Smith Machine Bench Press

What it is

This exercise guides you through a controlled pressing motion using a fixed barbell path. It primarily works your chest muscles, with significant engagement from your shoulders and triceps. You perform this movement lying on a flat bench within a Smith machine.

Technique tips

• Set the bar height so you can unrack it with arms almost straight.
• Use a grip slightly wider than your shoulders for optimal chest activation.
• Lower the bar slowly and in a controlled manner to your mid-chest.
• Breathe in as you lower the weight and exhale as you press it up.
• Pause briefly at the bottom before pushing the bar back up.
• Maintain constant tension on your chest throughout the entire movement.

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.