Powerline (PSM144X) Smith Machine by Body-Solid - Strength Training Equipment with Super-Glide Carriage, Adjustable Safeties, and Dual-Lock Safety Spotter Catch System

This is a great Smith Squat Machine and it is a great price. It is solid and I would say one can easily and safely squat with 400 to 450 pounds. Very well constructed and doesn't take up much space so perfect for a home gym. It took about 1.5 hours to assemble and instructions were good. Using the Smith Squat Machine allows you to squat with your back straight, feet closer together and pointed straight ahead therefore most of the stress goes towards building up the quads (front thighs) as opposed to a barbell squat where you work your thighs, glutes (butt), lower back and even hamstrings a little. In just a few months I have added significant muscle to my thighs that I wasn't getting from regular squats. My legs have gone from 23" to 24" and I see that continuing despite my advanced age. As far as Smith Squat Machines go, this one based on quality and price is the obvious choice and I highly recommend it. Note the barbell is for standard (1" hole") weights. You can use Olympic plates (2" hole") but not designed for them.That said, it is important that you understand the purpose of a Smith Squat Machine and its Pros and Cons versus doing regular barbell squats.Pros: For building up the size of your quads and especially the outer quads, it is superior to barbell squats, leg press, hack squats, leg extensions etc. This is because you are isolating your quads and using much less of your glutes and lower back so better than regular squats. Also because you are standing, it is a better quad muscle builder than leg presses and hack squat machines. Another huge benefit is you don't need a spotter as with barbell squats, you can safely workout alone in your home. Another plus, unlike the barbell squat you can go to absolute failure and push yourself to brink without fear of one of those horrific squatting accidents you see on videos on YouTube. Also, as with standing calf machines you are much less likely to injure your back on the Smith. As with regular barbell squats they are also fine for the knees. The biggest plus of all is if you are fairly tall and especially if you have long legs relative to your torso, you will be very comfortable in the Smith while regular squats will be awkward as you have to lean too far forward to balance the barbell (see photos of Arnold).Cons: If you are competing in sports such as Track & Field, Football, Basketball, etc you must do regular barbell squats and not use a Smith Machine. The Smith Machine does not develop the stabilizer muscles and balancing strength needed for sport competition. I no longer compete at anything and just want to build up my quads without overdeveloping my glutes so the Smith is perfect for that and better than regular squats. My personal routine is 3 months of Smith, then 1 month of regular barbell squats then repeat.

Pros and cons. Pros you don’t have to buy weights. Cons you don’t have to buy weights, because the design of the machine is horrible. Like other reviewers said. The slide and lube (bottle supplied) design barely works. I don’t use weights as the resistance is so bad I could use it. I’m 6’2 and 210. I’m to the Point where I am just picking the whole machine up because the resistance is now 100% and no amount of lube can get it to slide up and down any longer. What’s unfortunate is once you build it you have to figure out a way to disassemble it and throw it in a dumpster. Do not buy!

I absolutely love this machine. I am a small woman and do not lift a ton of weight. I mostly wanted it for glutes and leg exercises, so I can't comment on using the heavier weights, but for me it is perfect. Also, I measure 4'10" so I would need a little additional range of motion on the bottom end of the machine, but I used a step when performing some of the exercises such as the deadlift and voila, problem solved.I put it together myself in a couple of hours, although I do recommend two people as it is somewhat awkward to put together alone. Customer service was awesome in replacing a part I broke. I called Body Solid directly and explained to them I broke a part and lost another and would be willing to pay for them and they just sent them to me free of charge. Body solid rocks.I did not have a lot of room for this machine and was skeptical in purchasing it solely on that; however, it does not take up a lot of space. It is very, very smooth, but you need to really lather on the lubricant they include in the boxes.Overall, I am very happy I purchased it. Powerline by Body Solid never disappoints.

There's a review that says he used a bunch of oil and couldn't get it to slide well, but he legit just put it together wrong lolDirections could be better, but make sure you put the little black plugs in from the inside of the bar holders. The smooth side makes it so that the bar is able to slide along the metal (the review mentioned before had black end caps here which are supposed to be one the safety system to keep it from sliding in the event you drop the weight, thats why his bar won't slide).4 stars because we're missing some washers and the instructions weren't very well designed but overall its a pretty decent machine! We literally just put it together the same day this review was written and we don't have any weights yet to really put it to work but so far so good. Don't expect gym quality though

Ok, I wanted to wait a few weeks of using this product before reviewing. In short, this is a very decent smith machine for home gym use. I'm a bit surprised by some of the negative reviews as I found this product easy to assemble (took about two hours with minimal tools). The assembly instructions could be better, but if you've assembled gym equipment before you'll likely figure it out pretty quickly. The product came with silicon spray lubricant that, when applied, makes the machine glide smoothly.The machine is a bit "light weight" so if you're going to do heavy weights (>300 lbs) you may want to consider another product. To stabilize the frame a bit more, I put two sand bags on the base similar to the ones you see used on soccer goals. My sons and I use the machine for a variety of exercises and are very happy with the performance but have not had more than 240 lbs on it at any given time.All in all I'm happy with this purchase and recommend it if you're looking for a decent, inexpensive smith machine for your home gym. For that purpose I've given it five stars. It really can't be compared to commercial gym smith machines,

It works fine , but you must use it as straight up and down squats , not as I like to do where I put my legs forward and have my body somewhat angled,I almost tipped over.