RIRLift

Exercises

Machine exercises for every muscle, with sessions for where you are

Published October 16, 2026

The machine exercises to learn first are the leg press, chest press, machine row, assisted pull-up, shoulder press and seated leg curl: one squat, one press, one row, one vertical pull, one overhead press and one hamstring curl. Add the incline press, lateral raise, leg extension, hip thrust and triceps extension once those are routine. Set each machine so the joint you move lines up with its pivot, then pick by muscle, one compound machine before one isolation machine.

  1. Leg Press Quads, Glutes
  2. Machine Chest Press Chest
  3. Machine Row Upper Back, Lats
  4. Assisted Pull-Up Lats
  5. Machine Shoulder Press Shoulders
  6. Seated Leg Curl Hamstrings
  7. Leg Extension Quads
  8. Machine Lateral Raise Shoulders

Chest machine exercises

Start with the chest press for heavy, controlled pressing. Add the incline press when your upper chest lags and the pec deck when you want a long stretch without a heavier press.

Chest, horizontal press

Machine Chest Press

Chest

The easiest chest press to load hard on day one: the handles move on a fixed path, so you can push close to failure without a spotter or a bar over your throat.

How to do it

  1. Set the seat so the handles line up with the middle of your chest.
  2. Sit back with your feet flat, shoulder blades pulled back and down into the pad.
  3. Press the handles forward until your arms are nearly straight.
  4. Bring them back under control until you feel a stretch across your chest, then press again.

Cues

  • Handles at mid-chest, not at your neck
  • Shoulder blades stay pinned to the pad
  • Slow on the way back

Common mistakes

  • Seat too high, so the press drifts toward your shoulders and away from your chest.
  • Cutting the return short: let the handles come back until your chest stretches, or you lose the part of the rep that builds the most.

Swap for: Machine Incline Press, Smith Machine Bench Press, Machine Chest Dip

Build a session with Machine Chest Press

Upper chest, incline press

Machine Incline Press

Chest

The incline angle shifts more of the work to the upper chest and front of the shoulders, which a flat press leaves under-trained.

How to do it

  1. Adjust the seat so the handles start just above your upper chest.
  2. Plant your feet, lean back into the pad and keep your chest up.
  3. Press up and slightly forward until your arms are almost straight.
  4. Lower until your hands are level with your upper chest and repeat.

Cues

  • Chest up, shoulders down
  • Drive the handles up the machine's path
  • Pause briefly at the bottom stretch

Common mistakes

  • Shrugging as you press, which turns it into a shoulder and trap lift.
  • Arching off the pad to make the angle flatter so you can move more weight.

Swap for: Machine Chest Press, Smith Machine Incline Press, Pec Deck Fly

Build a session with Machine Incline Press

Chest, fly

Pec Deck Fly

Chest

A fly with no balance to manage: the pads hold your arms on the arc, so your chest works through a long stretch without the dumbbells pulling your shoulders out of position.

How to do it

  1. Set the seat so your upper arms are about level with the floor when you grip the handles.
  2. Sit tall with your back on the pad and a soft bend in your elbows.
  3. Bring the handles together until they meet at chest height.
  4. Open back out slowly until you feel a stretch across your chest, not in the front of your shoulders.

Cues

  • Hug a tree
  • Elbows lead, hands follow
  • Stop the stretch before your shoulders roll forward

Common mistakes

  • Letting the weight yank your arms back past the stretch at the end of the set.
  • Bending your elbows more as you get tired, which turns the fly into a press.

Swap for: Machine Chest Press, Reverse Pec Deck, Machine Incline Press

Build a session with Pec Deck Fly

Back machine exercises

One vertical pull and one row cover the back. The assisted pull-up is the vertical pull; the chest-braced machine row is the row that keeps your lower back out of it.

Lats, vertical pull

Assisted Pull-Up

Lats

The machine takes off part of your bodyweight, so you can train the real pull-up for full sets long before you can do one unassisted, and log the assistance going down as you get stronger.

