The Machine Chest Press is a beginner machine press that primarily trains the chest, with the shoulders and triceps assisting. It is useful for building pressing strength through the chest, shoulders and triceps.
Primary muscles
chest
Secondary muscles
shoulders, triceps
Equipment
machine
Difficulty
beginner
TARGET AREA
Muscles worked
Primary muscles
chest
Secondary muscles
shoulders, triceps
THE MOVEMENT
How to perform
Adjust the seat and handles so the press starts from a comfortable chest-level position.
Set the shoulder blades against the pad and keep the feet planted.
Press the handles forward while keeping the wrists stacked and shoulders controlled.
Return slowly until you reach the same comfortable bottom position.
IRONYOU / CORE
Core cues
Keep your upper back set and your ribcage controlled instead of letting the shoulders roll forward.
Use the same touch point or bottom position on every rep.
Stop adding load if the range of motion or bar/dumbbell path starts changing from rep to rep.
STAY SHARP
Common mistakes
Letting the shoulders drift forward at the bottom.
Bouncing or rushing the lowering phase.
Using more load than you can control through a repeatable range of motion.
YOUR PROGRESS
Your strength
Use your best set to calculate your current IronYou rank and see what comes next.
IRONYOU RANK CALCULATOR
127 exercises. One ladder. Your first rank is free.
Published reference points from the production IronYou rank system.
IronYou has 13 strength ranks: Copper I–III → Silver I–III → Gold I–III → Titanium I–III → IRON. IRON is the highest IronYou rank. The public standards tables show the estimated 1RM required to enter Silver I, Gold I, Titanium I, and IRON. Standards vary by sex and bodyweight.
Logged load: machine or cable stack load. Public value: total stack/load.
Machine Chest Press Strength Standards — Male
Male
Published estimated 1RM thresholds by bodyweight. Load is recorded as total stack/load.
Machine Chest Press estimated 1RM strength standards by bodyweight and IronYou rank — Male.
Bodyweight (kg)
Silver I
Gold I
Titanium I
IRON
50 kg
47.5 kg
62.9 kg
78.3 kg
110.4 kg
60 kg
52.6 kg
69.7 kg
86.7 kg
122.3 kg
70 kg
57.2 kg
75.8 kg
94.4 kg
133.1 kg
80 kg
61.4 kg
81.4 kg
101.3 kg
142.8 kg
90 kg
65.2 kg
86.4 kg
107.5 kg
151.6 kg
100 kg
68.7 kg
90.9 kg
113.2 kg
159.6 kg
110 kg
71.7 kg
95 kg
118.3 kg
166.8 kg
120 kg
74.5 kg
98.7 kg
122.9 kg
173.3 kg
Machine Chest Press Strength Standards — Female
Female
Published estimated 1RM thresholds by bodyweight. Load is recorded as total stack/load.
Machine Chest Press estimated 1RM strength standards by bodyweight and IronYou rank — Female.
Bodyweight (kg)
Silver I
Gold I
Titanium I
IRON
40 kg
22.4 kg
29.6 kg
36.9 kg
52 kg
50 kg
29.8 kg
39.5 kg
49.1 kg
69.3 kg
60 kg
34.5 kg
45.6 kg
56.8 kg
80.1 kg
70 kg
37.4 kg
49.5 kg
61.6 kg
86.8 kg
80 kg
39.2 kg
51.9 kg
64.6 kg
91 kg
90 kg
40.3 kg
53.4 kg
66.4 kg
93.6 kg
100 kg
41 kg
54.3 kg
67.6 kg
95.3 kg
IronYou-specific standard; resistance can vary between machines/equipment.
Values are estimated 1RM thresholds required to enter the named IronYou major rank tier.
Standards are derived from the production IronYou Rank V1 model.
IronYou-specific standard; resistance can vary between machines/equipment.
KEEP EXPLORING
Variations
Related variations: Single Arm Machine Chest Press, Flat Barbell Bench Press, and Incline Barbell Bench Press.
Choose the version that matches your equipment, joint comfort, and the movement you can repeat consistently.
EARLY ACCESS
Track Machine Chest Press in IronYou.
Keep your last session, progress and next target with you when you train.