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Weight Bench Buyer’s Guide

Introduction

Lifting weight is serious business. Whenever you’re pushing heavy iron overhead,  you risk injuring yourself. That makes it absolutely vital that the training equipment that you use is able to do the job properly. In a commercial gym setting, you can feel pretty confident that the gear is going to handle anything you can throw at it. When it comes to working out at home, however, it’s a whole different story. There’s a whole lot of home exercise equipment out there that can only be described as cheap and nasty. Nowhere is this more evident than when it comes to that most basic home gym requirement – the weight bench. Yet, getting the proper bench for the job you demand of it will allow you to train more effectively while giving you the peace of mind that you are performing on a safe, sturdy base as you throw around the heavy iron. Aside from this article, James, from Garage Gym Builder, has a great resource for finding the best weight bench for your home gym. There are tons of different brands, models, and specifications that can be quite confusing if you don’t know exactly what to look for. Check out their guide before you buy.

Weight Bench Basics

When it comes to home weight benches, there are three options:

(1)  Bench Station – this is a bench that has two uprights to support a bench press bar.

(2)  Utility Benches – these benches adjust for a flat, incline or decline surface.

(3)  Standard Flat Bench – this does not adjust to give a variety of bench angles; it is simply a flat bench.

Bench stations are often very cumbersome and bulky. Many of them also include such extra options as leg extensions, shoulder presses and leg curls. In this article we will exclude bench stations.

What To Look For

Weight Rating

Regardless of the type of bench that you’re after, the first and prime consideration must be what is the weight rating. Benches are rated in accord with the maximum load that are can handle. It’s important to know that maximum load also takes into account your body weight. So, if you weigh 200 pounds and you can bench press your body weight, then you need a bench that can handle a maximum weight of at least 400 pounds. When you consider that the whole point of training is to get stronger, you really need something that is about 100 pounds heavier than that.

The less expense utility benches don’t rate very highly. This is primarily a result of their high number of moving parts. The more moving parts a bench has, the more stress points there are. This then limits the maximum weight that the bench can support. A higher bench rating can only be achieved through quality construction, including strong welds and minimum moving parts.

Bench Height

Bench height is another crucial factor when buying a bench. If a bench is too high, you are going to struggle to get your feet on the floor, limiting your ability to push through the floor as you bench. This will also prevent you from achieving a proper lower back arch.

If a bench is too low to the ground, however, you will not be able to position yourself in the best position to use maximum force when doing overhead pressing work.

Pad Firmness

The firmness of the bench pad is important to getting the bench that will do the business for you. Use the following rule of thumb to see if the bench you’re considering is sold; if you can press your thumb into the middle of the pad and touch the wooden base of the bench, the pad is too soft.

Bench Width

The width of your weight bench is another factor that can affect your exercise performance. A bench that is too wide may restrict the movement of the lats, preventing the exerciser from fully extending the resistance as the elbows travel below the line of the body. This will limit the weight you can lift as well as the range of motion you can achieve. The correct width of a bench should allow your lats to extend over the side of the bench.

Should You Buy a Utility Bench?

A Utility bench will give you the freedom to adjust the bench angle. This will allow you to do a full range of incline, decline and flat bench work. That would appear to make the utility bench a rather obvious preferential choice. There are, however, pros and cons to getting a utility bench over a standard flat bench . . .

Pros

o   The bench allows you to adjust to fully upright for shoulder pressing work

o   You are able to adjust the bench to a range of incline and decline angles to work the chest from different angles

o   Many benches feature a leg support to hold you firmly in place when doing decline work. Often this attachment will double as a leg extension / leg curl unit.

 

Cons

o   Utility benches cost quite a lot more than standard flat benches

o   Utility benches are generally not as sturdy as flat benches due to the number of moving parts

o   Utility benches are often higher off the ground than flat benches to allow for the mechanism under the bench

Clearly, there is a price to pay for the luxury of being able to adjust your bench angle. For those with a flat bench, however, angled work can be achieved simply by placing the bench end on a raised platform.

Bench Movements

Regardless of the type of bench you select, you will have a versatile piece of equipment that will allow you to perform a large range of exercises. Your bench will allow you to do the following exercises for the various parts of your body . . .

Chest

Ø Flat, incline or decline barbell bench press (ideal inclines angle to target the pectorals is 25-30 degrees).

