Best Smith Machine Exercises for Abs — Top 3
Smith Machine training is training heavy without a spotter. Here are the best smith machine exercises for targeting your abs, ranked by effectiveness. The Smith machine guides the bar along a fixed vertical path, removing the need for stabilization.
Ranked by abs muscle activation percentage, range of motion quality with smith machine, and progressive overload potential.
The Smith Machine hip thrust crunch combines a reverse crunch with a hip thrust using the fixed bar path for stability. Lie on a bench, place your feet against the bar, and drive your knees toward your chest while curling your hips off the pad.
Key Form Cue
Lie on a flat bench positioned under the Smith Machine with your feet pressing against the bar.
The Smith machine front squat lets you load the front squat pattern heavily without worrying about bar balance or wrist mobility. Cross your arms over the bar on the front of your shoulders and squat deep.
Key Form Cue
Set the bar at collarbone height and cross your arms over it to secure it on your front delts.
The Smith machine hip thrust uses the fixed bar path to eliminate setup hassle and allow easy re-racking mid-set. It targets the glutes identically to the barbell hip thrust but with more stability and faster plate loading.
Key Form Cue
Position a bench inside the Smith machine and sit with your upper back against it.
Put these exercises into a real program
Revy's AI combines the best exercises for your goals into a personalized training program with progressive overload built in.