If you've been training chest at the gym, no doubt you'll have asked yourself this question: Should I use the Smith machine or the regular bench press? There are many such moves, and that's what makes bench press almost the exact opposite of push-up: Both exercises consist largely of lying on your back or belly and pushing a bar away from you, but they feel very different when you're lifting.

People have a love/hate relationship with the Smith machine because it feels so smooth and controlled. Others prefer to stick with the regular bench press because they seek that raw, functional strength. And if you're not sure which two-thirds-of-a-song use of it is the one for you, well, welcome to the club. It's one of the most frequently asked questions by lifters.

This guide is designed to help you understand how each exercise works, what the difference is between them, and their respective pros & cons, and most importantly – which one is right for you based on your goals.

What Is a Smith Machine Bench Press?

The Smith machine bench press is an alternative to the free weight bench press and is used by many people as a substitute for the traditional bench press. Since the barbell moves on a set path, you can only move directly up and down, so it won’t drift forward or back the way a free barbell does. This is what this in-built guidance does: it alters the feeling of the exercise completely. Instead of needing to concern yourself with controlling the bar or keeping it steady, you can concentrate completely on pressing that weight.

Another is how solid and predictable the movement is right from the get-go. Because the bar is on a track, you don't have to struggle to balance it, and racking the weight requires almost no effort — you simply pivot your wrists, and the hooks lock in place around the bar. That is what makes the Smith machine great, especially for beginners, individuals getting back into exercise post injury, or anyone who frequently works out alone and wants to add just an extra level of security without needing a spotter.

Something that surprises a lot of new lifters is the bar weight. An Olympic bar weighs 45 pounds, just to get that out of the way, but most Smith machine bars do not. Many Smith machine bars weigh roughly 15 to 25 pounds, and in some commercial setups, there are even counterbalanced systems that make the bar feel lighter. Depending on the exact machine, the bar can feel somewhere between 10 and 30 pounds lighter than a regular barbell. It's why you'll never Smith machine bench press as much as you can free-weight bench, and that’s perfectly normal. It takes out the stabilizing muscles, and the lighter bar means your start isn’t the same as with a regular bench press.

What Is a Regular Bench Press?

The regular bench press is the basic version that most people envision when they think of pressing a barbell. You are lying on a flat bench, with your hands grasping a free weight barbell that you are pushing through an arc, not just straight up and down. There are no rails; they do not guide the bar for you, as with a Smith machine. It's your job to control the bar path, to keep the thing stable and balanced throughout its descent and ascent (from when you unrack it until you safely replace it on the hooks).

An Olympic bar, the standard length you'll find in most gyms, weighs 45 pounds — so no matter where you work out, your starting number is always standard. Since you're not gripping any rails, your body has to stabilize every inch of the movement. As the bar descends back down, it'll follow a slightly curved, 'natural' line of motion down and out (generally toward your lower chest and then back up to where the shoulders are). That little arc may not seem like much, but it is the difference between your chest and shoulders and triceps having to do all that work together.

It’s this freedom of travel that makes the standard bench press such a fundamental strength exercise. It forces your body to work on stabilizing, it sets some rules in place, and holds over well into actual world strength for pushing. At the same time, that freedom means the lift demands more control, more focus, and for many people, especially when you're lifting heavy, a spotter. There is no rail helping you; everything relies on the way you can control weight, and with a proper bar path.

Smith Machine vs Bench Press: What's the Real Difference?

While the Smith machine and the regular bench press may look similar, the way your body moves and responds during each exercise is quite different. These differences affect everything from the muscles you engage to the weight you can lift safely. Let's break down the key distinctions.

Movement Path

The bar path is the most discernable variance between the two movements. On the Smith machine, the bar only goes up and down on rails. This results in a highly controlled and predictable pressing movement — very useful for lifters who are new to pressing or simply don’t want to split their focus between pressing and maintaining balance.

