Smith Machine... Bad Idea?

So, I've had my fair share of joint injuries this past year. Some of them made no sense to me: I warmed up, used a reasonable weight, and kept good form. I took off nearly a month of upper body lifting and one and weeks of lower body due to these odd injuries. Just the other day I was on site that mentioned the Smith Machine, and how it can be terrible for you. The Smith Machine is a benching or squatting bar (called an Olympic bar) but in a rack. This rack actually keeps the bar from swaying during an exercise. It keeps in moving in one plane. Now, that may sound good and safe, but it's not. It could be good if you can't bench 20 pounds, but otherwise. It's not that good for you. Why? Restricting the movement to one plane doesn't allow for the stabilizers to work. Those muscle are great for preventing injury and give you better balance. Also, I was reading on a few trainers' sites that using a Smith Machine takes tension off the hamstring in a squat. That gives you less of a workout! But even worse, where does the tension go? To your knees or lower back, depending on your foot placement. Those are two easy areas to injure. I have injured both before... and I have only ever used a Smith Machine for my weighted squats. I have never been to a gym where they had a real squat rack and I really want to now! A real squat rack is just a rack with a Olympic bar on it. You take the bar off, and then squat. You need to balance the bar, and you aren't restricted by one plane. This is much better for your joints than a Smith Machine.

The other exercises you can do are upper body workouts, such as bench press, shoulder press, upright row, etc... Same problem. The one plane doesn't work the stabilizers! Also, it can take a toll on your joints moving in the unnatural position... especially the rotator cuff and elbows. Same goes for the should press. These exercises put some strain on your joints when you use free weights, but they put a ton of strain on them when done in a Smith Machine. As for the upright row? I only remember the fact that it doesn't work the stabilizers.

So in my opinion, the Smith Machine isn't very good. It can be used for people who are just starting with light weight. If you're strong already and are just starting to lift, I'd say avoid the Smith Machine. It was probably one of my bigger mistakes... and probably was one of the main reasons for most of my joint injuries.

To sum this up, I'd say free weights and body weight are good as you're going to get! Even the Smith Machine (used in almost every gym) aren't that great for you! It's still better than nothing, mind you.