What will I lose training on the smith?

[thewickedtruth]

I'm having to train on the smith lately on the flat bench til my elbow has felt good for awhile and I start to incorporate more of the flat bench by itself off the smith. At the moment I'm hitting 5-6 with 405 touch and go and getting a few extra on the rest/pause portion of it. I know I won't be putting these numbers rep wise up when I get back on it. But if I'm hitting a total of 9 reps with 405 like it's cake, am I naive to expect to do a triple or 4 reps easily when I get back off it? I'm pushing hard to get more reps and gain more strength ON it so when I come back to the regular flat I'll be good to go. I just don't have the respect for myself on the smith that I had for the flat. I'm always doing dumbbell movements after to help with stabilizers.  Advice? Thoughts? Thanks guys. I use the cage and the smith when I'm training closed grips or feel like I'll need a spot but, training solely? I feel like a cop out.

[JasonH]

IMO the Smith is only good for press behind neck and squats. Anything else is pointless. One of my mates tore his pec doing flat benches on a smith. Inclines are okay but stay away from the flat.

[sandpiper]

I don't think Smith's are good for anything personally. It isn't a natural range of motion because the machine is supporting all of the weight, all you end up doing is going up and down. Try doing squats on the Smith and then going to do the exact same weight in the rack and there will be a world of differance.

[thewickedtruth]

I do'nt get why they'd be okay for inclines but not flat..that makes no sense. The only reason I'm doing them on the smith is because it doesn't irritate my elbow and I don't play on getting off it til it's felt fine for a few weeks. So again the question is, now much should I expect to lose here?

[windsor88]

I call 30 pound decrease when going back to regular bench. 

[thewickedtruth]

I call 30 pound decrease when going back to regular bench. 

That's acceptable. Mind muscle connection and muscle memory will pick that back up in no time.

[SirTraps]

the natural pressing movement is an arc, shifting the weight to the different stabilizer muscles as you go through the arc.  The strict plane you push through on the smith machine overloads the roatator cuff and is an unnatural motion. 

          There is more than a 30 pound difference between free weights on a barbell and the smith.

[thewickedtruth]

the natural pressing movement is an arc, shifting the weight to the different stabilizer muscles as you go through the arc.  The strict plane you push through on the smith machine overloads the roatator cuff and is an unnatural motion. 

          There is more than a 30 pound difference between free weights on a barbell and the smith.

Our smith is labeled at 45lbs bar weight. Thye only difference I would think between it and the regular flat bench is the plane of movement vs. the natural arc. Remember I'm not doing this permanently but as a form of rehab to best save as much strength as possible in the process.

[overcome]

I'm having to train on the smith lately on the flat bench til my elbow has felt good for awhile and I start to incorporate more of the flat bench by itself off the smith. At the moment I'm hitting 5-6 with 405 touch and go and getting a few extra on the rest/pause portion of it. I know I won't be putting these numbers rep wise up when I get back on it. But if I'm hitting a total of 9 reps with 405 like it's cake, am I naive to expect to do a triple or 4 reps easily when I get back off it? I'm pushing hard to get more reps and gain more strength ON it so when I come back to the regular flat I'll be good to go. I just don't have the respect for myself on the smith that I had for the flat. I'm always doing dumbbell movements after to help with stabilizers.  Advice? Thoughts? Thanks guys. I use the cage and the smith when I'm training closed grips or feel like I'll need a spot but, training solely? I feel like a cop out.

damn, and i was all excited about my 350 single...

i can 40 lbs more on a smith then on normal incline bech at the same angle, but it all depends on the machine, some have more couterweights then others, and even if the bar is 45 lbs after the weights, the counter weights still help imo. i would expect a 30-40 lb drop, but if you can could get 375 0r 385 9 times then you should be able to a triple of 405.