Ø Flat, incline or decline dumbbell bench press

Ø Flat, incline or decline flyes

Ø Pullover

Shoulders

Ø Seated Barbell Military Press

Ø Seated Dumbbell Press

Ø Seated Lateral Raises

Ø Prone Reverse Flyes

Back

Ø Incline Dumbbell Rows

Ø Decline Dumbbell Rows

Ø One Arm Row

Arms

Ø Lying Triceps Extension

Ø Overhead Triceps Extension

Ø Triceps Kickbacks

Ø Close Grip Bench Press

Ø Seated Dumbbell Curl

Ø Seated Concentration Curl

Ø Wrist Curl

Lower Body

Ø Bulgarian Split Squat

Ø Decline Leg Curl

Ø Seated Calf Raise

There you have it, an awesome resource for buying your first weight bench. you enjoyed this article, and want more of this type of content head over to GarageGymBuilder.com where they have a huge database of product buying guides and workout resources.

Daily rituals of dentists – how to look after your teeth

Ever since you were a child you’ve probably been told to look after your teeth, but a lot of people aren’t very good at doing it. Many people brush their teeth twice a day, but they neglect to floss and they’re too busy for regular check-ups. If you don’t look after your teeth you can end up paying a heavy price.

It can seem as though teeth cause nothing but problems in life. They hurt when they arrive during teething, they need constant looking after and they mean you have to pay regular trips to a dentist which many people find stressful. It’s only if we lose teeth that we realize just how valuable they are, and how they are worth all the aggravation. Keeping hold of your teeth in good condition is the reason why good oral hygiene is so important.

How should you look after your teeth?

Once you get into a healthy oral hygiene routine it’s not that difficult to keep up. There are several points that you need to remember in order to make sure your teeth and gums remain healthy.

 Brush your teeth after breakfast and before you go to bed. Use a medium strength tooth brush and brush in a circular motion, not up and down.

 Floss between your teeth at least once a day.

 Cut down on the amount of sugary treats in your diet, such as fizzy drinks.

 Have regular dental check-ups.

Missing out on doing any of these things can lead to the build-up of plaque on your teeth, to decay, abscesses and gum disease.

What happens if I have problems with my teeth?

If you neglect your teeth and gums then you’re going to end up needing treatment such as fillings or root canal work. This can be very costly and unpleasant. That being said, you should never be afraid to seek dental treatment.

Even if you know your teeth aren’t in great condition, and you’ve been avoiding the dentist, you should take that step and go, to protect not just your oral health but that of your whole body. It’s been shown that bacteria from your mouth can have a detrimental effect elsewhere. You should also remember that your teeth are vital as you eat and they help you to pronounce words as you speak. Your teeth also help to form the shape of your face. If you’ve seen someone who hasn’t got any teeth, you will have noticed that their face has a sunken appearance. Another important aspect of having healthy teeth is a great smile. There’s nothing worse than feeling as though you have to walk around with your mouth tightly shut because you’re ashamed of your teeth. Smiling makes you feel good and if you can’t smile there’s a good chance you will lose confidence.  All it takes to avoid all of these problems is few minutes each day spent on dental hygiene and regular dental check-ups.

Are body building supplements necessary for results in weight lifting?

Weight lifting is increasingly competitive and it can be more and more difficult to gain that edge needed to achieve the success you crave. Obviously training and general fitness is essential for any professional athlete. But targeted training is only going to get you part of the way. Over the years there has been much discussion as to whether supplements are just making up for a lack of dietary quality. This is obviously not the case. Rather, they are essential in the promotion of fat loss and muscle build.

The use of supplements is just as essential as training regimes or tailored diets, to weightlifting professionals. All of these aspects have to be combi9ned to give you the advantage in competition. If you want to know the best options for you from a supplements point of view it’s a good idea to seek the advice of experts.

Purchasing supplements from the experts

If you buy supplements from a reputable expert then you can make sure you’re getting products that do the job you want them to, safely and efficiently. Wellness Fitness and Nutrition Network is a globally recognized supplier of supplements and hormone replacements products. It works with medical professionals to ensure that it is responsible in the provision of all products including anavar for sale.

The team at Wellness Fitness and Nutrition Network all have experience in the industry. They know what is required from supplements, steroids and hormone replacement treatment. Many of them have worked in the field of personal training or have experience as athletes. The want to make sure you get the best performance from the products you buy and that you stay safe while using them. If you approach experts such as Wellness Fitness and Nutrition Network you know you’re getting a product you can trust from professionals you can rely on.

What happens if you don’t use supplements?

With all the scare stories that circulate there some people, especially inexperienced weight lifters who are reluctant to add the taking of supplements to their routine. They believe that hard work, targeted training and a high protein diet should be enough to help them attain the muscle mass and level of performance they need.

Unfortunately for them, this isn’t the case. Competition in the weight lifting arena is fierce and any weightlifter is never going to achieve a significant level of success if they don’t use the right supplements to help them out. Meal replacements, fat burners and pre-workout supplements should all form an integral part of the day to day of any weightlifter. They aren’t magic and they won’t suddenly propel you to the top of the ladder, that still takes work and effort as well as skill.

Supplements will give you the edge that you need to make all the hard work pay off as you get the results you live for.