So i want to buy a bench, but after looking around online in not sure which one to get. I want to keep it as cheap as possible but obviously I want something quality that won't collapse under the enormous weights i'll be effortlessly lifting. I live in London, UK so if it's an online buy it can't be USA only. Cheers guys.
I guess that means you can't afford a power rack then. You could do chinups, squats, lateral pulldowns, etc.
This.:bears: And if its a choice between a power rack with dip bars and a bench theres only one choice, IMO. You can do almost everything useful in a good rack, including advanced stuff for when its needed like rack pulls, dead stop squats/presses, partial lock outs, etc (or even super advanced stuff like band & chain work in several years time) on top of the elementary stuff like squats, chin ups, dips, bench (if you have a bench), presses, pulls from the floor. Plus as Buddy says you can get one with pulleys and do pull throughs & standing ab work, which are two of the best exercises there are. A barbell + a good rack + a bench basically = the best weight training gym in the world, right in your basement, barely taking up 6 square foot. The only addition worth half a shit would be a glute ham raise/roman chair ( if you can ever fucking find one).
Cheers for the response. I'm lacking in space too, to a point where a bench press will barely fit... so that option is out.
If you've got two sturdy chairs you can get fat gripz and do weighted dips instead of bench press and keep the floor space for a barbell for doing deadlifts, cleans, presses, rows etc. Can hit every single muscle in the body that way instead of just the pressing muscles. Then you can just roll the barbell away, put the chairs back where they were etc. Might be a better use of the space? And obviously way cheaper.
No sturdy chairs. :: I live in a rental shithole. London joy. I have a barbell, dumbells, weights etc already. I've been training for a month now but I'm starting to look a bit stupid because my chest is not getting enough abuse. So i want a bench. :hammert:
Sturdy chairs out a charity shop or ikea are way cheaper than a bench! Dips hit the chest at least as well as bench, better for some people, depending on your body type. I've done dips with 260lb including bodyweight on sturdy chairs, no problem, safe as you like. I mean if space is an issue that just makes way more sense, does it not?.artie: (I like dips ::) <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/pbQZ_h-xXZw&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pbQZ_h-xXZw&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
:: I've kind of got my heart set on a bench mate. It's an ego thing as well, I want to say "Yeah, I bench (insert impressive amount)". Now if I said "Yeah, I dip 260lbs.", that just sounds sexual and not in a good way.
:: In that case it doesn't really matter. Even the shoddiest bench'll take 300lb+ and only a tiny% of folk ever need more. Just get one made of steel rather than bamboo and you're good.opcorn:
Do you live in the UK? As in could I buy one of the low-end ones in the Argos catalogue? I don't think they're steel...
