Arms · Smith Machine
Smith JM Bench Press
How to do the smith jm bench press, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Smith Machine
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- HorizontalPush
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Lie on a bench under the Smith machine bar set over your lower chest. Take a slightly narrower than shoulder-width grip and unrack. Lower the bar toward your chin and upper neck by letting the elbows travel forward, almost like a cross between a press and a triceps extension, then press back up by extending the elbows. The fixed bar path lets you overload the triceps.
- 1A deep stretch and load across the triceps as the bar lowers toward your
- 2chin
- 3Elbows traveling forward to bias the triceps over the chest
- 4The triceps driving the bar back up to lockout
Common mistakes
- Lowering the bar to mid-chest like a standard bench press
- Flaring the elbows wide or letting them drift apart
- Bouncing the bar or losing control near your face
Muscles worked
The smith jm bench press mainly works the triceps, with the mid chest, lower chest, and front delts assisting.
- TricepsPrimary
- Mid ChestSupport
- Lower ChestSupport
- Front DeltsSupport
- ForearmsMinor
- Upper ChestMinor
- Upper AbsMinor
Kovo programs the smith jm bench press for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More triceps exercises
- How to do the bent-over tricep extension
- How to do the crossbody tricep extension
- How to do the cable katana tricep extension
- How to do the cable single arm tricep extension
- How to do the kickback
- How to do the lying tricep extension
Last reviewed June 2026.