Smith Machine Close-Grip Bench Press

What it is

This exercise primarily targets your triceps, with significant involvement from your chest and shoulders. Performed on a Smith machine, it is a compound push movement designed to build strength and size in your arms. You will use a close, pronated grip to maximize triceps activation during the pressing motion.

Technique tips

• Keep your elbows tucked close to your body throughout the movement.
• Use a pronated, shoulder-width grip to best engage your triceps.
• Control the descent, taking at least twice as long to lower the bar.
• Breathe in as you lower the bar and exhale as you press it up.
• Fully extend your arms at the top of each repetition for a full contraction.

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.