How to do it

  1. Pick an assistance weight that lets you do the bottom of your rep range with control; more weight on the stack means more help.
  2. Step or kneel onto the platform and grip the handles a little wider than your shoulders.
  3. Pull your elbows down toward your ribs until your chin passes the handles.
  4. Lower all the way until your arms are straight and your shoulders stretch up, then pull again.

Cues

  • Chest to the bar, not chin over it
  • Elbows down and back
  • Full hang at the bottom

Common mistakes

  • Half reps: stopping before your arms straighten cuts out the stretch where the lats work hardest.
  • Choosing so much assistance that the set is easy. Pick the setting where the last reps are hard.

Swap for: Lat Pulldown, Neutral-Grip Lat Pulldown, Single-Arm Lat Pulldown

Build a session with Assisted Pull-Up

Upper back and lats, horizontal pull

Machine Row

Upper Back, Lats

A row where your chest is braced on a pad, so your lower back is out of it and every rep goes to the upper back and lats.

How to do it

  1. Set the chest pad so you can just reach the handles with your arms straight.
  2. Sit tall, chest against the pad, feet planted.
  3. Pull the handles toward your lower ribs, driving your elbows back past your body.
  4. Squeeze your shoulder blades together for a moment, then let your arms straighten and your shoulders reach forward.

Cues

  • Chest stays on the pad
  • Elbows past your ribs
  • Reach forward at the end of each rep

Common mistakes

  • Leaning back off the pad to finish the rep with your hips.
  • Shrugging the handles toward your ears instead of pulling them to your ribs.

Swap for: Chest-Supported Row, Single-Arm High Row, Seated Cable Row

Build a session with Machine Row

Shoulder machine exercises

The press builds the front of the shoulders, the lateral raise the sides and the reverse pec deck the back. Most people already press enough, so the raise and the reverse fly are the two to add first.

Shoulders, vertical press

Machine Shoulder Press

Shoulders

Pressing overhead seated with your back supported lets you push your shoulders hard without your lower back or balance setting the limit.

How to do it

  1. Set the seat so the handles start at about shoulder height.
  2. Sit back against the pad with your feet flat.
  3. Press the handles up until your arms are nearly straight overhead.
  4. Lower until your hands are back at shoulder height and press again.

Cues

  • Back flat on the pad
  • Press up, not forward
  • Lower to shoulder height every rep

Common mistakes

  • Arching your back off the pad, which turns it into an incline press.
  • Stopping the lowering halfway, where the weight feels light.

Swap for: Smith Machine Shoulder Press, Machine Lateral Raise, Machine Incline Press

Build a session with Machine Shoulder Press

Side delts, isolation

Machine Lateral Raise

Shoulders

The pads push on your upper arms, not your hands, so the side of your shoulder gets tension through the whole rep, including the bottom where dumbbells go slack.

How to do it

  1. Set the seat so the machine's pivot lines up with your shoulder joint.
  2. Sit tall with the pads against the outside of your upper arms.
  3. Raise your elbows out to the sides until your upper arms are level with the floor.
  4. Lower slowly until the pads nearly touch your sides, then raise again.

Cues

  • Lead with your elbows
  • Shoulders down, away from your ears
  • Slow on the way down

Common mistakes

  • Shrugging the weight up with your traps when the set gets hard.
  • Swinging the pads up and letting them fall, which skips the part of the rep that does the work.

Swap for: Machine Shoulder Press, Reverse Pec Deck, Cable Lateral Raise

Build a session with Machine Lateral Raise

Rear delts and upper back, fly

Reverse Pec Deck

Shoulders

Pressing leaves the back of the shoulders behind; this is the cleanest way to train them, and it uses the same machine as the pec deck.

