Upper chestSmith machineBeginner

How to Do the Smith Machine Incline Bench Press

By Bryan Alger, Co-Founder of Gravitus

ยท Updated Sep 30, 2026

A Smith machine incline bench press is an incline chest press with the bar locked in the machine's track. Set a bench to 30 to 45 degrees, slide it so the bar touches just below your collarbones, and press. It trains the upper chest, front delts and triceps. Most lifters do 3 to 4 sets of 6 to 12 reps.

Sets x reps 3-4 x 6-12
Median 10-rep weight 13560 lbkg men 5022.5 lbkg women
Muscles Upper chest, front delts, triceps
Bar touches Just below your collarbones
Smith Machine Incline Bench Press bottom and top positions
  1. 1Bottom. The bar lands just below the collarbones with the forearms close to vertical. Where the bench sits under the bar sets this point.
  2. 2Top. Press straight up the track until your arms are straight, then lower over 2 to 3 seconds.
Watch 3 video demonstrations
Video 1 of 3

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Technique

How to do a Smith machine incline bench press

  1. Set an incline bench to 30 to 45 degrees and roll it under the bar. Lie back, lower the empty bar and slide the bench until the bar lands just below your collarbones.
  2. Set the safety stops a little below that point, so a full rep still reaches your chest but a missed rep stops on the pins.
  3. Load the bar. Lie back with your feet flat, grip slightly wider than your shoulders and pull your shoulder blades back and down.
  4. Straighten your arms and twist your wrists to turn the bar off the hooks.
  5. Lower over 2 to 3 seconds until the bar touches just below your collarbones, elbows 45 to 60 degrees out from your sides and forearms vertical. Press straight back up. After the last rep, twist the bar back onto the nearest hook.
Setup

Where to put the bench under the bar

The targetJust below your collarbonesTest it with the empty bar before you load a plate. Your forearms should be vertical when the bar touches.
Bar lands on your neckRoll the bench backMove it a few inches toward the head end, so your upper chest moves under the bar.
Bar lands mid-chestRoll the bench forwardMove it a few inches toward your feet, so the bar meets you higher on the chest.
Angled trackThe bar should rise toward your headSome Smith machines tilt the track. Face the bench so the bar moves back over your shoulders as you press, the way a free bar does.

A Smith bar can only move up and down its track, so the bench decides where the bar meets you. With a free bar you steer to your upper chest; on a Smith machine, a bench a few inches off puts every rep on your neck or your mid-chest. Changing the bench angle moves the touch point too, so check it again whenever you change the notch, and note the bench position in your log. For what each bench angle changes, see the incline dumbbell press guide.

Bench angle

Use 30 to 45 degrees. The only training study on incline pressing used a Smith machine at 44 degrees: over 8 weeks it grew the upper chest more than flat Smith pressing (Chaves 2020).

Gravitus data

How much weight should you Smith machine incline press?

On Gravitus, the median man lifts 135 lb (60 kg) for 10 reps on the Smith machine incline bench press, and the median woman 50 lb (22.5 kg).

Men, typical 135 lb for 10 reps
Most lift
105 to 165 lb
Top 10% lift
190 lb or more
Starting out
under 105 lb
Women, typical 50 lb for 10 reps
Most lift
35 to 65 lb
Top 10% lift
85 lb or more
Starting out
under 35 lb
Men, typical 60 kg for 10 reps
Most lift
47.5 to 75 kg
Top 10% lift
87.5 kg or more
Starting out
under 47.5 kg
Women, typical 22.5 kg for 10 reps
Most lift
16 to 30 kg
Top 10% lift
37.5 kg or more
Starting out
under 16 kg
PercentileMenWomen
25th140 / 105 lb45 / 35 lb
Median180 / 135 lb65 / 50 lb
75th220 / 165 lb90 / 65 lb
90th255 / 190 lb115 / 85 lb
 One-rep max / 10-rep weight, rounded to 5 lb (2.5 under 40). From 9,931 men and 848 women who log the Smith machine incline bench press on Gravitus, computed Sep 30, 2026 (Brzycki). Methodology
PercentileMenWomen
25th62.5 / 47.5 kg20 / 16 kg
Median80 / 60 kg30 / 22.5 kg
75th100 / 75 kg40 / 30 kg
90th115 / 87.5 kg52.5 / 37.5 kg
 One-rep max / 10-rep weight, rounded to 2.5 kg (1 under 20). From 9,931 men and 848 women who log the Smith machine incline bench press on Gravitus, computed Sep 30, 2026 (Brzycki). Methodology
Smith bars are not standard. Counterbalanced bars often start at 10 to 20 lb (5 to 10 kg), and bars without a counterweight can weigh 45 lb (20 kg) or more. Some lifters log only the plates, so decide once whether you count the bar and keep to it. Expect a little less than with a free bar: on a flat bench, trained lifters' barbell max was 3% above their Smith max (Saeterbakken 2011). Compare yourself to your own log on the same machine.
Anatomy

