Why Women Need Weight Benches

A bench can help you tone and firm

So you got yourself a brand new set of dumbbells or barbells. But you probably realized once you started working out that there are a lot more exercises you’d like to try, if only you had a weight bench.

Good thing there are many different brands and styles of weight benches, some that cost as little a $40. And if you haven’t chosen a free weight set yet, you might be able to find a basic bench with a set of barbells or dumbbells included for around $200 to $400.

What you can do with a weight bench

The exercises most people associate with a weight bench include the bench press, chest press and flye, which require dumbbells or barbells for resistance. But there are some great exercises you can do with a weight bench that don’t even require weights.

• Step ups - Use the bench as a platform to step up and down. It’ll really kill you thighs and butt…in a good way.
• Triceps dips - In this move you balance yourself - palms holding the edge of the bench and feet on the ground, with knees bent at a 90 degree angle. When you dip your body down in front of the bench and up it’s a great triceps workout.
• Squat stool - Women often find they need help balancing while they’re learning squats. The side or front of a weight bench is the perfect surface to squat towards, lightly touching it before you engage your glutes and thighs and return to a standing position.

Weight bench alternatives

• Stability ball - A stability ball is a super cheap alternative to a weight bench. It does have a few drawbacks though. A ball bench doesn’t provide any support when you’re advancing to heavier weights (which is when you might need it), and there isn’t a place to safely rest the barbell once you’ve finished a set. The thought of even attempting to use a stability ball as a decline bench while you’re holding weights in your hands is nothing less than terrifying.

But all that aside, exercise balls are perfect for adding challenge to a weight lifting move you’ve already perfected. The unstable surface forces you body’s core stabilizer muscles to work overtime. A stability ball also works well as an incline bench - so you can do bench presses that work your chest in all the right places.

If you know what to look for when buying a weight bench, your strength training sessions will get a lot more interesting.