For a few of us, this straight trajectory feels totally natural and lets them focus hard on their chest squeeze. But for others, especially those with longer arms or a different shape to their shoulder mechanics, the fixed path can feel just a little bit off because it doesn’t accommodate their natural pressing arc.

Conversely, the bar path of free-weight bench press can move in a natural arc that mimics your body mechanics. The bar usually descends to about your lower chest, and subsequently is pressed up toward the shoulders. That little arc might not look like much, but it radically alters how your muscles fire and how your body stabilizes the weight throughout that movement.

Stability

Stability is another factor that sets the two movements apart. The Smith machine is on rails, which means that the barbell itself will be more stable; you don’t have to worry about balancing it. This significantly facilitates the beginner or lone lifter to manage heavier weights safely. Since the machine does the stabilizing for you, you can focus more on pressing and less on managing a bar.

But the standard bench press is a full-body balance and coordination exercise all the way through. Your shoulders, triceps, lats, and core have to fire collectively to stabilize the bar. This extra challenge makes the lift more difficult to dominate, but it also involves a greater number of muscles and starts building that real-world strength.

Many seasoned lifters love the bench press because it forces your stabilizers into action and is as much an exercise in coordination as strength; novices, on the other hand, are often wary of it.

Muscle Activation

Both exercises target the chest, but the degree and type of muscle activation differ. With the Smith machine, the fixed plane of motion enables you to isolate your chest more easily, because you don’t have to worry about stabilizing the bar. This makes it great if you’re looking for strict form and a hard contraction in the chest or high rep pump workouts.

The standard bench press, by contrast, involves multiple muscles. Your chest, shoulders, triceps, upper back, and even your core are all needed to stabilize and move the bar. Opinions differ on what is better for developing total upper body strength and coordination because of this.

So if your aim is strength and function, free weights deliver more bang for your buck while the Smith machine shines for controlled, isolated chest work.

Strength Carryover

Because the free-weight bench press forces you to stabilize your body, any strength you gain will be more translatable to other lifts and everyday life. Hit the bar, no rails can tighten up your control of heavy weights on dynamic lifts.

The Smith machine is great for building pressing strength on a fixed path, but it doesn’t challenge your stabilizers to the same extent. This means the strength you build on the Smith machine might not completely translate over to free-weight moves or sport-specific patterns.

Safety

Safety is often a deciding factor, especially for lifters training alone. The Smith machine makes it easy to lock the bar in place at any point, and most machines have built-in hooks or stops to catch the bar if you fail a rep. This reduces the risk of injury and allows you to push heavier weights with confidence.

The regular bench press is highly effective but carries more risk if you don’t have a spotter. Without someone watching your lift, it’s easier to lose control of the bar or overextend, particularly with heavy loads. That’s why the Smith machine is often recommended for beginners, solo lifters, or anyone looking for a safer way to push their chest without relying on another person.

Smith Machine Bench Press vs Bench Press: Pros & Cons

Which One Should You Choose?

When it comes to choosing between the Smith machine and the regular bench press, there is no definitive answer. Both exercises can be helpful for people depending on their training goals, experience level, safety considerations, and personal preferences. The correct choice is the one that suits your needs and provides you with maximum efficiency. 

If you’re interested in safety, in consistency, or just have to train alone most of the time, the Smith machine may become your closest friend. Because the bar slides on fixed rails, you don’t worry about balancing and getting out of control from one side to the next. That makes it particularly useful for newbies who are still mastering their pressing mechanics, or for those coming back from an injury and requiring a more manageable lift. The included safety hooks also let you push yourself to near failure without a spotter, which is something the standard bench press can’t provide.

But if your aim is to build real-world, functional upper-body strength, the free-weight bench press remains king. The bar follows a natural arc, forcing your stabilizing muscles to work overtime on each rep—as you progress over time, where they do less of the lifting and benefit from big shoulder strength gains that spill over into everything else—overhead pressing, push-ups, or even playing better at any athletic endeavor where stabilizing matters. Neat!! Regular Bench Many lifters also prefer regular bench as it "feels" bigger because you feel your whole upper body working as one unit.

