engage your core to maintain your posture and balance, which mimics real life activities like lifting boxes, laundry, kids, etc.

Two – it activates your muscles much more than using a Smith Machine, which means you build more muscle and that in turn increases your metabolic rate and helps you to burn fat.
Three – it allows for natural movement, unlike the Smith Machine which forces you into a straight vertical movement.  Think about it – when you lift something, you rarely ever do so in a perfectly straight up and down movement.
Four – I wanted to be a badass.   

Making the switch is easy if you do one thing.  Leave your ego at the door.  Whatever weight you were using on the Smith Machine, reduce it by 50%.  If you were squatting 100 lbs, start with 50 lbs, being sure to factor in the weight of the bar.  This is to help you get comfortable with using the proper form so you don’t get injured.  Slowly add weight during each successive training session, and before you know it, you’ll surpass your old max weight.

Please share this with others, and leave a comment below.