Smith Machine Bench Press
Trains the Pecs.
- Equipment
- A machine and either a flat bench or an adjustable bench
- Mechanic
- Compound
- Force
- Push
- Level
- Beginner
How to do it
- Set a flat bench under the Smith machine bar so the bar lands over your lower chest when you lie down.
- Set the safety catches just below your chest before you start.
- Lie back and take an overhand grip a little wider than your shoulders.
- Set your shoulder blades back and down, then twist the bar to unhook it.
- Lower to your lower chest under control, keeping the elbows at about forty-five degrees.
- Press back up to almost straight arms, and re-hook the bar before letting go.
Common mistakes
- Setting the bench so the bar comes down at your throat. A free bar travels where you send it; here the line is fixed, so the bench position is the only thing that decides where it lands — and it is set before the first repetition, not adjusted during one.
- Skipping the safety catches because the machine has hooks. The hooks only catch if you twist the bar, which is the thing a failed repetition stops you doing.
- Treating the fixed path as a reason to go heavier than a free bench. The stabilising work disappears; the load through the shoulder and the chest does not.
- Letting the shoulder blades roll forward as you press. Nothing about the machine keeps them set — that is still yours to hold, and it is what keeps the load on the chest rather than the front of the shoulder.