In addition to my existing regimen of cardio training I’d like to restart some basic weight training. Nothing fancy. I’ll get some dumbbells (no smart comments) and do some basics.
My question is - like, do I ABSOLUTELY need to have a weight bench, or will the floor do for most exercises where I have to lie down? I’ll save the money if it’s possible to do so. But I also want to ensure I’m getting the right benefit from the weights, so if a bench is the only right way to go, I’ll get one.
I agree, a bench is necessary for proper form on these exercises. Add tricep skull-crushers to the list, and many others.
It doesn’t have to be a fancy bench. A padded one intended for weightlifting is the most comfortable but you could use an old piano bench in a pinch. I’ll bet you could find something used & cheap.
You can get an excellent workout without ever laying down. With dumbells you can press them over your head to work the shoulders, squat with them, deadlift with them. Get yourself a chin-up bar and you’re done. Unless you’re planning to bodybuild you don’t need a zillion and one exercises per bodypart. The basic lifts made people strong a hundred years ago and they work just as well today.
I have been lifting weights for 25 years but nobody would confuse me with a bodybuilder. I do one excercise for each major muscle group in each workout (rather than a zillion), and vary the exercises from workout to workout. That’s not a bodybuilding regimen but good weight training is balanced–if you work one muscle, you should really work the opposing muscle. The lifts you mention omit the chest and triceps. The most basic chest exercise is the bench press, where you kinda need a bench. A bench is the simplest piece of equipment there is yet it extends the variety of what you can do immensely.
I have actually tried a piano bench as a substitute and it is a no go for any exercise that requires lying flat (flys, benchpress, etc). It simply isn’t long enough for your head+spine+tailbone if you’re taller than 4 feet. However, it’s ok for propping up a knee for one-arm rows or to sit down for concentration curls.
I find that an ok substitute for dumbbell flys is the fitness ball. A negative is the possible injury from falling off the ball. It’s tricking trying to keep your spine centered on the ball.
I use dumbbells for 99% of my strength exercises. I tried for 2 years to see how I could get by without a real bench. In the end, there is no substitute for the range of motion it allows.
My 5lb - 60lb dumbbell set cost about $1100. The bench only cost $150. You can get one cheaper than that on ebay. The bench shouldn’t cost much in the grand scheme of things.
The place to get a bench - or any exercise equipment - is on Craigslist. I routinely see thousands of dollars worth of weights and equipment going for a couple hundred, and simple benches as low as $25. Those are crap though, you’ll probably pay more like $50 for one that’s reasonably sturdy, stable and adjustable.
I agree with HongKongFooey. Bench press is just one exercise, and many people put way too much time into it. If your are a power lifter or a bodybuilder, then yes, you need it. But for general fitness, you can do without it if you must. Squats and deadlifts are muct more important. Compound exercises are what you need to do. Start out light, learn how to do the movements, and than add more weight. Use push-ups in blace of bench presses.
Dead lifts, squats, rows, pull-ups, shoulder presses and push-ups + variations of these, will get you into shape. Yes, a bench is good to have. But if you can’t get one, you can get bye with out it, IMO.
Lots of people at the gym I attend use fitballs with dumbbells instead of a bench (for flys, presses etc). The balancing bit is a pretty important part of why people like using the fitball - your core is constantly engaged throughout the exercise, making the exercise less about isolated muscle groups. Of course, you have to ensure that the total loading (your weight plus the lifted weight) is not in excess of what the ball can support.
Also, the fitball can be used for a wide range of non-weighted exercises and stretches as well. It’s a pretty good piece of kit for a home workout.
I’m a slow typer, your post wasn’t even there when I started Your routine sounds like a great one for you I don’t argue it’s value.
RickJay wants to know if a bench is necessary though and it isn’t. You can get a very decent workout without one. As far as chest and triceps, someone mentioned push-ups and there are a wide variety of those to do. Also, overhead presses work the triceps more than many people realize. Personally, though, I say skip the chest training altogether. I’ve benched over 300 lbs but I can think of few occasions where that chest strength came in handy.
