Seated chest press: how to do it
Main muscles: Middle chest. Helpers: Upper chest, Front delts (anterior deltoid), Triceps lateral head, Triceps medial head. Below: step-by-step form, common mistakes, a muscle map, reps and rest, and what to swap it for.
Equipment
Machine
Reps
10–15
Rest
75 s
Muscle group
Chest
How to do it
- Handles at mid-chest height, back and head against the pad.
- Press forward to almost straight arms while the shoulder blades stay together.
- Return under control, do not let the stack bang.
Common mistakes
Back coming off the pad, handles set too high.
Muscles worked
primary·secondary
- Primary
- Middle chest
- Secondary
- Upper chest, Front delts (anterior deltoid), Triceps lateral head, Triceps medial head
A secondary muscle gets roughly half the stimulus of a set — that is also how the log’s stats count it.
Alternatives: similar exercises
Close-grip push-ups
Bodyweight · Triceps lateral head, Triceps medial head
Pec deck
Machine · Middle chest
Bench press
Barbell · Middle chest, Lower chest
Incline bench press
Barbell · Upper chest, Front delts (anterior deltoid)
Dumbbell fly
Dumbbells · Middle chest
Dips
Bodyweight · Lower chest, Triceps lateral head, Triceps medial head
Log your sets — the app suggests the next weight
GymAssist tracks the load on each of 40 muscles, paints it on a body map and uses double progression to tell you when to add weight.
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