Smith Machine Split Squat

Muscles worked by the Smith Machine Split Squat

Primary

GlutesGluteus MaximusQuadsQuadriceps Femoris

Secondary

HamstringsHamstring Muscles

Also called: glute, glutes, gluteus maximus, buttocks, butt, quad.

Equipment

Smith Machine

Also called: smith bar, guided barbell, fixed barbell, smith press.

How to do the Smith Machine Split Squat

1. Set the bar low enough that it will still clear your shoulders at the bottom of the rep, then step under it and rest it across your upper traps.
2. Unrack the bar and take a long stride forward with one foot, leaving the rear foot planted on the floor with the heel lifted.
3. Check that your front shin will stay roughly vertical when you descend; adjust the stride length before you start loading it.
4. Lower straight down by bending both knees until the rear knee is just above the floor and the front thigh is close to parallel.
5. Drive through the front heel to return to the start, keeping both feet in place, and repeat for the desired reps before switching sides.

Form tips

• Set the stride length first, unloaded. Once the bar is on your back the fixed path will not let you shuffle forward to fix a stance that is too short.
• Go straight down rather than forward. The bar can only travel vertically, so pushing the hips forward just jams your front knee past your toes.
• Do the same number of reps on each side and start with the weaker leg, since a machine-guided split squat hides a side-to-side difference that a free bar would expose.

At a glance

Smith Machine Split Squat in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• Banded Squat
• Barbell Back Squat
• Bodyweight Squat
• Box Squat
• Bulgarian Split Squat
• Dumbbell Front Squat
• Dumbbell Pistol Squat
• Dumbbell Split Squat

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "smith-machine-split-squat",
  "name_en": "Smith Machine Split Squat",
  "name_de": "Smith Machine Ausfallschritt-Kniebeuge",
  "name_es": "Sentadilla en Tijera en Máquina Smith",
  "description_en": "A stationary split squat under a Smith machine bar, with the rear foot resting on the floor rather than a bench, so the guided path takes balance out of a single-leg movement.",
  "description_de": "Eine stationäre Ausfallschritt-Kniebeuge unter der Smith-Machine-Stange, bei der der hintere Fuß auf dem Boden statt auf einer Bank steht — die geführte Bahn nimmt das Gleichgewicht aus einer einbeinigen Bewegung heraus.",
  "description_es": "Una sentadilla en tijera estática bajo la barra de la máquina Smith, con el pie trasero apoyado en el suelo en lugar de un banco, de modo que la trayectoria guiada quita el equilibrio de un movimiento unilateral.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "push",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "intermediate",
  "equipment": "smith_machine",
  "body_part": "upper_legs",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "gluteus_maximus",
    "quadriceps"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "hamstrings"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "hypertrophy",
    "strength"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "leg_day",
    "knee_safe",
    "shoulder_safe"
  ],
  "variation_group": "squat",
  "is_unilateral": true,
  "is_bodyweight": false,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Set the bar low enough that it will still clear your shoulders at the bottom of the rep, then step under it and rest it across your upper traps.",
    "Unrack the bar and take a long stride forward with one foot, leaving the rear foot planted on the floor with the heel lifted.",
    "Check that your front shin will stay roughly vertical when you descend; adjust the stride length before you start loading it.",
    "Lower straight down by bending both knees until the rear knee is just above the floor and the front thigh is close to parallel.",
    "Drive through the front heel to return to the start, keeping both feet in place, and repeat for the desired reps before switching sides."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Stelle die Stange tief genug ein, dass sie am tiefsten Punkt der Wiederholung noch über deine Schultern passt, tritt darunter und lege sie auf dem oberen Trapezmuskel ab.",
    "Entracke die Stange und mache mit einem Fuß einen langen Schritt nach vorn; der hintere Fuß bleibt mit angehobener Ferse auf dem Boden.",
    "Prüfe, ob dein vorderes Schienbein beim Absenken senkrecht bleibt, und korrigiere die Schrittlänge, bevor du sie belastest.",
    "Senke dich gerade nach unten ab, indem du beide Knie beugst, bis das hintere Knie knapp über dem Boden ist und der vordere Oberschenkel nahezu parallel steht.",
    "Drücke über die vordere Ferse zurück in die Ausgangsposition, ohne die Füße zu versetzen, und wiederhole für die gewünschten Wiederholungen, bevor du die Seite wechselst."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Coloca la barra lo bastante baja para que siga librando tus hombros en el punto más bajo de la repetición, métete debajo y apóyala sobre los trapecios altos.",
    "Desengancha la barra y da una zancada larga hacia delante con un pie, dejando el pie trasero apoyado en el suelo con el talón elevado.",
    "Comprueba que la tibia delantera quedará vertical al bajar; ajusta la longitud de la zancada antes de empezar a cargarla.",
    "Baja en línea recta flexionando ambas rodillas hasta que la rodilla trasera quede justo por encima del suelo y el muslo delantero cerca de la paralela.",
    "Empuja con el talón delantero para volver al inicio sin mover los pies, y repite las repeticiones deseadas antes de cambiar de lado."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Set the stride length first, unloaded. Once the bar is on your back the fixed path will not let you shuffle forward to fix a stance that is too short.",
    "Go straight down rather than forward. The bar can only travel vertically, so pushing the hips forward just jams your front knee past your toes.",
    "Do the same number of reps on each side and start with the weaker leg, since a machine-guided split squat hides a side-to-side difference that a free bar would expose."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Lege die Schrittlänge zuerst unbelastet fest. Liegt die Stange erst einmal auf dem Rücken, lässt dich die fixe Bahn nicht mehr nach vorn rutschen, um einen zu kurzen Stand zu korrigieren.",
    "Gehe gerade nach unten, nicht nach vorn. Die Stange kann sich nur senkrecht bewegen, ein Vorschieben der Hüfte drückt das vordere Knie nur über die Zehen hinaus.",
    "Mache auf beiden Seiten gleich viele Wiederholungen und beginne mit dem schwächeren Bein — eine geführte Ausfallschritt-Kniebeuge verdeckt einen Seitenunterschied, den eine freie Stange sofort zeigen würde."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Fija primero la longitud de la zancada sin carga. Una vez que la barra está sobre tu espalda, la trayectoria fija no te dejará avanzar para corregir una posición demasiado corta.",
    "Baja recto, no hacia delante. La barra solo puede desplazarse en vertical, así que empujar la cadera hacia delante únicamente adelanta la rodilla más allá de los dedos.",
    "Haz el mismo número de repeticiones por lado y empieza por la pierna más débil, ya que una sentadilla en tijera guiada oculta una diferencia entre lados que una barra libre dejaría en evidencia."
  ],
  "met": 6.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/smith-machine-split-squat-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/smith-machine-split-squat-peak.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "smith-machine-split-squat");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.