Finding good information on weight lifting benches is tough.
Most of what you'll find is someone trying to sell you a weight bench and that's about it.
You won't find any information on what to look for when trying to select a good one.
I'm going to show you what to look for when buying a weight bench.
Should you buy small weight benches, large weight lifting benches, adjustable weight benches, benches with attachments, etc?
I'll also give you a link to several different weight benches.
You'll be able to read reviews from other people, but you'll also have my opinion on what will fit your home gym the best.
Weight Benches for Your Home Gym
You need to know what to look for in a good weight lifting bench. You'll need this bench to perform some of the best compound weight lifting exercises.
Here's a short list of some of the best weightlifting exercises to use with your new weight bench in your home gym.
- Chest | All Bench Press Variations
- Shoulders | Seated Overhead Press Variations
- Back | Supported Rows
- Triceps | Close Grip Bench Press
- Triceps | Reverse Grip Bench Press
- Triceps | Lying Tricep Extensions
- Quads | Hip Belt Squats
- Calves | Hip Belt Calf Raises
- Biceps | Incline Dumbbell Curls
- Forearms | All Wrist Curl Variations
- Calves | Seated Calf Raises
- Back | Lying Rows
- Back | Rack Chin Ups
- Quads | Leg Extensions
- Hamstrings | Leg Curls
- Chest and Back | Pullovers
And this is only the short list of exercises available when you add a good weight bench to your home gym. Now, I'll show you what to look for and what not to look for…
Options To Look For In A Weight Lifting Bench
Bench must be quickly adjustable to multiple positions
You want a bench that you can adjust quickly without having to screw a pin in and out.
I hate the weight lifting benches that I have to kneel down, unscrew the pin, find the new hole, and then screw the pin back in.
You don't need that hassle when trying to workout.
You also want a bench that has a upright seated position, multiple incline angles, a flat position, and a decline position.
Don't choose a bench that only has a few adjustable positions. More positions give you more variation in your exercises.
You need variation with a home gym over the years! You need a bench that is going to allow you to do more exercises and a weight lifting bench with multiple positions will allow you to do so many more weight lifting exercises.
This is a very important feature to look for in a bench. Do not ignore this recommendation, or you'll be disappointed.
Leg Extension/Leg Curl Attachment must be quickly removable
You don't want a bench where you can't remove the leg extension and leg curl attachment.
This attachment will only get in the way of most exercises.
You want to be able to quickly remove it and install it when needed.
Leg curls can be a good exercise choice under certain situations so I would make sure you have that option with the bench you choose BUT you must make sure the leg curl attachment is removable.
Very important feature to look for as a permanent attachment will get in your way and will make the bench unusable for many different weightlifting exercises.
Quality Small Weight Bench easy to move around
You don't want to buy a bench that is meant to be bolted down in place… unless you have a huge home gym with lots of room for a permanent bench, multiple benches, multiple racks, etc.
Make sure you don't buy a really expensive bench meant for commercial gyms and health clubs that has to be bolted down.
You want to look at smaller weight benches that are easy to move around. Smaller weight benches will take up much less room in your home gym and will fit in tight spots if needed. You don't want to use all your energy moving the bench in and out of your power rack.
Make sure the small weight bench you choose is good quality! Weight Benches don't last forever, so get a good quality bench that will outlast the cheap weight benches.
Buy a stand alone weight training bench
Don't buy a weight lifting bench that comes with a bench press stand.
You will want a bench that is stand alone that can easily be moved around.
You will use your power rack for bench pressing.
You'll use your adjustable weight bench for many other exercises besides bench press. So don't buy a bench with the bench press stands attached.
You're pretty much making your weight lifting bench worthless with many other exercises. Use the power rack along with the weight bench to do your bench press. Much safer this way and allows your bench to be used with many other exercises.
Don't forget this feature when buying and don't be tempted to buy one with bench press stands. You don't need them.
Recommended Weight Benches
There are several great weight lifting benches at the link below. Be sure you read the reviews.
Make sure you refer back to this page and look for the features we talked about above. If you do, you'll be very happy with your decision.
A good quality weight lifting bench will last you a long time. Mine has been with me now for over 10 years and still going strong. It's beginning to look a little rough but it's still working great.
Good luck with your choice and have fun building your home gym!
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