Behind Neck Seated Smith Machine Shoulder Press
Also known as: seated smith behind neck press
In SetGrip: Smith Machine Shoulder Press (Behind Neck, Seated)
- Primary muscleDelts
- EquipmentSmith Machine
- DifficultyAdvanced
- TypeCompound · Push
- Secondary muscles
- Triceps, Upper Back
- Body part
- Shoulders
- Position
- Standing
- Laterality
- Bilateral (both sides together)
- Category
- Strength
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The Smith machine's fixed rail removes the balance problem that makes free-weight behind-neck pressing so unforgiving: set the seat, line the bar up with your ears, and press along a locked groove. You still need the external rotation to get under the bar, so it stays an advanced choice; keep sets shy of failure and depth conservative.
How to do the Behind Neck Seated Smith Machine Shoulder Press
- Adjust the seat height of the smith machine so that the bar is at shoulder level.
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent.
- Grasp the bar with an overhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
- Lift the bar off the rack and step back, maintaining a stable stance.
- Lower the bar down to the back of your neck, keeping your elbows pointing forward.
- Press the bar up overhead until your arms are fully extended.
- Pause for a moment at the top, then slowly lower the bar back down to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Tip: Squeeze the bar hard and keep the wrists straight over the elbows through the whole rep.
Muscles worked
Primary
Delts · Shoulders
The front delts assist every press and take over on Bradford and behind the neck variations.
Secondary
- Triceps — The triceps lock out the elbow on every press and dominate close grip and skull press variations.
- Upper Back
Common mistakes
- Elbows flaring wide — on horizontal presses keep the elbows at roughly 45 degrees from the torso; pressing overhead, keep them under the weight instead.
- Losing the shoulder blade position — on bench-style presses set the shoulder blades back and down and keep them there; overhead, let the shoulder blades rotate up naturally with the arms.
- Bouncing or rushing the bottom — control the bar down and pause for a beat before driving up, especially on decline and close grip variations.
- Not committing to a variation — Bradford presses, skull presses and the like are hybrids; pick a fixed range and stick with it for the whole set.
Where it fits in a workout
Presses are the main movement in a push session and should go first or second. Superset them with a row or pulldown for a push and pull pair.
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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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.