Smith Machine Overhead Press

beginner · push_vertical

Setup

Set the safety stops on the rails one notch below the bar's lowest point — a little under shoulder height — so the bar has something to rest on if you run out of strength; stops above your head catch nothing. Pick the hooks at shoulder height when you stand tall, rotate the bar off them, load plates on both ends and lock them with collars before you step in.

Execution

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart under the bar, grip it slightly wider than your shoulders, and rotate it off the hooks.
Brace your core and glutes before pressing, without arching the lower back.
Exhale and press the bar straight up along the fixed rail until your arms are nearly straight.
Inhale and lower the bar back down to shoulder height under control, with the elbows tracking the rail's path.
If you run out of strength mid-set, lower the bar under control to shoulder height and rotate it onto the nearest hooks; if your arms cannot hold it any longer, keep lowering until the bar rests on the safety stops, then duck out from under the rails.
At the end of the set, guide the bar back to hook height at shoulder level and rotate it to re-lock before releasing your grip.

Breathing

Exhale as you press up, inhale as you lower. Do not hold your breath to move a heavier weight; if you have high blood pressure, heart disease, a hernia or you are pregnant, never hold it at all, lighten the load and exhale on the press.

Quick cues

Brace before you press.
Don't arch the lower back.
Out of strength: rotate onto the nearest hooks.
Rotate to re-lock before letting go.

Common faults

Fault: Arching the lower back to press the weight overhead
Fix: Brace the belly and glutes harder before pressing, and drop the weight if the back still arches.
Fault: Setting the safety stops in the wrong place (above the head) or skipping them before a heavy set
Fix: The stops belong just below the bar's lowest point, a little under shoulder height, and they go in before the plates; this is the safety net when you train alone.
Fault: Only pressing through half the range
Fix: Lower the bar all the way back to shoulder height before pressing again each rep.
Fault: Forgetting to rotate the bar back onto the hooks before releasing
Fix: Bring the bar back to hook height, rotate to lock and feel it stop solidly before letting go.

Equipment

smith_machine

Muscle groups

shoulders, arms