How to do it

  1. Face the pad with your chest against it and set the handles to the back position.
  2. Grip the handles with straight arms in front of you at shoulder height.
  3. Sweep your arms out and back until your hands are in line with your shoulders.
  4. Bring them back together slowly and repeat.

Cues

  • Push the handles out wide, not back
  • Soft elbows, fixed angle
  • Chest stays on the pad

Common mistakes

  • Pinching your shoulder blades hard and using your traps instead of the rear delts.
  • Going too heavy and bending your elbows to row the weight.

Swap for: Face Pull, Pec Deck Fly, Machine Lateral Raise

Build a session with Reverse Pec Deck

Triceps machine exercises

The pad holds your upper arms still, so the triceps do the whole rep. Put it at the end of a session, after presses have already worked your triceps; your biceps get their work from the pull-up and row.

Triceps, isolation

Machine Triceps Extension

Triceps

An extension where the machine holds your upper arms still, so the triceps do the whole job and you can push sets close to failure.

How to do it

  1. Set the seat so your upper arms rest on the pad with your elbows at the pivot point.
  2. Grip the handles with your elbows bent.
  3. Straighten your arms fully, pressing the handles away.
  4. Bend your elbows back under control until your forearms pass level, then extend again.

Cues

  • Elbows stay on the pad
  • Squeeze at full lockout
  • Control the bend

Common mistakes

  • Leaning forward over the pad to push with your chest and shoulders.
  • Bouncing out of the bottom instead of controlling it.

Swap for: Machine Triceps Dip, Cable Cross Pushdown, Overhead Cable Triceps Extension

Build a session with Machine Triceps Extension

Leg machine exercises for quads

Pick one heavy squat-pattern machine, the leg press or the hack squat, and follow it with the leg extension. The hack squat asks for more depth and balance on the rails; the leg press is the easier one to learn.

Quads and glutes, squat pattern

Leg Press

Quads, Glutes

The leg press loads your legs heavily with your back supported, so legs, not your lower back or balance, decide when the set ends.

How to do it

  1. Sit with your back and hips flat on the pad and your feet hip-width apart in the middle of the platform.
  2. Release the safety catches and press the platform until your legs are almost straight.
  3. Lower the platform by bending your knees toward your chest until your hips are about to lift off the pad.
  4. Push through your whole foot back to the top without locking your knees hard.

Cues

  • Hips stay on the pad
  • Knees track over your toes
  • Push through the whole foot

Common mistakes

  • Lowering so far that your lower back rolls off the pad; stop just before it does.
  • Loading more plates than you can move through a real range, then doing quarter reps.

Swap for: Hack Squat, 45-Degree Leg Press, Single-Leg Leg Press

Build a session with Leg Press

Quads and glutes, squat pattern

Hack Squat

Quads, Glutes

A squat on rails with pads on your shoulders: you can sit deep into the bottom and push your quads hard without balancing a bar.

How to do it

  1. Step in with your back on the pad and your shoulders under the shoulder pads, feet hip-width apart in the middle of the platform.
  2. Stand up to unrack and release the safety handles.
  3. Bend your knees and sit down the rails until your thighs are at least level with the platform.
  4. Drive back up through your whole foot to just short of locking out.

Cues

  • Back stays flat on the pad
  • Knees forward over your toes is fine
  • Same depth every rep

Common mistakes

  • Heels lifting at the bottom: move your feet slightly higher on the platform.
  • Cutting depth as the weight goes up, so the numbers rise but the work does not.

Swap for: Leg Press, Smith Squat, Close-Stance Leg Press

Build a session with Hack Squat

Quads, isolation

Leg Extension

Quads

The only common lift that trains your quads with your hips out of it, including the front-thigh muscle that squats work least.

How to do it

  1. Set the backrest so your knees line up with the machine's pivot and the pad sits just above your ankles.
  2. Hold the side handles and sit back.
  3. Straighten your legs until your knees are fully extended and squeeze for a second.
  4. Lower slowly until your knees are bent past 90 degrees, then extend again.

