Shoulders · Smith Machine
Smith Standing Military Press
How to do the smith standing military press, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Smith Machine
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- VerticalPush
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Stand inside the Smith machine with the bar racked at shoulder height and your feet hip-width apart. Brace your core and glutes, press the bar straight overhead along the track until your arms lock out, then lower it back to your shoulders under control.
- 1Front and side delts driving the bar overhead
- 2Triceps finishing the lockout
- 3Braced core and glutes keeping the torso solid
Common mistakes
- Arching your low back to push the bar up
- Letting your ribs flare at the top
- Bending your wrists back under the bar
Muscles worked
The smith standing military press mainly works the front delts, triceps, and side delts, with the forearms, upper chest, upper traps, upper abs, lower abs, and glutes assisting.
- Front DeltsPrimary
- TricepsPrimary
- Side DeltsPrimary
- ForearmsSupport
- Upper ChestSupport
- Upper TrapsSupport
- Upper AbsSupport
- Lower AbsSupport
- GlutesSupport
- Lower BackMinor
- Lower TrapsMinor
- ObliquesMinor
- QuadsMinor
Kovo programs the smith standing military 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 shoulders exercises
- How to do the battle rope alternating waves
- How to do the arm circles
- How to do the arnold press
- How to do the resistance band front raise
- How to do the resistance band lateral raise
- How to do the resistance band overhead press
Last reviewed June 2026.