or I'm going to hit my shoulders like that. Excellent tool. I mean, it's, it's quick. I can get up real quick. And because I'm training to failure because I'm doing a drop set or a strip set, uh, I've got the safety bars that can roll my wrist real quick and lock it out. I'm not worried about dumping the weight all over the place and looking like a fool. Like, so yeah, and there's value in it. I don't think it's, uh, lower body though, not that much. Push ups and body weight rows. That's, that's all I got. Yeah. Sorry. Yep.