Smith Machine Bench Press

Start

Finish

How to do it

Position the bench so the fixed bar path lands at mid-chest, lower to a light touch on the chest, then press up and rotate the hooks clear before starting the set.

Muscles worked

Primary: chest · Also works: triceps, front delts

Equipment

Machines, Full gym

Common mistakes

• Placing the bench wrong so the bar lands on the throat or the belly
• Forgetting to rotate the safeties off before the first rep
• Treating the fixed path as permission to skip bracing the torso

Variations

• Smith incline press
• Smith close-grip press

Can't do this one? Swap it for

• Barbell Bench Press
• Machine Chest Press
• Dumbbell Bench Press

Related exercises

• Barbell Bench Presschest
• Dumbbell Bench Presschest
• Push-Upchest
• Machine Chest Presschest
• Incline Dumbbell Presschest
• Cable Flychest