Smith Machine Hip Raise
- Primary muscleAbs
- EquipmentSmith Machine
- DifficultyIntermediate
- TypeCore · Core flexion
- Secondary muscles
- Glutes, Hamstrings
- Body part
- Core
- Position
- Lying
- Laterality
- Bilateral (both sides together)
- Category
- Strength
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The Smith machine's fixed bar path lets you load a hip raise with real weight and re-rack safely mid-set, which a free barbell cannot match without setup fuss. With the bar across your hips as you bridge up, every rep travels the same guided line, so progress from session to session is easy to measure.
How to do the Smith Machine Hip Raise
- Position yourself on the smith machine with your back against the pad and your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Place your hands on the barbell, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
- Engage your core and glutes, then push through your heels to raise your hips off the ground.
- Continue lifting until your body forms a straight line from your knees to your shoulders.
- Hold for a moment at the top, then slowly lower your hips back down to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Tip: Breathe out as you crunch and let the last bit of air leave the lungs at the top of each rep.
Muscles worked
Primary
Abs · Core
The rectus abdominis shortens to bend the spine forward, and each rep should end with the upper abs fully contracted and the ribs pulled down.
Secondary
Common mistakes
- Pulling on the neck — hands behind the head should support, not yank; keep the elbows wide and the chin about a fist away from the chest.
- Sitting all the way up — a crunch is a curl of the ribs toward the pelvis, not a sit-up; the lower back should stay on the floor the whole time.
- Cranking out fast reps — momentum does the work if you bounce; lift to a squeeze, hold for a count and lower slowly.
- Never adding load — once bodyweight reps get easy, hold a plate on the chest or use a cable rather than doing sets of 50.
Where it fits in a workout
Crunches close out a session after the heavy work, or they can fill the rest periods between sets of a lift that does not need much bracing. Pair a cable crunch with a cable side bend on the same stack.
How many sets, how heavy and how hard: see what the ACSM position stands support.
Variations and alternatives
Similar exercises
Without smith machine
When to talk to someone
- Chest discomfort, feeling faint or lightheaded, or trouble breathing during or after exercise can be signs of a heart attack. In the US, call 911 right away; elsewhere, call your local emergency number.
- Heart, metabolic or kidney disease, or symptoms like these when you are active: talk to your doctor before you start or step up training.
- Pregnant: ask your obstetric care provider which exercise suits you.
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More exercises
Sources
- ACSM position stand on exercise quantity and quality (Garber et al., 2011)
- ACSM preparticipation health screening (Riebe et al., 2015)
- ACOG Committee Opinion No. 804 on exercise in pregnancy (2020)
- CDC: About Heart Attack Symptoms, Risk, and Recovery (2024)
Sources checked on October 17, 2026. Full citations are in the exercise library.
Animation and exercise data: ExerciseDB, licensed to SetGrip. General information, not medical or coaching advice.