Maybe you’re looking to add a weight bench to your home gym for strength training. But, you’re not sure of what the best type of weight bench to purchase. Here’s our weight bench buying guide that can help you determine the best bench for your strength training program.
First, a weight bench is important for your strength training program, as the proper bench allows you to focus on specific muscle groups while reducing the risk of injury. So, the perfect bench is the one that is purpose built for the type of training program you’re using. There are four main types of benches:
Weight Bench Types
- Flat Benches
- Adjustable Benches
- Olympic Benches
- Specialty Benches
flat bench is usually the least expensive type of bench. If you’re looking to start out with a weight bench, a flat bench is a good first choice. When you combine a flat bench with a set of dumbbells, you can do exercises such as flat bench presses and other workouts that don’t require any elevation to the bench.
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Adjustable Benches – An adjustable bench is your next step up from a flat bench. Using either a pin or adjustable steps, you can change the level of adjustment to normally the back rest, and on some benches, the seat as well. For the back, some benches allow you to adjust the incline, allowing you to target different areas of your chest when doing chest presses. Some benches also allow you to adjust the decline for decline presses as well.
Olympic Benches – As your workouts progress, you may want to move up to barbells over dumbbells. For that, you may want to look at an Olympic Bench for additional safety. These have a built in rack for resting your olymbpic barbell on the rack prior to your presses. The downslide of an olympic bench over an adjustable bench is normally the back has a fixed angle. In this case, if you need an adjustable bench for bench presses, it’s better to use a adjustable bench with a Smith Cage for safety.
Specialty Benches – There are also a wide variety of specialty benches that are designed for specific types of exercises. For example, an abdominal bench is designed with a decline, combined with foot rests, for doing core exercises. Another is a preacher curl bench, designed to isolate your arms for doing curls with a curling bar or dumbbells.
At Fitness 4 Home Superstore, we carry a full variety of weight benches from a number of the industry’s top fitness manufacturers. Stop into any of our three Phoenix locations to learn more about are full selection of weight benches!
