Incline Smith Machine Press (30°)

Starting position

1. Set the bench back to 30° and place the bench in the Smith machine so the bar comes down to your upper chest, just below the collarbones.
2. Set the safety stops slightly above your chest at the bottom position.
3. Sit with your hips on the seat and feet on the floor. Pull your shoulder blades together and press them into the pad.
4. Grip the bar slightly wider than shoulder width, forearms vertical at the bottom.

Execution

1. Press the bar up and rotate your wrists to unhook it.
2. Inhale and slowly lower the bar to your upper chest, elbows at 45–70° to your torso.
3. Touch your chest without bouncing.
4. Exhale and press the bar up without snapping your elbows into lockout. Hook the bar back on after the set.

Common mistakes

• Bench in the wrong spot — the bar travels to your neck or mid-chest and the shoulders take over.
• Hips leaving the seat — you lose the incline and load the lower back.
• Bouncing the bar off the chest — momentum does the work and the sternum takes the hit.
• Shoulder blades not retracted — the shoulders roll forward and the upper chest works less.

Beginner tips

• Check what the Smith bar weighs in your gym — it varies between machines.
• Before your first set, lower the empty bar to see exactly where it lands.
• Add 2.5 kg once you finish all sets with 1–2 reps to spare.

Alternatives

• Incline Barbell Bench Press — free weight, more work for the stabilizers
• Incline Dumbbell Bench Press — longer range of motion, arms work independently