Decline Smith Press

How to perform

1. 01Place a decline bench underneath the Smith machine. Now place the barbell at a height that you can reach when lying down and your arms are almost fully extended. Using a pronated grip that is wider than shoulder width, unlock the bar from the rack and hold it straight over you with your arms extended. This will be your starting position.
2. 02As you inhale, lower the bar under control by allowing the elbows to flex, lightly contacting the torso.
3. 03After a brief pause, bring the bar back to the starting position by extending the elbows, exhaling as you do so.
4. 04Repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions.
5. 05When the set is complete, lock the bar back in the rack.

Form cues

• —Brace your core before the first rep and keep it braced.
• —Drive through the full range — do not cut the lockout short.
• —Control the lowering phase — that is where most of the growth stimulus lives.

Common mistakes

• —Using momentum instead of the target muscle.
• —Cutting the range of motion short to add load.
• —Adding weight before the movement pattern is clean.