Intermediate

Close-Grip Smith Machine Press

The Smith machine's guided bar lets you press close-grip without balancing the load, so you can push the triceps hard and safely even when training alone. Keeping the hands close and the elbows tucked shifts the work off the chest and onto the arms. It's a great choice for chasing triceps mass with heavier weight than isolation moves allow.

Body part
Triceps
Type
Strength
Browse by movement
Horizontal Press
Muscles worked
Target
Triceps Brachii Long Head, Triceps Brachii Lateral Head, Triceps Brachii Medial Head
Secondary
Pectoralis Major Sternocostal, Deltoid Anterior

How to do it

  1. 1

    Set a flat bench in the Smith machine so the bar lands over your lower chest.

  2. 2

    Lie back and grip the bar at about shoulder width with an overhand grip.

  3. 3

    Rotate the hooks to unrack and hold the bar over your lower chest.

  4. 4

    Tuck your elbows toward your torso as you lower the bar to touch the chest.

  5. 5

    Keep the descent controlled with your forearms tracking vertical.

  6. 6

    Press the bar back up by driving through the triceps to full lockout.

Tips

  • Keep the grip around shoulder width; too narrow strains the wrists.
  • Tuck the elbows to roughly 45 degrees rather than flaring them out.
  • Set the safety stops just below chest level so you can push close to failure.

Variations

Common mistakes

  • Leaving the bench wherever the last person parked it, so the fixed path lands on your upper chest or throat. Set the bench first, lie down, and check that the empty bar meets your lower chest.
  • Lifting the hips off the bench to reach the bar's path instead of moving the bench. The machine cannot adjust to you, so adjust the bench and keep your backside down.
  • Rolling the wrists as you press, which can catch a hook mid-rep and stop the bar dead. Keep the hooks turned away from your grip until the set is finished.
  • Comparing your Smith numbers with your barbell bench. Bar weight and counterbalance differ from machine to machine, so log this lift separately and progress it against itself.

Frequently asked

How should I program the close-grip Smith machine press?
Three or four sets of 8 to 12, with the safety stops set below your chest so the last set can go close to failure without a spotter. That is the main advantage of the machine, so use it: leave a rep in reserve on the early sets and take the final one to a hard stop. Add weight when every set reaches the top of the range with the elbows tucked and the bar touching your lower chest.
What can I do instead of the close-grip Smith machine press?
A free-barbell close-grip press in a rack with the pins set at chest height gives you the same insurance and trains the stabilizers as well. A dumbbell floor press with the palms facing each other keeps the elbows tucked and needs no rack at all. A chest press machine taken with a narrow neutral grip is another option when the shoulders want a fixed path and the triceps want the work.
Is the Smith machine close-grip press as good as the barbell version?
For triceps size it does the job: you can load it heavily, keep the elbows tucked, and train alone to failure with the stops set. What it does not train is the balancing and bar-path control a free bar demands, so anyone working toward a bigger bench press should keep the barbell version as the main lift. It is also a poor choice when the machine's fixed line does not suit your shoulders; if the bar has to touch higher or lower than your natural path, use dumbbells or a barbell.

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