Hi,
I am wondering if there is any evidence on injury rates in a Smith Machine vs Squat or Power Rack. As a Wellness Coach for a Community College I was in an interesting meeting today.
During the section of Student feedback/requests I notified my boss that students have been requesting a squat rack. Because they view me as the “expert” in that field they asked which one I thought was safer, smith machine or squat rack, I replied “I do not believe either are anymore less or more safe, additionally I have found in my experience that squat racks are used more if both are options”. That was met with “no one has died in a Smith Machine and people have died in a Squat Rack”.
I noticed having some strong reactions and just replied, I do not think that is accurate. Upon reflection I would have said “if that’s true I do not know about it” or I would have submitted and said ok (though this comes with consequences as well).
I have read the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research where it reports .0017 (168,551 hrs). Which is the lowest on that list of sports, yet not exactly the reference I’m looking for.
To recap, could you all (Jordan, Austin) share any resources that compares injury rates between smith and squat rack?
Has anyone died inside the squat/power rack?
Do you all have any suggestions in strategies to respond vs react in this situation?
There is no comparative evidence on injury rates between these two pieces of equipment.
People have died when performing heavy bench presses without appropriate spotting or appropriately-positioned safety arms, such that a failed rep ends up coming down across the throat and causing asphyxiation. That’s about it.
If they value your expertise, you can make your recommendations as you see fit – I would make arguments for the much higher versatility of a rack compared to much more rigid/limited options for use of a smith machine. Racks are also less expensive than smith machines, and aside from the rare, specific scenario mentioned above - there are no other significant safety concerns at play.
Thanks Austin for responding. “that’s about it” does this mean people have only died during bench press? Oddly enough given the reason for hire, it seems they do not value my opinion in this specific scenario or maybe they just do not want to increase their work load via ordering and since it’s at a Virginia Community College, the boss views it as a lengthy process (evident by his remarks “ordering stuff through EVA sucks”. I agree with everything you pointed out, which I do wonder if this is why students keep requesting it.
Thanks Austin for responding. “that’s about it” does this mean people have only died during bench press? Oddly enough given the reason for hire, it seems they do not value my opinion in this specific scenario or maybe they just do not want to increase their work load via ordering.
I have only used a smith machine a couple of times, and am much more accustomed to a squat rack, but I felt less safe in the smith machine.
either can obviously be used safely, but I felt like if I made a series of poor decisions or miscalculations, I could bail out of a squat or roll the bar down/dump the (uncollared!) plates off a bench press, if I am using a rack. The smith machine felt more like a guillotine. Never had an actual problem, but I doubt the Smith is generally safer, although I can see why to a non-lifter it might seeem that way.