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Smith Machine Standing Military Press

IntermediateStrengthTier T3

You stand inside a Smith machine with the bar at upper-chest height, gripped slightly wider than shoulders. You press the bar overhead until your arms are straight, then lower it back to the chest.

Targets: Shoulder
Muscles: Deltoids, Triceps

Stop if

Choose an easier exercise if pain reaches 6 out of 10 or becomes sharp. Stop and rest if pain reaches 8 out of 10.

This is the general ClapMove rule. This exercise has no extra stop rule of its own.

  • Pain 6 out of 10 or more: choose an easier exercise.
  • Pain 8 out of 10 or more: stop and rest.

Equipment needed

  • Works at the gym

machines

Gym

  • gym machine (No safe home substitute has been reviewed yet.)

Dosage

3

Sets

8

Reps / Time

60 sec

Rest

controlled

Tempo

Step-by-Step Guide

Set up

  • Set the bar height, step under the bar and unrack it by rotating your wrists before your first repetition.
  1. A woman standing tall between the uprights of a Smith machine, the bar resting across the front of her shoulders and both hands gripping it.

    Step 1 of 3

    Stand under the bar with your feet shoulder-width apart and your hands slightly wider than your shoulders, holding the bar across the front of your shoulders.

  2. The same woman between the uprights with both arms fully extended overhead, the bar high on its rails above her shoulders.

    Step 2 of 3

    Press the bar straight up until your arms are fully extended overhead.

  3. A woman standing tall between the uprights of a Smith machine, the bar resting across the front of her shoulders and both hands gripping it.

    Step 3 of 3

    Stand under the bar with your feet shoulder-width apart and your hands slightly wider than your shoulders, holding the bar across the front of your shoulders.

Safety Information

Keep the torso upright and the ribs down while pressing, without leaning back or arching the lower back, because a fixed bar path does not protect the lower back if the trunk leans away from it. Finish with the arms fully extended and lower the bar back to the front of the shoulders under control rather than letting it drop, because it ends and restarts each repetition at the front rack position. Stop if you feel pain in the shoulders, elbows, wrists or lower back, or if you cannot keep the bar controlled overhead, and ask a clinician if you have a shoulder, neck or back condition; set up any bar stops or catches on the machine before you start. Stop if the exercise causes pain or you become unwell. Seek appropriate professional advice about symptoms or suitability.

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Printed from clapmove.com. ClapMove is not a replacement for professional medical advice — always consult a healthcare provider before starting any exercise program.