There are many, many more occasions where leg, back, and grip strength came in handy. I think he should start with the basics and add bench exercises if they become necessary.
A bench is not necessary. One of those big inflatable exercise balls does make a nice complement to a set of dumbells if you really want to do below-the-ribcage flys and some other dumbell exercises. The ball is good for a bunch of other exercises as well; the bench is good for bench press and flys primarily.
I have to agree with my old high school wrestling coach that being able to bench a lot of weight doesn’t mean you’re strong.
You can also do push-ups with a child on your back - my experience is that they found this intensely enjoyable. And as they grow, this automatically increases the intensity.
They’re fine as far as they go, and better than nothing, but you’ll reach a strength-building plateau very quickly because of the relatively light load. (The kid-on-your-back idea has merit, however :))
Which, of course, all depends on your goals.
Pull-ups/chin-ups are good because you are lifting your entire body weight. There are other good exercises that can be done with no equipment or with a chair or two.
And, yes a bench is unnecessary, but heck, weights are unnecessary if you have a few gallon jugs filled with wet sand and some ropes and a broom handle People draw the “unnecessary” line in different places.
Even more motivational when it is the smoking hawt circuit class instructor doing the sitting. Damn I miss those classes.
No, I miss that instructor, and the time (a long time ago) when I could contemplate doing a press up with a pretty girl on my back. Now I have trouble with press ups full stop, and no likelyhood of anyone else being involved in any capacity other than counting <sigh>.
That’s the question really. I think if you just want to get started, freeweights and compound exercises will do you fine. As everyone’s said, a bench is really only vital for benchpress, but you could start off just doing push-ups, weighted, angled, different grips etc., and then later buy a bench as a point of progression.
And when you do, your goals need to be seriously considered - do not buy a cheapo aluminium rig if you one day want to bench 300lbs. Make sure what you get is solid enough for your bodyweight + your goal.
It’s probably not essentially to get a bench if you’re just a beginner and you already have dumbbells. The most important thing when you start weight training is to get into any sort of productive routine that you will stick with, and I think you can do that just fine with dumbbells and no bench.
Just make sure to include dumbbell squats. You can’t have a real weight lifting regimen without squats.
Why is a bench essential for doing ‘skull-crushers’ (triceps extensions I think they’re called)? You hold the bar above you and lower it to your forehead. No reason why you can’t do that on the floor. It’s easier to get the bar into the starting position on a bench but it’s not essential.
I’d agree with what’s been said so far: the only exercise for which a bench is essential is the bench press. To be fair personally I think bench press is by far the best exercise for the chest there is, but if you’re not too serious about bulking up or increasing strength then press ups or bench press while lying on the floor is OK (the only problem with doing it while on the floor is that you can’t lower the bar all the way to your chest like you can on a bench).
One thing I think everyone seems to have missed is that you only mentioned getting dumbbells. You can’t do bench press with those anyway, so if they’re all you’re getting there really is no point in getting a bench. I would say much more useful than a bench would be a good quality barbell (just a big bar basically :)). With a bar you can do a whole load of exercises without needing a bench or anything else: bent-over rows and upright rows for the back, bench press for the chest, skull-crushers for the triceps, shoulder press, biceps curls, deadlifts and power cleans for loads of muscles, and squats if you get a squat rack. Of course you can still do lots of stuff if you just stick with the dumbbells, but if you want to get something else, I think that a bar is not only more useful than a bench, but unless you have a bar there’s no point in getting a bench because you can’t do bench press!
EDIT: On second thought I suppose you can do bench press on a bench, with dumbbells. But I don’t think it’s a particularly good exercise to do because if you start benching heavy dumbbells on a bench it puts a lot of strain on your shoulders; much better to use a bar in my opinion.
Your routine sounds like a great one for you I don’t argue it’s value.
People draw the “unnecessary” line in different places.