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Using the Smith Machine is one of the best ways to workout your shoulders!
If you are here, you may be familiar with Smith Machine, but if you don’t, in simple words it is a piece of gym equipment that provides stability and safety during a variety of exercises, including shoulder pressing.
The goal of this post is to teach you how to do effective shoulder pressing with a Smith machine. You’ll learn proper form, variations, and tips to maximize your workout.
Let’s get to the topic.
What Is A Shoulder Press?
A shoulder press targets the shoulders and upper body of a weightlifter. It’s also sometimes called an overhead press or military press.
To perform a shoulder press, you start with the weight (a dumbbell or barbell) at shoulder height and then push it up and overhead until your arms are fully extended. Repeat multiple reps with the weight at shoulder height.
Besides building shoulder strength and size, shoulder presses are also good exercises for the triceps and upper back.
Furthermore, it can help improve your posture and upper-body strength since it works multiple muscles at once.
Why Do We Need Healthy Shoulders?
Having healthy shoulders is important for a variety of reasons.
For starters, the shoulders are involved in many everyday activities, like reaching, lifting, and carrying. In the case of weak shoulders or injuries, these activities may become difficult.
In addition, healthy shoulders are important for athletes and gym-goers who want to perform at their best. Strong, stable shoulders can improve your performance in sports like basketball, volleyball, and tennis and can help you lift heavier weights in the gym.
It is also possible to prevent injuries by maintaining a healthy shoulder. Despite its mobility, the shoulder joint is prone to injury.
By strengthening the muscles around the shoulder joint and maintaining good posture, you can help prevent common shoulder injuries like rotator cuff tears and shoulder impingement syndrome.
Muscles Worked By The Smith Machine Shoulder Press
If you’re looking for a powerful exercise to target your shoulders, the Smith machine shoulder press is an excellent choice.
This exercise allows you to target the anterior, lateral, and posterior deltoids, as well as the trapezius and triceps. Not only is the Smith machine shoulder press a great way to build strong, toned shoulders, but it can also help improve your posture and upper body strength.
In this blog post, we’ll take a closer look at the muscles worked by the Smith machine shoulder press and explore how to perform the exercise with proper form to maximize your results.
Deltoids
When performing a shoulder press, the primary muscles worked are the deltoids. This exercise strengthens and builds overall shoulder strength by activating the front, middle, and rear deltoids.
Triceps
As part of the shoulder press exercise, the triceps are also involved. Your triceps extend your elbow and lock out the weight when you lift the weight overhead.
Smith Machine Shoulder Press Muscles Worked
If you want to work on your shoulder muscles, any kind of pushing movement while standing straight up can do the trick. This mostly targets the front part of your shoulder, also known as the anterior deltoid, but you’ll also get some help from the lateral delts and traps.
Using the Smith machine shoulder press can isolate and focus on the front delt even more since you don’t have to worry about balancing the bar. Adding this exercise to your workout routine will help you get those shoulders popping!
Benefits Of The Smith Machine Shoulder Press
As you guys know, healthy and strong shoulders are very important for your upper body, and pressing is the exercise that helps you achieve healthy and strong shoulders.
What benefits should press exercise give you?
Let’s take a look at these.
Improves Shoulder Stability
It is a great exercise for improving the stability of your shoulder joints to use the Smith machine shoulder press. Because the bar moves in a fixed plane, it helps you to maintain proper form and alignment throughout the movement.
Your other shoulder exercises may also become more effective if you do this in addition to reducing your risk of injury.
Shoulder Muscle Hypertrophy
Another benefit of the Smith Machine shoulder press is that it can help you build some serious muscle in your shoulders. This exercise is great for hypertrophy, which is a medical term of saying it can help you get bigger and stronger muscles.
By consistently performing this exercise with good form and gradually increasing the weight over time, you can make some impressive gains in your shoulder size and strength.
It Can Be Safer
What’s more, the Smith machine shoulder press can be a safer way to perform the exercise compared to using free weights. With the bar on a fixed plane, you don’t have to worry about wobbling or losing your balance as you lift the weight.
This can be especially helpful for beginners, who may not have the same level of control and stability as more experienced lifters.
Better Bench Press
Finally, the Smith machine shoulder press can even help you improve your bench press. Since the muscles worked in the shoulder press are similar to those used in the bench press, building strength and size in your shoulders with this exercise can translate to bigger and better bench press numbers.
Smith Machine Shoulder Press Set-Up
Setting up the Smith Machine shoulder press is crucial for working out on it in a good way.
- Adjust the bar height. Set the Smith machine’s bar height to a comfortable level for you. You shouldn’t have to lift your heels off the ground or reach too high to grasp the bar.
