This exercise is similar to flat bench barbell press except that the machine will act like a spotter for you. This exercise targets mid area of you chest but it is a little bit less effective than normal flat bench barbell press.

To do this exercise properly,

• Lie flat on a bench below the smith machine on a free standing bench.
• Grasp the bar a bit wider than your shoulder width with overhand grip.
• Twist your wrist to unlock the weights from the machine.
• Now slowly lower the weights just above you chest and raise them.
• Do this until failure

In no condition do not touch the bar to your chest. This might cause unnecessary stress in you shoulders leading to injury. One advantage of smith machine is that you don’t feel the weight of the bar. It is already supported. You can just twist your wrist the opposite side to lock the weights and there is lesser chances for getting yourself injured.

Here is an instructional video showing how to do this chest exercise properly

Here is another video showing how it is executed

Form is an important factor for all of these exercises. If you do them in correct form you might get injured. Follow the form shown in these videos correctly.

One known drawback of smith machine is that it forces your body movement along a straight line. The strongest / best performance is achieved when arms move in a curved path as that of free weights with a moderate sacrifice in safety which is why you need a spotter while doing similar exercise with free weights.

There are other variations of this exercise that target different sections of the chest like

• Smith Machine Incline Bench Press for upper chest.