Hey James,

You could use the smith machine. If your form is spotless and your mobility/flexibility throughout all of your joints is perfect you will probably get away with it.

Personally I wouldnt risk it. There are other alternatives besides the leg press.

I would do dumbell squats, barbell deadlifts, jeffersons squats, bulgarian split squats, sumo deadlift, zercher squats. Stuff like that will yield amazing results for sure.

Especially the deadlift can be an amazing leg exercise and you dont need a squat rack to do it.

Scott has demonstration videos for all of these exercises so try them out. You dont need all of them. Just 2-3 should suffice. Add some leg press, leg extensions and leg curls in there and you re set :)

Kostas

I agree with Kostas. I don't mind using the Smith once in a while for certain exercises but I try and stay away from it. You can do practically anything with dumbbells that you can with barbells so I recc that. I know PF has dumbbells even though they may not go very high but in that case add reps and a slow tempo.

James,

I squatted in the Smith Machine exclusively for about 20 years out of my 31 years lifting. Like Kostas and Aaron have already posted, the Smith Machine has its place. I have been doing free bar squats for the last 3 years as I found with the Smith Machine if your form and flexibility aren't perfect it can take a toll on your knees and hips. I fortunately never had these problems but I went back to free bar as it builds your stabilizers and triggers more leg muscle fibers which doesn't happen with the Smith Machine because it balances the weight for you.

Here are some suggestions: I use the Smith Machine as an overhead leg press. Lie on your back and press the bar up and down with your legs. Overhead presses are harder than 45 degree leg presses as the weight is overhead versus at an angle which creates a fulcrum effect thus reducing the actual weight lifted to 70% of what is on the sled. Overhead presses are 100% of the weight on the bar because of gravity and no fulcrum effect. Using the other suggestions Kostas gave you is also a great idea. It is OK to use the Smith Machine occassionally it is just not optimal for regular use.

John

Are you able to still actually get a barbell on your back though?

Just because they don't have squat racks doesn't mean you can't still do squats. You can either:

a) Get a spotter when you lift heaver weights to avoid injury

b) use lighter weight that you can handle relatively safely without fear of not being able to complete your reps.

That way you can still do free weight squats, and you can ensure you smash your legs with other exercises like the guys mentioned above.

Jordan

Could you post a picture of the Smith machine in your gym?

I had the same problem in ours and I used the mith mahcine with an independent barbell to convert it into a sort-of squat rack. The one I worked with, however, had 2 sets of racks.

Achyut

great responses everyone!

I work out at planet fitness. my leg day is in 40 min when i get out of work (i work overngihts there to)  theres benifits on working at a gym that you work out at. you save on travel time lol

Anyways ive always done smith machine squats there. ive seen peiople do them perfectly.  However i am not as flexable yet as the people that can do them and it sets off form and leads to making it hard to do.    So i agree with the other guys if you han slap some dumbells on your shoulders. they go up to 75lb  thats 150 total if you have 1 on each shoulder and squat.

I still use the smith machine but as a stretching and mobility.  let me explain this  ill slap 50 lbs on it and go into a slow squat till i cant bend anymore then ill hold it and squat a liottle lower.  my goal is to get the flexablitity to keep the form and do them the correct way.

I'd recommend you give goblet squats and split squats a go since no squat rack is available, I go to a busy gym with only one squat rack available so if someone else is using the squat rack I do these exercises as they work the same muscles.

I could,but Planet Fitness does not allow squating out side the Smith machine.

Here is a pic http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/planet-fitness-covina?select=0gDgWnWzEa7Agrw0BROrIw&userid=JhOhTp28gPBN2v-ggWA9Lg#0gDgWnWzEa7Agrw0BROrIw

Hey @Jmpickett043,

If you're not too tall, you can grab a barbell and use it in place of the smith machine bar. Just ensure that the smith machine bar isn't anywhere near your head or interfere with someone spotting you.
If available, use safety bars in case there's no one to spot you. Best do it at a time when the gym is not full of people.
The best thing about my gym is that they've got 5-6 barbells that are always free so it's never a problem.

The smith machine in our local gym is this one:

http://royadistore.com/product_images/m/281/46__60477_zoom.jpg