Incline Push-up on a Smith Bar
Strengthen your chest, triceps, and shoulders with the Incline Push-up on a Smith Bar.
Description
A bodyweight exercise that targets the chest muscles, triceps, and shoulders by performing a push-up on an inclined smith bar.
How to Do Incline Push-up on a Smith Bar
- 1Setup
Set the Smith machine bar to a height where you can comfortably perform the exercise with good form; a higher bar makes it easier, a lower bar harder.
- 2Setup
Stand facing the bar and grasp it with an overhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, ensuring your wrists are straight.
- 3Setup
Step your feet back until your body forms a straight line from your head to your heels, engaging your core as if preparing for a plank.
- 4
Inhale as you slowly lower your chest towards the bar, allowing your elbows to bend and track slightly backward, keeping them at about a 45-degree angle to your torso.
- 5
Once your chest is close to the bar or you feel a good stretch, exhale and push through your palms to extend your arms, returning to the starting straight-arm plank position.
Tips
- Maintain a rigid plank position throughout the entire movement, keeping your core tight and glutes squeezed to prevent your hips from sagging or rising.
- Focus on controlled movement on both the eccentric (lowering) and concentric (pushing) phases to maximize muscle engagement and prevent momentum from taking over.
- Adjust the bar height to suit your strength level; a higher incline reduces the body's leverage and makes the exercise easier, while a lower incline increases difficulty.
- Visualize pushing the bar away from you using your chest muscles, rather than just pushing with your arms, to enhance mind-muscle connection.
Common Mistakes
- ×Allowing your hips to sag or pike upwards compromises spinal alignment and reduces tension on the target muscles; keep your body in a straight line from head to heels.
- ×Flaring your elbows out wide to the sides can strain your shoulder joints; tuck your elbows slightly inward, forming about a 45-degree angle with your torso.
- ×Performing partial repetitions limits muscle development; ensure you lower your chest close to the bar and fully extend your arms at the top for a complete range of motion.
Variations
Incline Push-up (on bench)
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Incline Push up
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