Smith Machine Decline Bench Press

Muscles worked by the Smith Machine Decline Bench Press

Primary

ChestPectoralis Major

Secondary

Front DeltsAnterior DeltoidTricepsTriceps Brachii

Also called: pec, pecs, pectoralis major, pectoralis, chest muscles.

Equipment

Smith Machine

Also called: smith bar, guided barbell, fixed barbell, smith press.

How to do the Smith Machine Decline Bench Press

1. Set a decline bench in the machine so the bar lines up with your lower chest when you lie down, and hook your legs under the pads.
2. Lie back with your head at the low end, take an overhand grip slightly wider than your shoulders and unrack the bar.
3. Lower the bar under control until it touches your lower chest, keeping your elbows at roughly forty-five degrees from your torso.
4. Press the bar back up until your arms are extended, without locking the elbows out hard.
5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions, then rack the bar before releasing your legs.

Form tips

• Line the bench up before you load it. The bar only moves in one plane, so if the bench is a few centimetres out the bar will meet your throat or your stomach instead of your lower chest.
• Secure your legs under the pads first. Head-down and unsecured, you slide toward the low end of the bench on the first hard rep.
• Come down and sit up slowly between sets. Long sets with the head below the heart make people light-headed, and this variation is where it happens.

At a glance

Smith Machine Decline Bench Press in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• Barbell Bench Press
• Cable Chest Press
• Close-Grip Bench Press
• Close-Grip Dumbbell Bench Press
• Close-Grip EZ-Bar Bench Press
• Close-Grip Incline Bench Press
• Decline Barbell Bench Press
• Decline Bench Press

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "smith-machine-decline-bench-press",
  "name_en": "Smith Machine Decline Bench Press",
  "name_de": "Smith Machine Negativbankdrücken",
  "name_es": "Press de Banca Declinado en Máquina Smith",
  "description_en": "A bench press on a decline bench under the Smith machine, where the head-down angle and the guided bar path put the work on the lower chest.",
  "description_de": "Ein Bankdrücken auf der Negativbank unter der Smith Machine, bei dem der kopfüber geneigte Winkel und die geführte Stangenbahn die Arbeit auf die untere Brust legen.",
  "description_es": "Un press de banca en banco declinado bajo la máquina Smith, donde el ángulo con la cabeza abajo y la trayectoria guiada llevan el trabajo al pectoral inferior.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "push",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "beginner",
  "equipment": "smith_machine",
  "body_part": "chest",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "pectoralis_major"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "anterior_deltoid",
    "triceps_brachii"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "hypertrophy",
    "strength"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "push_day",
    "knee_safe",
    "no_axial_load",
    "lower_back_safe",
    "shoulder_safe",
    "requires_bench"
  ],
  "variation_group": "bench-press",
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": false,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Set a decline bench in the machine so the bar lines up with your lower chest when you lie down, and hook your legs under the pads.",
    "Lie back with your head at the low end, take an overhand grip slightly wider than your shoulders and unrack the bar.",
    "Lower the bar under control until it touches your lower chest, keeping your elbows at roughly forty-five degrees from your torso.",
    "Press the bar back up until your arms are extended, without locking the elbows out hard.",
    "Repeat for the desired number of repetitions, then rack the bar before releasing your legs."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Stelle eine Negativbank so in die Maschine, dass die Stange im Liegen auf Höhe deiner unteren Brust steht, und hake die Beine unter den Polstern ein.",
    "Lege dich mit dem Kopf am tiefen Ende zurück, nimm einen Obergriff etwas weiter als schulterbreit und entracke die Stange.",
    "Senke die Stange kontrolliert ab, bis sie die untere Brust berührt; die Ellenbogen bleiben etwa fünfundvierzig Grad zum Rumpf.",
    "Drücke die Stange wieder nach oben, bis die Arme gestreckt sind, ohne die Ellenbogen hart durchzudrücken.",
    "Wiederhole für die gewünschte Anzahl an Wiederholungen und racke die Stange ab, bevor du die Beine löst."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Coloca un banco declinado en la máquina de modo que la barra quede alineada con tu pecho inferior al tumbarte, y engancha las piernas bajo los rodillos.",
    "Túmbate con la cabeza en el extremo bajo, toma un agarre prono algo más ancho que los hombros y desengancha la barra.",
    "Baja la barra de forma controlada hasta que toque el pecho inferior, manteniendo los codos a unos cuarenta y cinco grados del torso.",
    "Empuja la barra hacia arriba hasta extender los brazos, sin bloquear los codos con fuerza.",
    "Repite el número de repeticiones deseado y vuelve a enganchar la barra antes de soltar las piernas."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Line the bench up before you load it. The bar only moves in one plane, so if the bench is a few centimetres out the bar will meet your throat or your stomach instead of your lower chest.",
    "Secure your legs under the pads first. Head-down and unsecured, you slide toward the low end of the bench on the first hard rep.",
    "Come down and sit up slowly between sets. Long sets with the head below the heart make people light-headed, and this variation is where it happens."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Richte die Bank aus, bevor du sie belädst. Die Stange bewegt sich nur in einer Ebene — steht die Bank ein paar Zentimeter daneben, trifft die Stange deine Kehle oder deinen Bauch statt der unteren Brust.",
    "Sichere zuerst die Beine unter den Polstern. Kopfüber und ungesichert rutschst du bei der ersten schweren Wiederholung zum tiefen Ende der Bank.",
    "Komm zwischen den Sätzen langsam hoch und setz dich langsam auf. Lange Sätze mit dem Kopf unterhalb des Herzens machen viele Menschen benommen, und genau bei dieser Variante passiert das."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Alinea el banco antes de cargarlo. La barra solo se mueve en un plano, así que si el banco está unos centímetros desviado la barra te llegará a la garganta o al estómago en lugar del pecho inferior.",
    "Asegura primero las piernas bajo los rodillos. Con la cabeza abajo y sin sujeción, te deslizarás hacia el extremo bajo del banco en la primera repetición dura.",
    "Incorpórate despacio entre series. Las series largas con la cabeza por debajo del corazón marean a mucha gente, y esta es la variante donde ocurre."
  ],
  "met": 6.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/smith-machine-decline-bench-press-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/smith-machine-decline-bench-press-peak.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "smith-machine-decline-bench-press");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.