Smith Machine Bench Press: The Safe, Effective Chest Day Upgrade for Home Gyms

We know, we know…it just ain't Monday without a set (or ten!) of bench pressing.

It is "International Chest Day" after all, and what better way to build a barrel chest than with the most effective upper body compound exercise?

This is an excellent point…but have you ever considered getting your Monday fix from the Smith Machine?

This variation arguably does a better job at working your chest muscles, and proper Smith Machine bench press form is very easy to master.

If you've been sleeping on this exercise, or the Smith Machine in general, it's time to wake up…and get benchin'!

What is the Smith Machine Bench Press?

Bench pressing on a Smith Machine is a very similar experience to free weight/barbell bench pressing (Schick et al., 2010). It involves moving a weight bench into the Smith Machine, lying back on the bench, unracking the Smith Bar, and pressing the bar away with the arms, mainly using the chest muscles.

If you have experience with "traditional" bench pressing, rest assured that you will not have to adopt a special Smith Machine bench press form. The two exercises are similar enough that you can maintain almost the exact same form for both.

Smith Machine Bench Press Muscles Worked

If you're using perfect Smith Machine bench press form, be prepared for your pec muscles and anterior deltoids (front of the shoulders) to work the hardest (Saeterbakken, van den Tillaar, & Fimland, 2011). The triceps are also involved, but the Smith Machine's fixed bar and stabilizing mechanisms somewhat limit their involvement.

The rotator cuffs, muscles that are heavily involved in conventional bench pressing, are also limited when opting to work with the Smith Machine (Schick et al., 2010). For those with pre-existing injuries to these sensitive muscles, this should be a relief!

Smith Machine Bench Press Benefits

Using a Smith Machine to bench press offers some unique benefits that free weight bench pressers can only dream about (Haugen et al., 2023). Assuming you have your Smith Machine bench press form optimized, you're sure to experience these benefits:

Stabilization and Isolation

The Smith Bar is always perfectly balanced. This almost completely reduces the demand for stabilization and allows you to focus much more directly on the target muscles.

A safe lifting experience

Free weight bench pressing can be intimidating, and benching without a spotter can be downright dangerous. With so many racking heights (where you can immediately rack the bar if you run into trouble), Smith Machine bench pressing, even solo, is incredibly safe.

Heavier loads

When you feel safe and the bar is comfortably supported by the Smith Machine, you can confidently use heavier weights. Most lifters can bench more with a Smith Machine than they can with free weights.

How to Do the Smith Machine Bench Press

A proper setup is the first and most important component of proper Smith Machine bench press form. Get that right and you've already won half the battle!

• Move your bench into the Smith Machine; ensure that it is as centered as possible.
• Lie back on the bench and closely observe where the Smith Bar is above you. If it is suspended directly above your mid-to-lower chest, your bench is in a good position. If it is not, move the bench forward or backward to achieve this position.
• The Smith Bar itself should be racked at a position where you can easily grasp it, but high enough where your arms are between 80 and 90 percent extended. Once you have found this position, load the bar with your starting weight.
• Lie back on the bench and give the bar a slight lift up as you rotate your wrist to release it. In a slow and controlled manner, lower the bar until it makes light contact with your chest. Pause momentarily before vigorously pushing the bar up and back to its starting position.
• Throughout the lift, ensure that your feet remain planted to the floor. Consciously push through them to create "leg drive", generating force that transfers through your torso and into the bar.
• Once you have completed your set, return the bar to your desired racking position, flip your wrist back to rack it, and gently allow it to settle back into place.

Key Difference Between Free Weight Bench Presses and Smith Machine Bench Presses

The barbell bench press may be the most popular exercise in fitness history. It is a staple of just about every serious strength and conditioning program.

Barbell bench pressing works the same muscles as Smith Machine bench pressing, but also gets the traps, serratus, and rhomboids involved, as well as the rotator cuffs. Without the Smith Machine's balancing capabilities, additional stabilizing control is required, requiring significant work from the ab muscles and external obliques.

Despite not directly targeting as many muscles, the Smith Machine bench press form is easier to master due to the Smith Bar's fixed path. The machine's numerous racking positions make it easy to quickly rerack when approaching failure. Spotters are helpful, but in most cases aren't necessary.

Smith Machine Bench Press Variations

Throughout this article, we've been discussing the Smith Machine flat bench press, specifically. We note this because this exercise's most popular variations involve altering the bench angle to target different areas of the chest:

Smith Machine Incline Press

The setup and execution for this variation are almost identical to the flat bench version. Opt for an adjustable bench and raise the angle to between 30 degrees (to best work the upper chest) and 60 degrees (to best work the front delts) while maintaining a similar Smith Machine bench press form and movement pattern.

Smith Machine Decline Press

Set your adjustable bench's decline to between 10 and 20 degrees to directly target your lower chest. Like all bench press variations, the triceps are also heavily involved.

Most Common Smith Machine Bench Press Mistakes

It's pretty hard to mess up your Smith Machine bench press form. The machine is designed to ensure that your bar path remains consistent throughout the duration of each rep. However, you'll still want to avoid a few common setup mistakes.

Incorrect Starting Smith Bar Height

Setting the barbell in racked positions that are too low (making it difficult to initially push up) or too high (requiring overly extended arms or an overly arched back to reach) are the most common mistakes.

Incorrect Bench Position

Positioning your bench too far in front of the Smith Bar or too far behind it can significantly impact your form. If your bench is too far in front, your arms are forced higher on your body, taking much of your chest out of the picture.

In contrast, if your bench is too far behind the Smith Bar, your arms will be much lower, forcing you to push from your stomach. This position also greatly limits your chest muscles' involvement.

Avoid these mistakes by experimenting for a few minutes before beginning your warm-up sets. As you become more familiar with proper Smith Machine bench press form, you'll quickly perfect your setup process and will get a good idea of the bench and bar height positions that work best for you.

The Smith Machine Bench Press - The New Monday Go-to Lift?

Right about now, we know you gotta be thinking the same thing we are:

"Smith Machine bench pressing deserves a lot more love than it gets!"

Between its easy setup and execution, superior muscle isolation, safety features, and just plain comfort, there should be a lot more pluses in your "why I should Smith Machine bench press tomorrow" list than minuses.

If you want to enjoy those Smith Machine bench press benefits, but don't have access to one, consider that there are some pretty legit, inexpensive options as well as some truly astounding, "all-in-one machines" to choose from.

…because why stop at bench pressing when you could be Smith Machine squatting, rowing, and deadlifting, too?

References

1. Saeterbakken, A. H., van den Tillaar, R., & Fimland, M. S. (2011). A comparison of muscle activity and 1-RM strength of three chest-press exercises with different stability requirements. Journal of Sports Sciences, 29(5): 533-538 https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2010.543916.

2. Schick, E. E., Coburn, J. W., Brown, L. E., Judelson, D. A., Khamoui, A. V., Tran, T. T., & Uribe, B. P. (2010). A comparison of muscle activation between a Smith machine and free weight bench press. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 24(3): 779-784 https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181c7c0d0.

3. Haugen, M. E., Vårvik, F. T., Larsen, S., Haugen, A. S., van den Tillaar, R., & Bjørnsen, T. (2023). Effect of free‐weight vs. machine‐based strength training on maximal strength, hypertrophy and jump performance: A systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation, 15(1): 103. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13102-023-00713-4.