Leverage Chest Press

What it is

This machine exercise builds strength across your upper body. It primarily targets your pectoral muscles, while also engaging your shoulders and triceps. You perform a controlled pressing motion against resistance, making it an excellent compound movement for chest development. It is an effective way to focus on muscle activation and build pushing power.

Technique tips

• Adjust the seat so handles align with your mid-chest at the start.
• Keep your shoulder blades retracted and chest lifted throughout the movement.
• Focus on driving the weight forward using your pectoral muscles.
• Control the return phase of the press, resisting the weight slowly.
• Avoid fully locking out your elbows at the top of the press.
• Maintain constant tension on your muscles by not fully resting the weight stack.

How to track your progress

Log the weight and reps of each set. Straddly turns every set into an estimated one-rep max, so a heavier single and a strong set of eight both count as progress, and it flags a personal record the moment you beat your best.