Machine Bench Press

Also called chest press machine and seated chest press.

Works

Chest, plus shoulders and triceps

Equipment

Machine

Level

Beginner

Type

Compound

How to do it

Setup. Sit down on the Chest Press Machine and select the weight.

1. Step on the lever provided by the machine since it will help you to bring the handles forward so that you can grab the handles and fully extend the arms.
2. Grab the handles with a palms-down grip and lift your elbows so that your upper arms are parallel to the floor to the sides of your torso. Tip: Your forearms will be pointing forward since you are grabbing the handles. Once you bring the handles forward and extend the arms you will be at the starting position.
3. Now bring the handles back towards you as you breathe in.
4. Push the handles away from you as you flex your pecs and you breathe out. Hold the contraction for a second before going back to the starting position.
5. Repeat for the recommended amount of reps.
6. When finished step on the lever again and slowly get the handles back to their original place.

Cues

• Handles at mid-chest.
• Press without locking hard.
• Control the return, keep the shoulders back.

Common mistakes

• Shoulders rolling forward.
• Dropping the stack.

Where to start

A starting point, not a law. Pick a weight you could lift two or three more times than the top of the range. Tempo is seconds down, pause, up. When every set hits the top of the range, add a little weight.