Comments on weightlifting bench

kaizersoze123

Hi,
First time poster on fitness, so please don't slate me for lack of knowledge

I was looking at a york bench

http://tinyurl.com/2hmbhj

that one to be precise. Now, what would you guys think about it. I know it's no substitute for the equiptment you'd find in a gym, but is it decent?
Also, it doesnt list what it can be used for besides weightlifting, and i cant really tell myself. Chest press, sit-ups, would it be suitable for that sort of thing too. If you have any other recommendations, id love to hear them. Ideally id like a bench that offers more than just weightlifting.
thanks

rubadub

That would suit me. It is rated to 250kg (and they are always rated lower for safety reasons). Many would say to think ahead, if you plan on lifting big you will outgrow it at some stage. I have the use of a bench and only use it for benchpressing. I would like that squat rack. I never use the bench for leg work.

Are you serious about weightlifting, a huge number of lads I know have old weights they never use. If you are anyway unsure I would just start with the argos 50kg weight set, maybe a chinning bar too. You can exercise a hell of a lot of muscles with just free weights, and they take up much less room.

Hanley

Looks like it'd be ok.

THe squat rack on the back's a nice touch.

BrianD3

It looks quite good. However I'd be reluctant to bench at home without a full power cage. I don't have a cage (yet) so have never done a bench press yet have made a lot of progress when it comes to gaining strength and muscle. I'd be of the opinion that without a cage you can't safely push yourself that hard in the bench press and if you can't go hard/heavy you might be as well off doing push up variations instead.

Hanley

BrianD3 wrote:

if you can't go hard/heavy you might be as well off doing push up variations instead.

Ya serious?? I get what youre saying but you can't exactly go hard or heavy with push ups either.

What's wrong with doing sets of 6 with a weight you could do for 8 if you pushed it?

I rarely train to failure and have made good gains that way.

BrianD3

Hanley wrote:

Ya serious?? I get what youre saying but you can't exactly go hard or heavy with push ups either.

Hard and heavy is all relative though. For a beginner, push up variations (incl weighted push ups) should keep him challenged for a quite a while and there is no safety issue with going to failure.

What's wrong with doing sets of 6 with a weight you could do for 8 if you pushed it?

Nothing at all wrong with it. However a less experienced trainer training at home on his own without a cage may be the very one tempted to try for the 8 reps. Or may have little concept of what "failure" even is. Or what he can do to himself if he drops a barbell on his throat.

Hanley

Valid points. I'm jsut so used to being around experienced people that I expect everyone to have at least a basic knowledge of those things....

BrianD3

Did you ever train at home Hanley? Probably a little different to training in somewhere like Hercs! Training at home can be great but there are limitations and compromises are often needed. For beginners planning to do weight training at home I'd always advise them to err on the side of caution.

Anyhow I hope this gloomy talk has not discouraged the OP!

Hanley

I trained at home with dumbbells.

I've trainined in sports clubs when no one else has been in the building and missed benches. What I used to do was roll it down to my waist and jsut sit up with it. Hell I did it in hercs last months with 100kg!! (which was just embarrassing).

One you're not benchign to your throat you should be ok...