- Load the weight. The weight plates should be loaded onto the machine once the bar height has been adjusted. Use collars to keep the plates in place and prevent them from shifting during your workout.
- Position yourself under the bar. Position yourself under the bar directly under the Smith machine. To keep your feet straight, place them shoulder-width apart.
- Take hold of the bar. You should grip the bar with an overhand grip when your hands are slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. When gripping the bar tightly, engage your core muscles to stabilize your body.
- Press the weight. Hold the bar in one hand, brace your core, and press the weight upward. Lift your arms straight and your elbows slightly in front of your body.
- Lower the weight. Immediately after lifting the weight to the top, lower it back down to the starting position. As you lower the weight, maintain a stable form and tight core.
- Repeat. Throughout the exercise, maintain proper form while performing the desired number of repetitions. Upon finishing, rack the weight and step away from the machine.
Limitations Of Smith Machine Shoulder Press
Despite the many benefits of the Smith Machine shoulder press, there are some limitations to it as well that I want you to know about.
- Limited range of motion due to the fixed plane of the Smith machine
- This may lead to an overreliance on the machine for support, limiting the effectiveness of the exercise
- May not engage stabilizing muscles as effectively as free weights
- May not be suitable for some lifters who require more freedom of movement
- Using an improper form or lifting weights too quickly can result in injury
- May not be as well-rounded a workout as exercises that engage multiple muscle groups
How To Do A Smith Machine Shoulder Press?
It’s very important for you to do it properly, as doing it the wrong way may lead to an injury.
- Set the barbell on the rack, lining it up with your chest
- Grab the bar with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart
- Press the bar up just enough to unrack the hooks and set the bar at shoulder height
- Keep your core tight as you press the bar straight up overhead
- Push your head back before the bar reaches the front of your face to keep your body stacked under the bar
- When you push your head through the arms, it’s called pushing your head through the keyhole
- Press up until your arms are fully extended, but don’t lock your elbows
- Slowly lower the bar back down to the starting position
- Get ready for the next rep!
Smith Machine Shoulder Press Variations
There are other variations of the Smith shoulder press exercise that have their own benefits.
Now, I’m going to tell you about all of these variations and their benefits.
Seated Smith Machine Shoulder Press
If you’re looking to beef up your upper body muscles, doing a seated shoulder press is a great way to go about it.
Since you don’t have to use your core to stabilize yourself as much as you would with a standing shoulder press, you can really focus on working your deltoids.
And with the added support of the Smith Machine, your shoulders are sure to get a good workout that’ll leave you feeling the burn!
Smith Machine Shoulder Press Form
The Smith Machine is a useful tool for weightlifting, but proper form is still important.
To avoid mistakes, use a weight you can handle through the full range of motion and keep the bar close to your body.
Straining your shoulder joint is a common error when sitting too far away from the bar. Remember, good technique is key to a safe and effective workout.
Custom Nutrition & Workout Plan
Doing Smith press exercises is good, but it’s not enough to get good results. You need to be following a meal plan and a custom nutrition routine so that you can get better results.
Behind The Neck Press
Behind the neck, the press is a good workout, but it’s definitely not for beginners. Since this exercise requires more shoulder mobility, it is more challenging.
Also, since this exercise improves flexibility and stability, most Olympic weightlifters perform overhead squats.
With the behind-the-neck press, you can build muscle and strength in your upper back and shoulders. This is not a move for beginners; it should only be attempted by experienced lifters.
Z Press
The Z Press is an exercise where you sit on the floor, hold a barbell in the front rack position, and press it overhead. It’s a challenging exercise that requires strong core muscles and mobility, as it’s performed without back support or a bench.
The Z Press helps to improve overhead pressing strength and stability while also targeting the shoulders, upper back, and core muscles.
Smith Machine Shoulder Press Alternatives
If you’re not able to get any Smith shoulder press machine, then the following are the alternatives that you can give a shot at.
Barbell Shoulder Press
The free-weight version of the Smith machine shoulder press is the barbell shoulder press. This exercise can be done standing, sitting, facing the front, or facing the rear.
Dumbbell Shoulder Press
The dumbbell shoulder press is another excellent choice. Because each arm operates independently of the other during this exercise, additional stabilizing muscles are used.
Machine Shoulder Press
The machine for shoulder presses comes last but not least. The majority of gyms have specific apparatus that can perform the shoulder press without using free weights.
Final Thoughts
Now you know about all of the best Smith machine exercises that you can perform and get the shape of your body that you want.
Still, if you have any more questions related to the topic, then please let me know in the comment section below.
