Smith Machine Bench Press

Also called smith bench press, smith machine bench and smith flat press.

Works

Chest, plus shoulders and triceps

Equipment

Machine

Level

Beginner

Type

Compound

How to do it

Setup. Place a flat bench underneath the smith machine. Now place the barbell at a height that you can reach when lying down and your arms are almost fully extended. Once the weight you need is selected, lie down on the flat bench. Using a pronated grip that is wider than shoulder width, unlock the bar from the rack and hold it straight over you with your arms locked. This will be your starting position.

1. As you breathe in, come down slowly until you feel the bar on your middle chest.
2. After a second pause, bring the bar back to the starting position as you breathe out and push the bar using your chest muscles. Lock your arms in the contracted position, hold for a second and then start coming down slowly again. Tip: It should take at least twice as long to go down than to come up.
3. Repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions.
4. When you are done, lock the bar back in the rack.

Cues

• Bench set so the bar hits mid-chest.
• Shoulder blades pinned back.
• Lower to the chest, elbows 45 degrees.
• Press up and lock out.

Common mistakes

• Bench too far forward or back.
• Elbows flared to 90 degrees.

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.

Go easy, or pick an alternative, if you have a sore shoulder. Pain that's sharp or gets worse set to set means stop.

Harder

Easier

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