Exercise guide · evidence-graded

Smith Machine Bench Press

The Smith machine bench press is a flat bench press with the barbell fixed to vertical rails, so the bar travels in a set path and hooks onto the frame at any height. It works the chest, the front of the shoulders and the triceps, and the guided bar and hooks let you train hard without a spotter.

Also called: Smith Bench, Smith Bench Press, Smith Machine Flat Press · Equipment: machine · Pattern: push

Open in the app
How to do it

Step by step

  1. Place a flat bench inside the Smith machine so the bar comes down over the bottom of your breastbone. Check it by bringing the empty bar down once, then set the safety catches just below chest height.
  2. Lie on the bench with your feet flat on the floor. Grip the bar a little wider than shoulder width, so your forearms are vertical when the bar touches your chest.
  3. Pull your shoulder blades back and down into the bench and keep your upper back tight, with your glutes and head on the bench.
  4. Take a big breath, brace your trunk, straighten your arms and rotate the bar to release it from the hooks.
  5. Bring the bar down under control to the bottom of your breastbone. Keep your elbows angled about 45–70° from your torso.
  6. Touch your chest with control, then press the bar straight up to straight arms. Drive your feet into the floor and keep your glutes on the bench.
  7. After the last rep, lock out and rotate the bar back so the hooks catch the nearest slot.
Coaching cues
  • Bar to the bottom of your breastbone
  • Shoulder blades back and down, pinned to the bench
  • Elbows 45–70° from your sides
  • Push the floor away, glutes on the bench
  • Big breath and brace before every rep
  • Rotate the bar onto the hooks at the top

In VALDA, these cues are one tap away on the exercise while you train.

Muscles worked

What it trains

MuscleRoleEvidence
Pectoralis major: sternocostal (mid)Prime moverC
Anterior deltoidSecondaryC
Triceps brachii: lateral headSecondaryC
Triceps brachii: medial headSecondaryC
Pectoralis major: clavicular (upper)SecondaryC
Serratus anteriorStabiliserD

Evidence grades: A = strong research base · B = good · C = limited · D = coaching consensus.

Common faults

What goes wrong, and the fix

Bench set in the wrong spot

Fix: Set the bench so the empty bar touches the bottom of your breastbone.

Elbows flared out towards 90°

Fix: Angle your elbows about 45–70° from your sides, forearms vertical under the bar.

Bouncing the bar off the chest

Fix: Touch the chest with control, hold tension, then press.

Shoulder blades losing their set position

Fix: Set your shoulder blades back and down before you unhook the bar.

Hips lifting off the bench

Fix: Drive your feet into the floor while your glutes stay on the bench.

Safety catches left too low or not set

Fix: Set the safety catches just below chest height before your first set.

Programming

What the research says

Muscle growth · first choiceStrengthRehab & prehabGeneral fitnessEnduranceFat loss & conditioning

  • Machines and free weights — A meta-analysis and a trial in trained lifters found machine and free-weight training give similar muscle growth, with strength gains specific to the equipment trained on.
  • Muscle activity — EMG studies comparing the Smith and free-bar bench found similar chest and front-shoulder activity; the free bar used more of the side shoulder to balance. Activity is not growth.
  • Load and effort — Research finds strength favours heavier loads, while growth is similar across a wide range of loads when sets are hard. True failure adds only a trivial-to-small growth benefit, and the hooks let lifters train close to failure without a spotter.
  • Volume and rest — Research links more weekly sets for a muscle to more growth, with diminishing returns. In trained lifters, 3-minute rests produced greater strength and size gains than 1-minute rests.
Alternatives · VALDA FLEX

Swap it mid-workout

With VALDA Pro, FLEX offers alternatives like these when you swap an exercise mid-workout.

Log the smith machine bench press in VALDA, with these cues one tap away while you train and your history for it in one place.

General information about exercise technique, not medical advice. If you have an injury or a health condition, your healthcare provider is the right person to ask.