In this video, Allison Murphy takes you through a highly effective full body strength workout at home. If you are looking to build strength, muscle and enhance your performance and physique, then this will be perfect for you. You will train your upper body, lower body, and core.
She is using the RITFIT M1 Smith Machine so that you can bench without a spotter, stay extra safe on the squats and train hard without having to worry about needing any assistance. We’ll dive into the machine later, but first let’s check out the workout.
Remember to scale the weight in accordance with your ability and training experience level, and have fun.
The Best Full Body Strength Workout at Home
Let’s dive deeper into the benefits and perfect your technique with the following tips.
Squats
Squats performed on a Smith Machine provide a stable environment for building lower body strength and muscle. The fixed bar path makes the movement easier to learn than a free weight squat, allowing athletes to focus on proper technique while reducing the need to balance the bar.
Squats primarily target the quadriceps, glutes, and hamstrings while also strengthening the core. They help improve functional strength, support athletic performance, and make everyday activities such as standing up, climbing stairs, and lifting objects easier.
Technique
- Position the Smith machine bar across your upper back and stand with your feet slightly in front of the bar, about shoulder width apart.
- Unrack the bar and brace your core.
- Lower yourself by bending your knees and hips while keeping your chest up and your back neutral.
- Descend until your thighs are at least parallel to the floor or as low as your mobility allows.
- Push through your heels to return to the starting position and fully extend your hips before beginning the next repetition.
Bench Press
The bench press on the RITFIT M1 Smith Machine is an excellent exercise for building strength and muscle in the chest, shoulders, and triceps. The guided bar path improves stability and allows beginners to focus on producing force rather than balancing the weight. It is also useful for safely training close to muscular failure, making it an effective choice for muscle growth.
Technique
- Place a flat bench beneath the Smith machine so the bar lines up with your mid chest.
- Lie on the bench with your feet firmly planted on the floor and grip the bar slightly wider than shoulder width.
- Unrack the bar and lower it under control until it lightly touches your chest.
- Press the bar upward until your arms are fully extended while keeping your shoulders pulled back against the bench throughout the movement.
Lat Pulldowns
The high pulley attachment makes lat pulldowns one of the best exercises for developing a wider, stronger back. They primarily train the latissimus dorsi while also working the biceps, rhomboids, and rear shoulders. For beginners who cannot yet perform pull ups, lat pulldowns are an ideal way to build the strength needed for bodyweight pulling exercises.
Technique
- Sit at the lat pulldown station and secure your thighs beneath the pads.
- Grip the bar with a wide overhand grip and lean back very slightly.
- Pull the bar toward the top of your chest by driving your elbows down and back.
- Pause briefly while squeezing your shoulder blades together, then slowly return the bar to the starting position with your arms fully extended.
Cable Rows
Cable rows on the Smith machine’s low pulley are excellent for building thickness through the middle back while strengthening the lats, rhomboids, traps, rear shoulders, and biceps. The constant cable tension provides smooth resistance throughout the movement, helping improve posture and balancing the muscles developed by pressing exercises.
Technique
- Sit with your feet securely braced and grasp the handle with your preferred grip.
- Begin with your arms fully extended and your torso upright.
- Pull the handle toward your lower ribs by driving your elbows back while keeping your chest lifted.
- Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the end of the movement, then slowly extend your arms to return to the starting position without allowing your shoulders to round forward.
Pull Ups
Pull ups are among the most effective upper body exercises you can perform. They build strength and muscle in the lats, biceps, upper back, shoulders, and forearms while also improving grip strength and body control. As you become stronger, pull ups can be progressed by adding weight or made easier with resistance bands for assistance.
Technique
- Grip the pull up bar with your hands slightly wider than shoulder width and hang with your arms fully extended.
- Brace your core and pull yourself upward by driving your elbows down toward your sides.
- Continue until your chin clears the bar without swinging your body.
- Lower yourself under control until your arms are fully extended before beginning the next repetition.
RITFIT M1 Smith Machine
This is a high quality and super durable machine, which is perfect for home training. The RITFIT M1 Smith Machine offers several advantages, particularly for beginners, people training alone, and anyone focused on muscle growth. While it does not completely replace free weights, it can make many exercises safer and easier to learn.
Improved Safety
One of the biggest advantages of a Smith machine is safety. The fixed bar travels along guide rails, reducing the risk of losing control of the weight. Most Smith machines also include built in safety catches, allowing you to lock the bar in place at almost any point during a lift. This makes it possible to train hard without needing a spotter, especially on exercises like the bench press and squat.
Easier to Learn Proper Technique
Because the bar follows a fixed path, beginners can focus on learning movement patterns rather than balancing the weight. This often makes exercises such as squats, lunges, shoulder presses, and bench presses feel more controlled while confidence and coordination improve.
Better for Muscle Growth
The added stability means you spend less effort balancing the load and more effort producing force with the target muscles. This can increase training volume and allow you to push sets closer to muscular failure, both of which are key drivers of hypertrophy.
Greater Confidence Training Alone
Many people hesitate to lift heavy weights without a training partner. A Smith machine removes much of that concern by providing a guided movement and quick safety stops. As a result, lifters often feel more comfortable progressively increasing the weight.
Excellent for Isolation Exercises
The stable bar path allows you to focus on specific muscles without worrying about balance. Exercises such as calf raises, hip thrusts, split squats, shrugs, and incline presses can all be performed with greater stability, making it easier to establish a strong mind muscle connection.
Reduced Balance Requirements
Not every workout needs to challenge balance. If your goal is building muscle or recovering from fatigue, allowing the machine to provide stability lets you direct more effort toward the working muscles instead of stabilizing the weight.
Highly Versatile
Modern all in one Smith machines combine the Smith bar with cable pulleys, a pull up bar, and plate storage. This allows you to perform dozens of exercises including squats, presses, rows, pulldowns, cable flyes, curls, triceps pushdowns, lunges, and core work, making it possible to complete a full body workout with a single piece of equipment.
Supports Progressive Overload
Progressive overload is one of the most important principles for building strength and muscle. Because the Smith machine provides a consistent movement path every repetition, it is easier to accurately track performance and gradually increase the weight, repetitions, or training volume over time.
What the Research Says
Research comparing Smith machine and free weight exercises suggests that free weights generally recruit more stabilizing muscles because the lifter must control the bar in three dimensions. However, studies also show that Smith machine exercises can produce similar levels of activation in the primary working muscles and remain highly effective for increasing strength and muscle mass when progressive overload is applied. For many lifters, the best approach is to use both free weights and Smith machine exercises depending on the goal of the workout.
Full Body Strength Workout at Home – Wrapping it All Up
This workout will guide you through everything you need to do, exactly how to do it, and motivate you to become the best version of yourself.
Performing the movements on a Smith machine offers unmatched levels of safety and piece of mind, and will help to keep you injury free and orientated towards success.
