Weight Bench Buying Guide

For any home, commercial, or studio gym owner, weight benches are mandatory pieces of strength and conditioning training equipment. Weight benches are essential for athletes who are performing resistance training or weight training routines regularly. The majority of commercial gyms have a range of adjustable benches which allow gym members to adjust the angle of the bench and the seat. This allows the user to target specific muscle groups and put their body in a more biomechanically safe position while performing weight bearing movements.


Check out our extensive buying guide, every type of weight bench that is available on the health and fitness market will be discussed and explained in detail.


Gym or studio weight benches typically fall under 4 main categories:

  • Adjustable weight benches
  • Flat weight benches
  • Specialty weight benches
  • Olympic weight benches


Adjustable Weight Bench

Adjustable weight benches are extremely common amongst commercial, home, and studio gym owners for a number of reasons. Firstly, adjustable weight benches come equipped with one of two different types of bench angle adjustment mechanisms. These two adjustment mechanisms are known as the step/shelf mechanism and the pop-pin mechanism. Secondly, adjustable weight benches are very useful for all gym users as the adjustable angles of the benches allows users to perform a large variety of both barbell and dumbbell resistance exercises at a number of different angles. Most adjustable benches also allow athletes to change the angle of the seat which allows athletes to keep their body in a more safe and secure position while performing heavy compound or isolation movements. Finally, allowing users to alter the angles of the bench ensures that they can easily change the barbell or dumbbell path which allows users to target and activate different parts of their musculature. Commercial and high spec adjustable weight benches often come equipped with a handle and wheels, which enables gym owners and gym members to quickly move and store the benches in the gym. As adjustable benches can be moved with ease, they are commonly used in conjunction with power racks for performing heavy compound movements such as bench press variations and seated overhead presses. Generally a home bench won’t need wheels as the gym space tends to be smaller.


HIT Fitness offer a variety of high quality adjustable weight benches that are perfect for both home or commercial gym use. The multiple adjustment angles provided by the HIT Fitness adjustable benches guarantees that gym users can perform a number of standard, decline, and incline compound movements comfortably and securely.


Flat Weight Bench

The classic weight bench, which has been used for resistance training purposes for many years, is known as the flat weight bench. The classic flat weight bench is used for a variety of staple compound and isolation movements such as the bench press, seated shoulder press, dumbbell row, and tricep skull crusher. The flat weight bench is generally used for standard  pressing movements such as the wide and close grip bench press as it allows the user to lie comfortably in a horizontal position at a 90 degree angle to the gym floor. The standard flat bench press is a perfect addition to any gym as its fixed position provides a consistent stable bench pressing base for gym members whilst also being an easily maintainable and durable piece of exercise equipment as there are no adjustable or movable parts that require maintenance. The height of a standard flat weight bench will vary depending on the manufacturer you buy it from but generally flat weight benches are lower in height in comparison to adjustable weight benches. It is also worth noting that all standard flat benches are built with one single solid deck which means that there are no gaps in the deck as opposed to adjustable benches which have gaps between the areas of the bench that hinge to adjust the angles. Flat weight benches also usually come equipped with handles and wheels which makes them easily transportable and simple to store.


Olympic Weight Bench

Olympic weight benches are commonly found in home, garage, and commercial gyms as they provide numerous benefits to gym owners, especially commercial gym owners. Firstly, olympic weight benches come equipped with a multi-tiered barbell racking system which allows users to re-rack their barbell easily after each use. The multiple racking options ensures that users will be able to unrack and re-rack a barbell comfortably regardless of their body type or arm length. Secondly, olympic weight benches also completely removes the need for gym members to have to move weight benches around the gym to power racks in order to perform compound movements which also saves the user time and energy during their workout. Finally, olympic weight benches usually have very few moveable or adjustable parts which reduces the amount of maintenance that they require. The only problems associated with owning an olympic weight bench or multiple olympic weight benches is that usually their angle is fixed and they take up a significant amount of gym floor space. However, olympic weight benches usually have multiple storage options to the rear of the bench which allow them to hold and store a variety of weight plates and a 7ft olympic barbell across the multi-tier racking system. Olympic weight benches are available in standard, incline, and decline bench angles. 


Specialist Weight Benches

Specialist weight benches are designed very differently to traditional weight benches. Traditional weight benches are designed with versatility and broad exercise variation in mind. In contrast, specialist weight benches are designed specifically for performing specific movements or isolating specific muscle groups by restricting the users range of motion or exercise movement path.


Common examples of specialist weight benches include the preacher curl, sissy squat, and hyperextension bench. All of these specialist benches restrict either the users range of motion or exercise movement path which makes isolating and training specific muscle groups very easy. Specialist benches are also brilliant because they allow advanced lifters to inflict a new stimulus on their musculature which will result in greater hypertrophic muscular adaptations over a prolonged period of time. Thus, the user will increase their overall strength and muscle size using specialty bench equipment.

Summary

We hope this buying guide provides all the information and details required to make an informed decision to ensure you buy the right type of bench for your gym space. View all our weight benches >

 

If you have any questions or require more advice contact us for a call back on help@hitfitness.com