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Decline Smith Press

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Decline Smith Press

Setup

Place a decline bench under the Smith machine bar and set the safety stops just below the lowest point the bar will reach at your chest. Hook your feet under the leg pad and lie back so the bar sits just above your lower chest with your arms nearly straight. Take a grip wider than your shoulders, twist to unlock the bar and hold it straight above your chest as your starting position. Smith machines are common at Vietnamese gyms and have built-in safety stops, which makes this a reasonable one to train alone.

Execution

  1. Pull your shoulder blades back and down before you start lowering the bar, and hold that position for the whole set.
  2. Inhale and lower the bar under control to your lower chest, elbows tucked close to the body.
  3. Touch your chest lightly, pausing for a beat instead of letting the bar bounce straight back up.
  4. Exhale and press the bar up by extending your elbows until your arms are nearly locked out.
  5. If you stall mid-press, twist your wrists to hook the bar into the nearest notch; if no notch is within reach, lower the bar onto the safety stops and slide out from under it.
  6. Finish the set by twisting the bar back into the rack notch before letting go, then unhook your feet and sit up slowly, because your head is below your heart.

Breathing

Inhale as you lower the bar to your chest, exhale as you press it up. Do not hold your breath to move the weight; if you have high blood pressure, heart disease, a hernia or you are pregnant, never hold it at all.

Quick cues

  • Shoulder blades down, pinned to the pad.
  • Touch the chest, then drive, no bounce.
  • Elbows tucked the whole press.
  • Feet hooked firm under the pad.
  • Imagine bending the bar apart.

Common faults

  • Fault: The feet slipping out of the leg pad, the body sliding down

    Fix: Hook the heels firmly under the pad and recheck before every set, dropping the weight if you still slide.

  • Fault: The bar bouncing off the chest instead of pausing

    Fix: Lower more slowly and actively hold a beat at the chest before pressing.

  • Fault: The elbows flaring out on the way down

    Fix: Tuck the elbows in closer, around 45-60 degrees, before starting the descent.

  • Fault: Forgetting to twist the bar into the safety notch at the end of the set

    Fix: Make it a habit to stop at the top lockout point and twist your wrists before letting go of the bar.

Equipment

smith_machine, bench

Muscle groups

chest, arms, shoulders