I have a membership to the YMCA and they don't have a squat rack, just a smith machine. Will the smith machine give me similar results? There is another YMCA that's 10 minutes farther then the one I go to and they have a squat rack. Are the benefits of the squat rack vs smith worth the extra distance? I'm really crunched for time these days so the extra 20min is a lot.

There's a belief that they're worse on your knees, but this article - http://www.exrx.net/ExInfo/SmithSquat2.html - claims that there's no basis for this. It also has some instructions on how to avoid common mistakes.

The worst aspect, besides the knee-thing, is that when you do it on a smith machine, you're not doing a full compound exercise. Your shoulders, back, lats, abs, etc. are not helping stabilize your body. They're still effective for your legs, but less so for the rest of your body. Not to mention that you don't get the full range of motion that you would with free weights.

I would do squats if possible. And if you're doing it once a week, it's only twenty minutes more on one visit.

edit: A caveat - The best way to tell if a smith machine is for you is to try one out. Some people find them horribly, uncomfortably unnatural. Others find them easy to use. If you feel your motion is smooth and normal, stick to it. If it feels uncomfortable, stick to free weights.

The worst aspect, besides the knee-thing, is that when you do it on a smith machine, you're not doing a full compound exercise. Your shoulders, back, lats, abs, etc. are not helping stabilize your body. They're still effective for your legs, but less so for the rest of your body. Not to mention that you don't get the full range of motion that you would with free weights.

I would do squats if possible. And if you're doing it once a week, it's only twenty minutes more on one visit.

edit: A caveat - The best way to tell if a smith machine is for you is to try one out. Some people find them horribly, uncomfortably unnatural. Others find them easy to use. If you feel your motion is smooth and normal, stick to it. If it feels uncomfortable, stick to free weights.

Yeah, the smith isn't as effective I think because it doesn't involve stabilizing. I wouldn't say that smith machine squats suck, but I think squats are way more effective. Not just for quads but for overall development. I didn't do squats for over 2 years and instead did leg press. While the leg press isn't a bad exercise I didn't gain hardly any size in my legs. I just started squatting about a month ago and I am already seeing a difference, again not only in quads but also in overall mass.

I personally hate the smith machine for squats (and just about everything else) as I don't like the path it restricts your movements to. It just doesn't go with the natural mechanics of my body. Do free weight squats if possible.

i did smith machine squats for a while because the trainer at the gym put me on them, i started doing free-weight squats a few weeks ago, my back is feeling better, and my legs are getting alot more size!

i'd say go with free-weight if you can, also, at my gym, 1 smith machine + 20-40people doing weights = long waiting time, no one does free weight squats (except me, and one other guy, but i do them better :p) at my gym

no one does free weight squats (except me, and one other guy, but i do them better :p) at my gym

I have noticed this at my gym as well. I have NEVER seen anyone do squats.

In the evenings the gym is so busy you can never get a bench, the squat rack however is always free. I think on Leg day I'm going to move it to the evening (its impossible to do chest at my gym in the evenings) and add a cardio in the morning.

God I love / hate squats!!!! :D

Doing your squats on the smith machine isn't going to do you any harm, though it's definitely not the same as barbell squats. If you can...I'd do the smith machine squats at your regular YMCA, since there's no point in causing more stress in your life by pushing your time constraints even futher than they are. With that being said...if possible, make a special trip over to the other YMCA that has the rack whenever you may have some extra time, and the added trip isn't a killer.
Barbell squats are by far superior to just about everything, but you have to work with what you have. Your time constraints may change down the road. For now, build your lower body with what you have available.

If possible stick to freeweight barbell squats.
Everyone I see using the smith machine they always look cramped and uncomfortable when they try doing squats.

Ok, this really sucks. The other YMCA does not have a squat rack, just a smith machine. I thought they did since I called and they said they had one. So I'm debating if I should use the smith machine or just the leg press. Anthony Ellis from skinnyguy.com says that smith machine can auctually harm you due to a lot of stress on the knees, and that the leg press would be better in gaining mass and strength. So I think I'm going to use the leg press in place of squats. What do you guys think?

Sounds like a plan...perhaps you could do hack squats also. I don't mean on a machine...I mean with the bar and some real weights.

Ok, this really sucks. The other YMCA does not have a squat rack, just a smith machine. I thought they did since I called and they said they had one. So I'm debating if I should use the smith machine or just the leg press. Anthony Ellis from skinnyguy.com says that smith machine can auctually harm you due to a lot of stress on the knees, and that the leg press would be better in gaining mass and strength. So I think I'm going to use the leg press in place of squats. What do you guys think?

Well, you probably could still do squats without a real official squat rack, just with a barbell. It would be pretty dangerous and I wouldn't do that.

I don't know about leg presses. I'm sure they are good for your legs, but I did them (without squats) and also leg extensions for 2 years and really didn't get anything in terms of quadracep size. I just recently bit the bullet and started squatting a little over a month ago and I'm already seeing progress (I'm doing 3 sets of squats and 2 sets of leg presses for quads, along with stiff legged deadlifts and lying leg curls for hamstrings).

I dunno dude. A gym that doesn't have a squat rack doesn't sound like a very good gym to me. Just my opinion.

This might be an idea, if you have a place to set it up at home.
http://www.shermworks.com/index.html

Do hack squats - http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Quadriceps/BBHackSquat.html

Much better than Smith machine.