A plate-loaded chest press performed lying flat on your back, pressing the handles straight up rather than forward. The guided lever path takes the balance out of the lift, so you can push hard without a spotter.
How to do the Machine Lying Chest Press#
- Load the plates and lie flat on your back on the bench, with your chest lined up under the handles and your feet planted on the floor.
- Take the handles at about shoulder width, keeping your shoulder blades pulled back against the bench.
- Press the handles straight up until your arms are almost straight, stopping short of locking the elbows.
- Lower under control until the handles are level with your chest, keeping the shoulder blades set against the bench.
- Press back up and repeat, keeping your hips and shoulders in contact with the bench.
Muscles worked#
- Primary: Chest (Pectoralis Major)
- Secondary: Front delts (Anterior Deltoid), Triceps (Triceps Brachii)
Common mistakes#
- Lying too far up or down the bench so the handles do not line up with mid-chest.
- Bouncing out of the bottom instead of lowering under control.
- Letting the shoulder blades come off the bench and rounding the shoulders forward.
- Arching the lower back hard to move heavier plates.
- Comparing the plate total to your barbell bench numbers, since the machine's leverage means the plates are not the weight at your hands.
