Best Smith Machine Shoulder Exercises And Workout Of All Time

Do you want to learn about some of the best smith machine shoulder exercises to include it in your workouts for a stronger, better-looking shoulder.

Then you must incorporate this best smith shoulder exercises into your shoulder workout routine, it’s help to build stronger muscles that make your shoulders full and round.

Shoulder smith machine exercises are those that involve movement around more than one joint simultaneously. For those of you who have been trying to achieve bigger and stronger shoulder, it is highly recommended to start performing the smith machine shoulder workout.

Shoulder Muscles Anatomy

In fitness, “shoulder exercises” refers to resistance exercises that target the deltoid muscle.

The deltoid is the superficial muscle that forms the rounded contour of your shoulder. While the deltoid is technically a single muscle, anatomically speaking it has three distinct sets of muscles fibers and muscle bellies, which are referred to as “heads.

The deltoid muscle of the shoulder consists of three separate sections or heads.

• The anterior deltoid (In front),
• lateral deltoid (at the side), and
• Posterior deltoid (behind),

Benefit Training Shoulder With Smith Machine

A Smith machine shoulder workout has many potential benefits. Below are some of the most common reasons why you should use smith machine during deltoid workout.

1. Increases Muscle Isolation

Smith machines are very effective at isolating the front, lateral and rear deltoid and due to the ability to change body position and not worry about stabilization. There are also many variations, so you can hone in on other muscles.  

This is why even pro bodybuilders use the Smith machine for their shoulder workout. 

2. You Do Not Need A Spotter

The bottom of every Smith machine has a catch system. This catch system acts as a sort of replacement for a spotter.

Basically, you can rerack the weight at any moment using the available hooks. 

3. Experienced Lifters Can Lift More.

Smith machines remove much of the need to stabilize. For experienced lifters, this means more weight and/or volume, and therefore, more significant gains. 

4. Reduced Chance Of Injury.

Your chances of injuries are reduced because of a lifter’s ability to focus on form and the catch system. However, this, of course, does not translate to a zero percent chance of injuries. Like any exercise, you need good form and technique. 

Best Smith Machine Shoulder Exercises

Here are the best shoulder exercises you can do with a smith machine to build muscle mass and strength in your deltoid.

Adding some smith machine exercises to your shoulder workout routine will give you more benefits.

1. Smith Machine Seated Shoulder Press

The shoulder Press remains the grand-daddy of all shoulder exercises to build big, round shoulder muscles.

The shoulder muscles are strengthened by upright pressing movement. Specifically, the front part of the shoulder (anterior deltoid), but you will use some lateral delt and traps as well.

With the Smith machine shoulder press, you can isolate the front delt more because you don’t have to balance the bar.

Smith machine seated shoulder press has been the favorite shoulder exercise with bodybuilders as it builds muscle fast and is a power move.

How To Do Smith Machine Seated Shoulder Press

1. Sit on an exercise bench and grab a bar with an overhand grip.
2. Bring the bar over and in front of your head, under your chin, and just above your upper chest.
3. Now Press the bar straight up overhead until your arms are fully extended but not locked out.
4. Slowly lower the bar back to the starting position.

Tips

• Perform a warm-up with 50% weight for 1-2 sets.
• Always perform the Shoulder Exercises before you perform triceps.

2. Smith Machine Behind The Neck Shoulder Press

A smith behind-the-neck press is an exercise that targets your shoulders. The standard military press and the overhead dumbbell presses hit more of the anterior head of the deltoid, which is often stimulated a lot even during the bench press.

Behind the neck press, on the other hand, stimulates all the three heads of the shoulder, It also recruits the triceps, traps, and rhomboids.

The seated behind-the-neck shoulder press with the Smith machine is not recommended, especially if you are a beginner. The reason is that, bringing the weight behind your neck under heavy load may place your shoulder joint in a position where it can get damaged.

