The Smith Machine Incline Bench Press is a beginner-friendly machine strength exercise that targets the chest, with the shoulders and triceps working alongside. Here's how to do it right — and what to stop doing.
Primary musclesChest
Secondary musclesShoulders, Triceps
EquipmentMachine
LevelBeginner
TypeStrength
3D demo in the EGON app
01 Execution
How to do the Smith Machine Incline Bench Press
Set the incline bench under the Smith bar at about 30 to 45 degrees, with the bar over your upper chest.
Lie back on the bench, plant your feet flat on the floor, and grip the bar slightly wider than shoulders.
Pull your shoulder blades back and down into the bench to set a stable pressing position.
Unrack the bar by rotating the wrists, then lower it slowly to your upper chest with elbows at about 60 degrees.
Pause briefly at the bottom with the bar touching the chest and tension held through the upper body.
Drive the bar back up to full lockout by pressing through the upper chest and triceps.
02 The payoff
Why it earns its spot
Builds the upper chest with a fixed bar path that's easy to load progressively.
Allows safe failure-training for lifters working out alone.
Reinforces a strong upper-body pressing pattern with reduced balance demand.
03 Don't do this
Common mistakes
Setting the incline too high, which turns the lift into an overhead press and removes the chest focus.
Letting the elbows flare to 90 degrees, which strains the front shoulders and reduces chest engagement.
Lifting the hips off the bench to use leverage, which destabilizes the lift.
Bouncing the bar off the chest to use momentum instead of a controlled press.
EGON Put it on record
Track it in EGON.
Log every set of the Smith Machine Incline Bench Press, get your PRs detected automatically, earn aura for the work — and climb five leagues of statues, from Stone to Ego.