That being said, it doesn’t have to be one or the other. For most lifters, in fact, the best approach is to use both. You can begin the workout with stacks of iron on the barbell for heavy, low-rep bench presses to build max strength at a time when you're fresh and built to handle your maximum weight, but then gradually strip those pounds off for high-rep sets that allow you to burn out your chest without fearing that your form is getting sloppy. This pair offers you control of a Smith machine with the freedom of a bench press and all in one.

So which should you choose? If you value safety and steady form, the Smith machine should be your choice. If you’re interested in strength that carries over outside the gym, stay with free-weight bench pressing. And if you want equal upper and lower growth, bottom-end confidence with a bar on your back, and a complete chest workout, combine the two in your program – they complement each other as few realize.

FAQs

1. Is the Smith machine better than the bench?

It depends on your goals. The Smith machine also helps stabilize chest movement, so it's excellent for newbies, training alone, or working on that chest isolation. The free-weight bench press, meanwhile, forces you to stabilize your stabilizers, core, and supportive muscles, making it more useful for all-around strength and functional carryover.

2. Why can I lift less on a Smith machine?

Interestingly, many people might actually lift more on a Smith machine because the bar is guided and, in some cases, even lighter with built-in counterbalance systems. If you see smaller figures, it is typically either from being introduced to the fixed bar path or strange mechanics. Remember that strength on the Smith machine does not always equal free-weight bench numbers since stabilizing muscles play a smaller role here.

3. Is it okay to bench on a Smith machine?

Absolutely. It's an easy-to-use machine and quite safe for pressing workouts, perfect if you are alone in your training or simply want to isolate your chest. Just keep in mind that since the bar path is fixed, it won’t challenge stabilizers to the same extent as a free-weight bench press.

4. Is benching on a Smith machine the same as the bench press?

Not exactly. While both exercises target the chest, shoulders, and triceps, the Smith machine follows a fixed path, making it easier to control the bar but reducing stabilizer activation. A regular bench press involves a natural bar path that recruits more muscles and builds functional pressing strength.

5. Can I build muscle using a Smith machine?

Yes! The Smith machine is great for adding slabs of muscle because it allows you to concentrate on form and squeezing the muscle without balancing. You can still do your controlled, high-rep sets without taking the damage, and hit your chest hard. Super-setting it with free-weight presses, though, can make for a more complete strength and muscle-building workout.

Conclusion

Both the Smith machine and standard bench press have a place in a well-rounded strength program. The Smith machine provides support, allows you to focus on form and movement, and takes the difficulty of stabilization out of the equation. The traditional bench press develops great functional strength and works the entire upper body in a way that machines can only dream of.

If you lift by yourself, are new to pressing or want a machine that holds you in place throughout the movement, the Smith machine is ideal. If you’re into functional strength, enhanced muscle activation and a traditional test of upper-body power, keep doing your basic bench pres.

Or, for the best of both worlds? Use them together. Bench for strength, smith machine for volume. Simple but effective, yet so deadly for long-term gain!

References

1. Schick, E. E., Coburn, J. W., Brown, L. E., Judelson, D. A., Khamoui, A. V., Tran, T. T., & Uribe, B. P. (2010). A Comparison of Muscle Activation Between a Smith Machine and Free‑Weight Bench Press. Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 24(3), 779–784. Using EMG, this study showed that the medial deltoid muscle had significantly higher activation during free-weight bench press compared to Smith machine bench press at both 70 % and 90 % 1RM.

2. Schwanbeck, S., Chilibeck, P. D., & Binsted, G. (2023). Comparative Effects of the Free Weights and Smith Machine Squat and Bench Press: The Important Role of Specificity for Strength Adaptations. Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research. In an 8-week training study, participants training on free weights versus Smith machine showed similar muscle cross-sectional area increases, but strength improvements were more specific to the modality they trained on.