The Smith Machine Is Sometimes Better Than The Squat Rack
The smith machine is a machine version of the free weight squat rack. This machine gets a lot of hate, but also has some surprising advantages. Like any tool in the toolkit of a good exerciser, the smith machine shouldn’t be ignored.
Developing The Delts
The deltoids are an important muscle group that work in conjunction with the back, shoulders, and pectorals. They are a small muscle group and therefore they grow more slowly. Training them is a long term goal that requires patience, strict form, and more patience. The trapezius muscles (traps) are also key in developing the delts and are also difficult to isolate and train individually. There are many excercises that help specifically build up the delts and traps, but they can also be trained during your normal lifting routine. The posterior delts are the least targeted during regular training so if you want to develop the delts, make sure you focus on this area.
What Is the Ideal Number of Exercises Per Workout?
Should your workout be short, or long? How many exercises should you use? There's a lot of conflicting information out there - but the reality is that in most cases, it doesn't matter too much.
Muscle Activation Is More Dependent On Load Than Form
It's commonly believed that small tweaks to your exercise form can sometimes have huge results in terms of muscle activation, and you can use this to preferentially target certain muscles. However, it's far more important to focus on good progression first.