Smith machine incline press muscles worked

Chest, upper (clavicular) head mostPushes the arms up and together. Incline pressing on a Smith machine grew the upper chest more than flat pressing (Chaves 2020).
Primary
Front deltsRaise the arms forward. They do more as the bench rises.
Primary
TricepsStraighten the elbows. They worked less with dumbbells than with a Smith machine or a barbell (Saeterbakken 2011).
Secondary
Side delts, biceps, rotator cuffSteady the bar. The track does part of that job, so side delt and biceps activity was lower on a Smith machine than with a free bar (Schick 2010, Saeterbakken 2011).
Stabilizer
Research

What the fixed bar path changes, and what it does not

  • "You can lift more on a Smith machine." Most lifters bench less on it, not more. In 16 men and 16 women, flat bench maxes were higher with a free bar (Cotterman 2005), and in trained men the barbell max was 3% above the Smith max (Saeterbakken 2011). Bar weight and counterweights vary so much between machines that your own gap may differ.
  • "The Smith machine isolates the chest." Chest and front delt activity on a Smith machine matched the barbell (Saeterbakken 2011). What drops is the steadying work: the side delts (Schick 2010) and the biceps (Saeterbakken 2011).
  • "Machines build less muscle than free weights." Across 13 training studies, machines and free weights built the same amount of muscle. Strength gains were specific: each group got stronger on the tool it trained with (Haugen 2023).
  • "Put your eyes under the bar." That is flat bench advice. On an incline, a bar lined up with your eyes comes down on your neck or face. Line it up with your upper chest.
Compare

Smith machine vs barbell vs dumbbell incline press

Smith machineBarbellDumbbells
Bar pathFixed trackYou steer itEach arm on its own
Weight you can liftA little less than a barbellMost14 to 17% less in total
Setup to checkBench position under the barRack height and a spotterKicking the dumbbells up
Best forTraining close to failure aloneHeaviest loads, free-weight strengthOne arm at a time, free wrists
Verdict

For muscle, a tie: pick the one you will keep adding weight to. The weight figures come from one flat bench study (Saeterbakken 2011). If you also want a bigger barbell bench, press with a barbell too, since strength carries over best to the tool you train with (Haugen 2023).

Programming

Sets, reps and progression

3-4Sets
6-12Reps
1-2Reps left

Do Smith machine incline presses once or twice a week, first or second in a chest, push or upper-body workout. Stop each set 1 to 2 reps short of failure. With the safety stops set, you can take the last set closer. Sets taken close to failure build muscle across a wide range of reps (Schoenfeld 2021), so pick a range you can keep strict.

Add reps first. When every set reaches 12, add 5 lb (2.5 kg) per side, which is 10 lb (5 kg) in total, and drop back to 6 to 8 reps. Keep the bench in the same spot and notch, or the new number means nothing.

Form

Common mistakes

Variations

Smith machine incline press variations

Low incline Smith machine pressA 15 to 30 degree bench. More middle chest and a little more weight.
High incline Smith machine pressA 45 to 60 degree bench. More front delt, less chest.
Close-grip Smith machine pressHands at shoulder width or closer. More triceps.
Smith Machine Bench PressThe flat version. Heavier loads and more middle and lower chest.
Incline barbell bench pressThe same press with a free bar. You steer the bar path yourself.
Incline Dumbbell PressOne dumbbell per hand, each arm pressing on its own.
FAQ

Questions people ask

What does incline smith machine press work?

The chest, most of all its upper (clavicular) head, and the front delts, with the triceps straightening the elbows. The track does part of the steadying, so the side delts and biceps work less than with a free bar (Schick 2010, Saeterbakken 2011).

Is incline smith machine good for upper chest?

Yes. In the only training study on incline pressing, 8 weeks on a Smith machine at 44 degrees grew the upper chest more than flat Smith pressing (Chaves 2020).

Does incline smith machine work shoulders?

Yes, the front delts. They help at every bench angle and do more as the bench rises. Past 45 degrees the lift turns into more of a shoulder press.

Is smith machine good for incline bench?

Yes, for building muscle. Across 13 training studies, machines and free weights built the same muscle (Haugen 2023), and the hooks and safety stops make it easier to train hard without a spotter. It carries over less to a free-weight bench, so test your barbell max on a barbell.

How much does the bar weigh on a smith machine?

It depends on the machine. Counterbalanced bars often start at 10 to 20 lb (5 to 10 kg), and bars without a counterweight can weigh 45 lb (20 kg) or more. Check the label on the frame or the maker's spec, and log it the same way every time.

How much weight should I smith machine incline press?

For 10 reps, the median on Gravitus is 135 lb (60 kg) for men and 50 lb (22.5 kg) for women. The strongest quarter lifts 165 lb (75 kg) and 65 lb (30 kg) or more.

Gravitus See where your Smith machine incline bench press ranks

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References
  1. Chaves et al. 2020. Int J Exerc Sci 13(6):859-872.
  2. Saeterbakken, van den Tillaar and Fimland 2011. J Sports Sci 29(5):533-538.
  3. Schick et al. 2010. J Strength Cond Res 24(3):779-784.
  4. Cotterman, Darby and Skelly 2005. J Strength Cond Res 19(1):169-176.
  5. Haugen et al. 2023. BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil 15:103.
  6. Schoenfeld et al. 2021. Sports 9(2):32.