Cues

  • Knees at the pivot
  • Squeeze hard at the top
  • Lower slower than you lift

Common mistakes

  • Lifting your hips off the seat to kick the weight up.
  • Lowering only halfway; the bent-knee bottom is where the quads stretch.

Swap for: Single-Leg Leg Extension, Hack Squat, Leg Press

Build a session with Leg Extension

Hamstring and glute machine exercises

Squats and presses train the glutes only part way and the hamstrings barely. A leg curl and a hip thrust fill that gap, and the abduction machine covers the side of the hips.

Hamstrings, curl

Seated Leg Curl

Hamstrings

Sitting puts your hamstrings in a stretched position at the hip, which makes the seated curl the stronger leg curl choice for building them.

How to do it

  1. Set the backrest so your knees line up with the pivot and the lower pad sits just above your heels.
  2. Lower the thigh pad onto your legs so they cannot lift.
  3. Pull your heels down and back under the seat as far as they go.
  4. Let the pad come back up slowly until your legs are nearly straight.

Cues

  • Knees at the pivot
  • Lean forward slightly to stretch more
  • Control the way up

Common mistakes

  • Thigh pad set loose, so your legs rise and the curl gets shorter.
  • Letting the stack drop back after each rep.

Swap for: Lying Leg Curl, Kneeling Leg Curl, Romanian Deadlift

Build a session with Seated Leg Curl

Glutes, hip extension

Smith Machine Hip Thrust

Glutes

The bar is on rails, so you only have to drive your hips up, not balance a loaded barbell across your lap, and you can push your glutes close to failure.

How to do it

  1. Set your shoulder blades against the long edge of a flat bench, hips on the floor, and the Smith bar over your hips, with a pad on the bar.
  2. Plant your feet flat, about hip-width apart, so your shins are vertical at the top.
  3. Unhook the bar and drive your hips up until your body is straight from shoulders to knees.
  4. Squeeze your glutes for a moment at the top, then lower your hips toward the floor and repeat.

Cues

  • Chin tucked, ribs down
  • Shins vertical at the top
  • Squeeze, do not arch

Common mistakes

  • Arching your lower back at the top to get the bar higher.
  • Feet too far forward, which moves the work to your hamstrings.

Swap for: Hip Thrust, Multi-Hip Glute Extension, Machine Glute Kickback

Build a session with Smith Machine Hip Thrust

Outer glutes, isolation

Hip Abduction Machine

Abductors

Trains the side of the glutes that every squat and press variation leaves under-worked, with no setup beyond the seat.

How to do it

  1. Sit with your back on the pad and the pads against the outside of your knees.
  2. Grip the side handles.
  3. Push your knees apart as far as they go and pause.
  4. Let them come back together slowly, stopping before the plates touch.

Cues

  • Push out with your knees
  • Pause at the widest point
  • Lean forward slightly for more glute

Common mistakes

  • Bouncing out of the bottom using the stack's rebound.
  • Rocking your torso to swing the pads open.

Swap for: Multi-Hip Abduction, Band Seated Hip Abduction, Hip Adduction Machine

Build a session with Hip Abduction Machine

Calf and ab machine exercises

Both respond to full range and a pause: a deep stretch at the bottom of the calf raise and a slow curl on the crunch. Two to three sets at the end of a session is enough.

Calves, isolation

Standing Calf Raise

Calves

Standing with straight knees trains the larger calf muscle through a long stretch, and the machine lets you load it far past what you could hold in your hands.

How to do it

  1. Step under the shoulder pads with the balls of your feet on the edge of the platform.
  2. Stand up straight to take the weight, knees straight but not locked.
  3. Lower your heels as far as they go and pause in the stretch.
  4. Rise as high as you can onto your toes, pause, and lower again.

