Exercise Profile
- Target Muscle Group
- Exercise TypeStrength
- Equipment RequiredMachine
- MechanicsCompound
- Force TypePush (Bilateral)
- Experience LevelBeginner
- Secondary Muscles
Shoulders, Triceps
Target Muscle Group
Chest
Hammer Strength Bench Press Overview
The machine bench press is a variation of the barbell bench press used to strengthen the muscles of the chest. It will also indirectly target the muscles of the shoulders and triceps.
One would use the machine bench press as a way to perform the pressing movement pattern with a focus on isolating the chest. One can better isolate certain muscle groups with a machine due to its fixed movement pattern.
The machine bench press is best added towards the end of your chest workout if you are training for hypertrophy, after you’ve used other more compound variations to work your push muscles.
Hammer Strength Bench Press Instructions
- Sit on the end of the bench and lie back with the handles just below shoulder height. The handles should mimic the position of the bar when benching.
- Position your palms on the handles, inhale, and set your shoulder blades together on the bench.
- Press the handles to extension as you exhale but keep the shoulder blades packed.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Hammer Strength Bench Press Tips
- Many lifters use a thumbless grip with this machine variation as they feel it is easier to keep tension through the pecs and triceps rather than having to worry about squeezing the bar excessively tight.
- Squeezing the handles tightly instead of using a thumbless grip can help to improve a phenomenon known as “irradiation” which promotes greater shoulder stability.
- Keep your shoulder blades pinched together to ensure the shoulders remain in a safe position.
- Imagine you’re trying to push yourself away from the weights rather than pushing the weights away from yourself.
- If you’re feeling pain within the shoulder joint itself (specifically at the front), ensure your shoulder blades are slightly retracted and try to keep the shoulder girdle “packed”.
- Ensure you maintain some tension in your abs and don’t allow your lower back to excessive arch.
- Keep your feet flat on the floor and don’t allow the lower body to move during the set.
19 Comments
Is this the same as dumbell bench press? I might be struggling with the form with dumbells and I prefer this one so can I just replace that exercise with this one in my workout?
You can make that change if you like, Mateo.
Is this the same as the sitting machine press. Apart from the regular bench press my gym has 3 variations of the sitting machine press; standard, incline and wide
They have similar benefits. I actually prefer the seated version because you're pressing horizontally, which can target the pecs while minimizing the work of the shoulders. You should be fine by doing the seated machines.
Would Incline bench press be a good replacement for this ?
It sure would be, Amogh.
Is it the same like chest press?
How can i choose weight that is suitable to me?
Hi Mostafa - yes, this is similar to the standard bench press. This is another variation that you can add into your upper body/chest days. As far as weight, it is important to choose a weight that you can complete safely with the correct form for the given number of reps that you're doing.
If you don’t have a Hammer strength bench at the gym what can you do to replace it?
Hi Mitch,
There are a number of variations you can perform instead of the hammer strength bench press. You could do dumbbell press variations, barbell press variations, push up variations, cable press variations.
Hope this helps!
I use incline dumbbell bench press triple dropsetd with ,NOS training. Incline hammer strenght machine apply tension push inward.
How effective is this compared to bench press?
Thanks, wow, great,
very helpful information
eager to receive in future too.
with regards,
use dumbbells instead duh
who sells the hammer strength bench and how much are they
Hey Steve;
I just wanted to know what can i do instead of this exercise my gym doesnt have this machine..
i just wanted to know what can i do instead of this exercise my gym doesnt have this machine........
or
Hip press is suitable
you can use dumbbell bench press very effective
I workout at home, I have a body craft 2 in 1 and olympic bench press and curl bar, looking for the best five day workout, what I am doing is just not working, no results.