If you do not have a fair amount of shoulder mobility, it is not recommended to perform this smith machine shoulder exercises.

How To Do Smith Machine Behind The Neck Shoulder Press

1. Put a bench under a smith machine.
2. Set the Smith machine bar to the height of your shoulders when you sit on the bench.
3. Elevate the bar overhead by fully extending your arms while breathing out.
4. Hold the contraction for a second and lower the barbell back down to the starting position by inhaling.
5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Tips

• Don’t bounce the bar off your neck. Perform the exercise in a slow and controlled manner.
• Perform a warm-up with 50% weight for 1-2 sets.
• Keep your elbows flared out, in line with the shoulders or slightly behind.

3. Smith Machine Rear Delt Row

Smith rear delts row is a great exercise that works your rear deltoid and middle back, and to a lesser degree, it also targets the biceps, shoulders, and traps.

If you haven’t tried this exercise before, load the bar with a reasonable amount of weight, prioritizing an amount that allows you to stick to proper form rather than trying to lift heavy.

How To Do Smith Machine Rear Delt Row

1. Stand up straight while holding a bar using a wide (higher than shoulder width) and overhand (palms facing your body) grip.
2. With slightly bent knees, bend over at the waist so that your chest is parallel with the floor.
3. While keeping the upper arms perpendicular to the torso, pull the barb up towards your upper chest as you squeeze the rear delt.
4. Lower to the starting position in a controlled manner.
5. Repeat for the recommended number of repetitions.

Tips

• Refrain from using your biceps to do the work. Focus on targeting the rear delts, the arms should only act as hooks.
• Focus on the form before you go for a heavyweight.
• Maintaining the right posture while working out is vital.

4. Smith Machine Upright Row

The smith machine upright row is a machine exercise that builds stronger and bigger traps, rhomboids and rear deltoids.

No doubt, it is one of the best exercises for building upper back, but it’s also easy to get wrong. Typically, this will just result in you missing out on the muscle-building benefits of the move. Incorrect technique can also place undue pressure on your shoulders and increase your risk of injury.

The Smith machine upright row is a variation of the upright row and an exercise used to target the muscles of the shoulders.

It provides a fixed movement pattern to better isolate the muscles of the shoulders and upper back

How To Do Smith Machine Upright Row

1. Select the desired weight and load it onto a barbell. Unpack the bar by rotating the safety latches off the j-hooks.
2. Ensure that the barbell is resting against your thighs, as it’s important to keep the bar close to your body while you perform the exercise.
3. Inhale, brace your abs, and then lead the movement by driving the elbows high as you pull the bar to chest height.
4. When the bar has reached its peak, reverse the movement slowly while controlling the bar back to the starting position.
5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Tips

• Focus on keeping your elbows higher than your forearms.
• Avoid using momentum to lift the bar. Instead, focus on deriving power from the upper body.
• Don’t lean back as you pull the weight up, keep the motion under control, and don’t rely on momentum.
• If machine upright rows bother your wrists, consider a dumbbell, cable, or banded options as these place less stress on the wrists.

5. Smith Machine Shrug

The smith machine shrug is perhaps the go-to movement when looking to tone or puts on mass on the trapezius muscle. There are several variations of the barbell shrug, smith machine shrug in one of them.

The Smith machine shrug is an upper-body exercise, targeting the traps (trapezius muscles). It is usually performed for moderate to high reps, such as 8-12 reps per set or more, as part of shoulder or trap-focused training.

How To Do Smith Machine Shrug

1. Stand in a Smith machine holding the unlatched bar with an overhand grip in front of your thighs. Both your hands and your feet should be shoulder-width apart.
2. Lift your shoulders toward your ears as high as possible while keeping your arms straight.
3. Hold the contraction for a second before lowering the bar back to the starting position.
4. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Tips

• Focus on lifting the weight with your traps, not by your biceps.
• Pausing at the top of the barbell shrug makes the exercise more challenging, and you’ll get more out of it.
• Do not roll your shoulders, as this can lead to a shoulder injury.