Cues

  • Pause in the stretch
  • All the way up onto your big toe
  • Knees stay straight

Common mistakes

  • Bouncing at the bottom, which lets the tendon do the work instead of the muscle.
  • Bending the knees to turn it into a squat.

Swap for: Seated Calf Raise, Leg Press Calf Raise, Smith Machine Calf Raise

Build a session with Standing Calf Raise

Abs, flexion

Machine Crunch

Abs

A loadable crunch: you can add weight in small steps and count reps, which is hard to do with floor crunches once they get easy.

How to do it

  1. Set the seat so the handles or pads sit at your chest or shoulders.
  2. Hook your feet and grip the handles.
  3. Curl your chest down toward your hips by rounding your spine, not by pulling with your arms.
  4. Hold the squeeze for a moment, then let your torso unroll back up slowly.

Cues

  • Ribs toward your hips
  • Exhale as you curl
  • Arms just hold on

Common mistakes

  • Pulling with your arms and shoulders instead of curling your spine.
  • Going too heavy and hinging at the hips without rounding.

Swap for: Cable Crunch, Captain's Chair Knee Raise, Decline Crunch

Build a session with Machine Crunch

Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in. Open one in the session builder to change a pick, price it from a recent set, and add it to RIRLift.

Session 1

Your first weeks on gym machines

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets36 a week
  • Per workout~25 min
  • EquipmentLeg Press, Chest Press, Seated Row Machine, Seated Leg Curl +2

You are new to the gym, or back after a long break, and you want a short list of machines you can find and set up without help.

Six machines cover legs, chest, back, shoulders and abs, and each one has one or two adjustments to learn. Two sets of 10 to 15 reps, stopped with about 3 reps left, give you 12 working sets a session to learn the movements before you push sets harder.

Full Body
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Leg Press1 warm-up set firstHips stay on the pad. 2 × 10–15 3 90 s
Machine Chest PressHandles at mid-chest. 2 × 10–15 3 90 s
Machine RowChest on the pad. 2 × 10–15 3 90 s
Seated Leg CurlKnees at the pivot. 2 × 10–15 3 1 min
Machine Shoulder PressBack flat on the pad. 2 × 10–15 3 1 min
Machine CrunchCurl the spine, arms just hold. 2 × 10–15 3 1 min
How to run it
Run the session three days a week with a day off between. Go down the list in order; write down the seat setting for each machine the first time so set-up is quick after that.
How to progress
Add a rep per set each session. When both sets reach 15 reps with about 3 left, move the pin down one plate. After a few weeks of steady sessions, add a third set to the leg press, chest press and row, then move to the upper/lower plan.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

Full gym, upper/lower split on machines

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts4× a week
  • Working sets72 a week
  • Per workout~45 min
  • EquipmentIncline Chest Press, Assisted Machine, Chest Press, Seated Row Machine +10

You have been training for a few months, your gym has the full machine line, and you want four sessions a week built on them.

With every machine available you can train each muscle from more than one angle: incline and flat press, vertical pull and row, hack squat and leg extension. Upper has 17 working sets and Lower 19, all taken to 1 or 2 reps in reserve. Running each twice a week puts chest, back, quads and glutes at 12 direct hard sets a week, shoulders, hamstrings, calves, triceps and abs at 4 to 6, and biceps work through every pull-up and row.

Upper
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Machine Incline Press2 warm-up sets firstUpper chest first, while fresh. 3 × 6–10 2 2 min
Assisted Pull-Up1 warm-up set firstLess assistance as you get stronger. 3 × 6–10 2 2 min
Machine Chest Press 3 × 8–12 1 90 s
Machine RowElbows past your ribs. 3 × 8–12 1 90 s
Machine Lateral Raise 3 × 12–15 1 1 min
Machine Triceps Extension 2 × 10–15 1 1 min

