The Use Of A Weight Bench To Improve Fitness Levels

A weight bench is an incredibly versatile piece of fitness equipment that is useful for doing a variety of upper body exercises. It is great for supporting the body while doing crunches, sit ups or for oblique angle push ups. Mostly it is used to focus on building muscle in the chest, shoulders and arms.



Still, the weight bench is best utilized as a support structure for those wanting to lift weights in the form of dumbbells and barbells and there are a wide variety of exercises that can be performed. Before you begin any form of exercise routine it is important that you check with your doctor to ensure that you have a clean bill of health.

Other equipment that is hand to use while exercising is a good quality kidney belt to protect your lower back and a set of leather fingerless gloves to provide better grip while exercising. Clothing should be something that you feel comfortable in and should be loose fitting and allow for freedom of movement.

The shoes worn during your workout are important as they need to provide adequate cushioning. The barbell and the dumbbell are the standard type of weights used on a weight bench. The dumbbell is a compact weight meant to be wielded by one hand, while the barbell is a long bar that has weights attached to each end.



The most popular use for the weight bench is to do the bench press exercise. This involves the flat bench being used for support while the athlete places their feet flat on the floor. The barbell is lifted and raised above the persons head in a fluid motion, fully extending, but not locking, the arms.

This exercise effectively exercises the shoulders, biceps and chest muscles. Adjusting the backrest can affect different muscles doing the same exercise, caution is advised when raising the backrest too high as it can lead to shoulder injuries. The dumbbell can be swapped out for the barbell when doing shoulder press exercises. The bench is adjusted to a seated position with the backrest supporting the athlete.

The dumbbell is an incredibly versatile piece of equipment that is very useful in doing barbell shoulder press exercises using a weight bench. In a seated position, with the backrest at a high incline, raise each barbell to roughly the height of your ear. Then from this position, extend the weight up towards the ceiling, until the two barbells almost touch.

Want to find out more about the Weight Bench, then visit Darryl Jones's site on how to choose the best Weight Lifting Equipment for your needs.