Smith Machine Leg Exercise Variations All Smith machine squat variations work the upper-leg muscles to some degree, but foot placement can shift the emphasis toward specific muscles. Feet slightly in front (vertical shins at the bottom) → greater glute emphasis Wide stance → emphasizes the adductors and glutes Narrow stance → increases quad activation Hip-width stance → targets the quads and glutes more evenly Heels elevated → biases the quads even more Toes-elevated stiff-leg deadlifts → emphas