6. Behind The Back Smith Machine Shrug

Behind the back Smith Machine Shrug is the variation of the smith machine shrug. The Smith machine behind-the-back shrug is an upper-body exercise targeting the traps (trapezius muscles).

It is usually performed for moderate to high reps, such as 8-12 reps per set or more, as part of shoulder or trap-focused training.

How To Do Behind The Back Smith Machine Shrug

1. Stand in a Smith machine holding the unlatched bar with an overhand grip in the back of your thighs. Both your hands and your feet should be shoulder-width apart.
2. Lift your shoulders toward your ears as high as possible while keeping your arms straight.
3. Hold the contraction for a second before lowering the bar back to the starting position.
4. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Tips

• Focus on lifting the weight with your traps and not by your biceps.
• Pausing at the top of the barbell shrug makes the exercise more challenging and you’ll get more out of it.

7. Inverted rear delt row

The smith machine inverted rear delt row is a horizontal pulling exercise that targets the rear parts of your shoulders and synergistically activates the muscles of your back and arms.

To make the inverted rear delt row easier, raise the bar. On the other hand, you can make this exercise harder by putting the bar lower.

How To Do Inverted rear delt row With Smith Machine

1. Set the bar to waist height.
2. Grab onto the bar with an overhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
3. Walk forward under bar until arms are perpendicular to extended body. 
4. Straighten your legs so that you are hanging off the bar at an angle.
5. With your back straight and your legs extended, exhale as you pull your chest toward the bar with your elbows out to the sides.
6. Hold the contraction for a second before lowering the bar back to the starting position.
7. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Tips

• Keep your back and neck neutral.
• Keeping the elbow out to the sides helps to target the rear deltoid.

Frequently asked question

Free Weight Vs Smith Machine Shoulder Exercises

• Free-weight shoulder exercises also allow for a more natural arc of movement because you’re not constrained by a machine.
• The Smith machine offers a controlled path of motion and safety latches if you get stuck.
• Free-weight presses require the most help from shoulder stabilizer muscle groups. This helps strengthen muscles that are often difficult to target, such as the rotator cuff, which can make you stronger and less susceptible to injuries.
• The Smith machine relies on fewer stabilizer muscles, but this benefit comes with the tradeoff that smaller, weaker muscles will not interfere with your strength. This means you can lift heavier weight.
• Even though the free-weight barbell shoulder workout is your go-to exercise for building muscle, switch between the two exercises regularly to get the best of both worlds. 
• Don’t rely exclusively on the Smith machine; otherwise, your stabilizer muscle groups will become weaker, leaving you weaker in the long run and at a greater risk for a shoulder injury.

is the smith machine good for shoulder

 There are many benefits to using the Smith machine for shoulder workouts. The Smith machine shoulder exercises tend to be safer because it requires less balance. Plus, you can use the safety stops or rack the weight if you get stuck.

It also allows you to lift more weight than you can with free weight shoulder exercises.

Takeaways

You can perform numerous shoulder exercises with the Smith machine that can build muscle and strength. The constant tension placed on your muscles through a range of motion, allowing progressive overload to take place, leading to strength and muscle gains.

Some exercisers will go their entire lives without training on a Smith machine. They are convinced that the Smith machine will cause injury, despite never having used one.

The reality is that when used correctly, this much-maligned piece of gym equipment can be very useful, especially if your goal is hypertrophy. They allow you to train to failure in relative safety and leave you free to focus on lifting and lowering the weight and not balancing or stabilizing it.

More Related Articles

• 12 Most Effective Smith Machine Leg Workout & Exercises
• Smith Machine Upright Row: Muscle Worked, Benefits
• Smith Machine Shrug: Muscle Worked, Benefits & Alternate
• Best Upper Trap Exercises For Muscle Mass and Strength
• Behind The Back Barbell Shrugs: Muscle Worked & Benefits