Weight Bench Buyer's Guide (NEWEST PRODUCTS FOR 2019)
https://fitatmidlife.com/weight-bench-buyers-guide/
Let’s talk about weight benches, also sometimes called workout benches.
Having a stable, comfortable weight bench is an essential for a variety of exercises including the mighty bench press.
And while it’s true that the bench press has fallen out of favor in recent years because it’s not a “functional exercise”, it’s still a huge mass and strength builder without equal.
(Actually, recently the bench press made a rare appearance in a CrossFit WOD – so maybe they’ve come to their senses.)
Let’s look at what makes the best weight bench – whether for your home gym, garage gym, or commercial facility.
In doing so, we’ll present some of the best workout benches (both flat benches, incline benches, and adjustable benches) available from Rogue Fitness and Rep Fitness.
We’ll also look at the ultimate weight bench option – the FID bench (Flat, Incline, or Decline.)
Here’s an example of a FID bench, the REP AB-5000 Zero Gap Adjustable Bench.
The REP AB-5000 ZERO GAP Adjustable Bench is the best adjustable bench, period. Commercial grade paint, steel, vinyl, and padding is combined with rock solid stability. This adjustable bench incorporates a unique patent-pending adjustment mechanism for zero pad gap in all positions. The seat is able to slide along the frame and completely eliminate the traditional annoying seat gap found on virtually all competing products. A great FID bench
What To Look For In a Good Weight Bench
First of all, a few things.
A weight bench has to be the right height – not too high and not too low.
The defacto standard is somewhere around 17″ and 18″ in height.
Secondly benches can come in a variety of widths. 10″ to 12″ width benches are most popular.
In general, you really don’t want a bench wider than 12″. Why? Because it’s not a bed. You’ve got to be able to move your limbs with a degree of freedom that a too wide bench can’t provide.
But, there options up to 14″ in width, if you think you need that.
A weight bench needs to be strong. Besides your body weight it needs to safely support the amount of weight you are lifting too – and it’s pretty easy to load up a heavy bench press with only a moderate amount of training.
2″ x 3″ or 3″ x 3″ 11 gauge steel is commonly used to make workout benches, but other options exist too.
What’s most important is that the bench is rated in excess of the amount of weight you are likely to use (along with your bodyweight.)
When benching big weight, you need to have your feet on the floor with the proper foot positioning (despite what you may see in your local gym benching with your feet up on the bench isn’t really correct.)
Three post (or tripod) bench designs are common – because they ensure you can put your feet where it suits you best – with no support legs in the way.
The pad supporting the bench should be firm and dense, and not too luxurious.
Again, this is a workout bench, not a bed.
But it should give you a comfortable place to check your texts between sets.
Do you need a flat bench or an incline bench?
Or do you need both (an adjustable bench)?
A flat bench is versatile for many lifts, including not just the mighty bench press but also makes a convenient rest for doing dumbbell rows, bulgarian split squats, and of course many seated press variations (with your back unsupported.)
Dumbbell rows on a flat bench - a staple of muscle and strength building workouts for the ages
The french press or tricep extension is an excellent exercise to do on a flat bench.
Tricep extension on a flat weight bench - a great exercise for triceps and strength
But for an improvement in versatility and variety you might want an incline bench. These benches usually serve as a flat bench when needed but are adjustable to various degrees of inclination.
Look for a range of motion from flat to 90 degrees.
These incline benches allow you do to bench press variations such as the incline press, but also various chest supported rows, dumbbell flyes, and much more.
An incline bench that can adjust to 80 or 90 degrees can also be used for a wide variety of back supported seated presses.
A good adjustable bench can be used for seated and back supported exercises such as the dumbbell press
And lastly, the decline bench is a thing too.
These have really fallen out of favor (for pressing) in recent years, but they provide some interesting variations on exercises.
They are certainly useful for various decline abdominal exercises.
A variety of abdominal and core focused workouts can be done with a decline bench - harness the power of gravity!
And, we should mention some of these benches can do it all – flat, incline, or decline.
So, really the ultimate bench is what is known as an FID bench – Flat, Incline, or Decline Bench – at your choice.
