Smith Machine Overhead Shoulder Press

How to do it

1. Set an upright bench under the Smith machine bar, or stand if you prefer.
2. Position yourself so the bar's fixed line passes just in front of your face.
3. Take an overhand grip a little wider than your shoulders and unhook the bar at shoulder height.
4. Brace your stomach and press straight up until the arms are almost straight.
5. Move your head back slightly as the bar passes, then return it once the bar is overhead.
6. Lower to shoulder height under control and re-hook the bar at the end of the set.

Common mistakes

• Sitting so the bar's line runs through your face rather than in front of it. A free bar goes where you send it; here the line is fixed and your position is the only adjustment.
• Pressing behind the neck because the fixed path makes it feel controlled. Taking the bar behind the head puts the shoulder into full external rotation and abduction at the same time, and the machine holds it there rather than letting you adjust.
• Loading it against a free-weight press number. The balance is removed; the load through the shoulder is not.
• Forgetting to re-hook before letting go. The bar is above your head at the end of a set, which is the worst moment to discover the hooks are not set.

Muscles worked

Primary

• Shoulders

Secondary

• Triceps