Open Upper in the session builder

Lower
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Hack Squat2 warm-up sets firstSame depth every rep. 3 × 6–10 2 2:30 min
Seated Leg CurlLean forward for more stretch. 3 × 8–12 1 90 s
Smith Machine Hip Thrust1 warm-up set firstPause and squeeze at the top. 3 × 8–12 2 2 min
Leg Extension 3 × 10–15 1 1 min
Hip Abduction Machine 2 × 12–20 1 1 min
Standing Calf RaisePause in the stretch. 3 × 10–15 1 1 min
Machine Crunch 2 × 10–15 1 1 min

Open Lower in the session builder

How to run it
Run Upper, Lower, rest, Upper, Lower, then two days off. Move on to the next block when a machine is busy and come back to it.
How to progress
Use double progression: keep the weight until every set hits the top of its rep range at the target reps in reserve, then move the pin one plate. If a lift stalls for three sessions, add a set to it before adding weight elsewhere.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Racks and dumbbells taken, machines only

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts1× a week
  • Working sets17 a week
  • Per workout~45 min
  • EquipmentHack Squat, Incline Chest Press, Assisted Machine, Seated Leg Curl +2

You usually train with barbells and dumbbells, the free-weight area is full, and you still want a hard full-body session today.

Each machine stands in for a free-weight lift: hack squat for the squat, incline press for the bench, assisted pull-up for pull-ups, leg curl and leg extension for the hinge and lunge work you lose. The pec deck and reverse pec deck share one machine, so you can superset them without walking anywhere. Every block stops at 1 or 2 reps in reserve so the day counts toward your weekly sets.

Full Body
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Hack Squat2 warm-up sets firstStands in for your squat. 3 × 6–10 2 2:30 min
Machine Incline Press1 warm-up set firstStands in for your bench. 3 × 6–10 2 2 min
Assisted Pull-Up 3 × 6–10 2 2 min
Seated Leg Curl 2 × 8–12 1 90 s
Leg Extension 2 × 10–15 1 1 min
A1 Pec Deck FlySame machine as the reverse fly. 2 × 12–15 1 45 s
A2 Reverse Pec Deck 2 × 12–15 1 45 s
How to run it
Swap this in for one session when the racks are full; count its sets toward that week's totals. Run the A superset on the one fly machine by turning the handles between sets.
How to progress
Machines differ between gyms, so log the machine and the seat setting with your sets. Next time it is busy, start from those numbers and add a rep per set or one plate.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

What are the best gym machines for beginners?

The leg press, chest press, seated machine row, shoulder press, seated leg curl and an ab crunch machine. Together they train legs, chest, back, shoulders and abs, and each has one or two adjustments to learn. The first-circuit session above uses exactly those six.

What is the best workout machine?

For legs, the leg press or hack squat; for the upper body, the chest press and a chest-supported row. They load the most muscle per set with the least to balance. There is no single best machine: a session needs a squat, a press, a pull and a hamstring exercise.

How many machines should you use in a workout?

Five to seven. That covers each major muscle once or twice at 2 to 3 sets each without the session running long. The sessions on this page use six or seven machines each.

What are good gym machines for the upper body?

The incline press and chest press for chest, the assisted pull-up and machine row for back, the lateral raise for shoulders, and the triceps extension machine for arms. The Upper routine in the upper/lower plan runs all six.

What machine works the back of the arms?

The triceps extension machine and the triceps dip machine both train the triceps, the muscle on the back of your upper arm. Pair either one with a press for chest or shoulders, which works the triceps too, and take sets close to failure.

Can you build muscle using only machines?

Yes. Muscle grows from hard sets close to failure, and machines make those sets easy to set up and repeat. A plan built only on machines, like the upper/lower plan here, gives chest, back, quads and glutes 12 direct hard sets a week and the other muscles it trains directly 4 to 6, with biceps working in every pull-up and row.

Are machines or free weights better for building muscle?

Both build muscle about equally when the sets are equally hard. Machines are easier to learn and to push close to failure; free weights need less space and train balance. Most people do best with some of each.