Liftworthy
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Liftworthy

Every exercise ranked by research, by lifters and by results. Find what’s S-tier for your goal, then train it.

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Explore/Quads

Smith Machine Squat

MachineCompoundEasy to learn
Front
Back
Primary Secondary

Works

Quads, Glutes

Also adductors

You need

Smith machine

How to do itPictures · 3 steps
1Start
2Bottom
Main musclesAlso working
  1. 1Feet slightly in front of the bar
  2. 2Sit straight down along the track
  3. 3Full depth, controlled

Most common mistake

Feet directly under the bar, which jams the knees.

Watch a demo

Good for

  • Top 10 for quads
  • Easy to keep adding weight

Compare with

vs Belt Squatvs Safety Bar Squatvs Heels-Elevated Goblet Squat
A
For quads
#9 of 33
See the full list →
Research
80
Scored by hand
Results
Soon
From the app
How lifters rate itBe the first
S
A
B
C
D
F
Why research scores it 80
Target tensionStrong
Loaded stretchStrong
ProgressionExcellent
Low costStrong

A squat on rails, so you can place your feet forward and push the quads hard without balancing a bar.

Research behind these criteria

  • Target tension: Zabaleta-Korta et al., 2021 · Kinoshita et al., 2023
  • Loaded stretch: Maeo et al., 2021 · Maeo et al., 2023 · Pedrosa et al., 2022 · Kassiano et al., 2023
  • Progression: Plotkin et al., 2022 · Pelland et al., 2026
  • Low cost: Schoenfeld et al., 2021 · Refalo et al., 2023
How scores work

Machine taken? Swap to

  • AFront-Foot-Elevated Split SquatDumbbell
  • ASafety Bar SquatBarbell
  • AHeels-Elevated Goblet SquatDumbbell
  • SHack SquatMachine

Takes

None yet
needed to post
280