Weight bench - seat adjustment feature?

CeeBeeSlim

Hi. Any idea how important this is? Just finished physical therapy (hip impingement and lower back pain) and ready to start Strong Curves - at home to start. I'm sooo nervous about hurting my back again but don't know enough about this feature - specifically whether it's worth the $100-150 extra cost, or an easy fix if I get a bench without this feature. Critical, or nice but not necessary?

SonyaCele

what bench are you talking about? generally you want to be able to adjust the equipment so you have the correct form for whatever movement you are doing. but what bench are you talking about what is it you want to do? machine? free weights?

jemhh

If you are going to do Strong Curves, you are going to be doing hip thrusts. I would focus more on the bench height than whether or not you can set it to incline, if you had to choose one feature or another. Bench height is important with hip thrusting. Too high (which many benches are) can make the exercise much more difficult in a bad way (bad form.) [Caveat: you can use aerobic steps instead of a bench or any other sturdy bench/object of the right size for hip thrusts instead of a weight bench so you may not need to make the above trade-off.]

CeeBeeSlim

@SonyaCele - I was looking at what's called FID benches on Amazon. They're the simple ones that go from flat to 90 degrees, some decline. No other attachments. Some fold for storage, some don't. I'm newbie-ish so I don't need (I think) a lot of bells and whistles, but reading the comments on Amazon, I saw some remarks about how the seat adjustment (not the back adjustment) helped with their lower back issues and I got nervous about whether i should get that feature. I had planned to do all dumbbell presses and rows on it.
@jemhh - thanks! I would have never thought to look at the height. I can't afford to be using bad form with my back and hip issue. Is there a formula to determine best height for the user? I'm 5'2 if that matters.

Thanks!

jemhh

CeeBeeSlim wrote: »

@SonyaCele - I was looking at what's called FID benches on Amazon. They're the simple ones that go from flat to 90 degrees, some decline. No other attachments. Some fold for storage, some don't. I'm newbie-ish so I don't need (I think) a lot of bells and whistles, but reading the comments on Amazon, I saw some remarks about how the seat adjustment (not the back adjustment) helped with their lower back issues and I got nervous about whether i should get that feature. I had planned to do all dumbbell presses and rows on it.
@jemhh - thanks! I would have never thought to look at the height. I can't afford to be using bad form with my back and hip issue. Is there a formula to determine best height for the user? I'm 5'2 if that matters.

Thanks!

Contreras has a section about it in this article: https://bretcontreras.com/how-to-hip-thrust/

He says optimal is 16" and 13"-19" would fit most lifters. I am 5'6" and have this bench, which is 17.8". I tested it at the store and thought it would be okay. In practice, it's not terrible but I do wish I had waited to find something shorter because I think it would be more comfortable. I used to use an old ottoman that was more in the 15" range and I felt more comfortable using more weight with it than with the bench.

TR0berts

jemhh wrote: »

CeeBeeSlim wrote: »

@SonyaCele - I was looking at what's called FID benches on Amazon. They're the simple ones that go from flat to 90 degrees, some decline. No other attachments. Some fold for storage, some don't. I'm newbie-ish so I don't need (I think) a lot of bells and whistles, but reading the comments on Amazon, I saw some remarks about how the seat adjustment (not the back adjustment) helped with their lower back issues and I got nervous about whether i should get that feature. I had planned to do all dumbbell presses and rows on it.
@jemhh - thanks! I would have never thought to look at the height. I can't afford to be using bad form with my back and hip issue. Is there a formula to determine best height for the user? I'm 5'2 if that matters.

Thanks!

Contreras has a section about it in this article: https://bretcontreras.com/how-to-hip-thrust/

He says optimal is 16" and 13"-19" would fit most lifters. I am 5'6" and have this bench, which is 17.8". I tested it at the store and thought it would be okay. In practice, it's not terrible but I do wish I had waited to find something shorter because I think it would be more comfortable. I used to use an old ottoman that was more in the 15" range and I felt more comfortable using more weight with it than with the bench.

Have you thought about putting plates (maybe a yoga mat over the plates, so your feet don't slip) under your feet? Many 45 lb plates are about 1.25" thick, so that would mimic a bench height of about 16.5". Obviously, you could put something under the plates, close the gap further.

jemhh

TR0berts wrote: »

jemhh wrote: »

CeeBeeSlim wrote: »

@SonyaCele - I was looking at what's called FID benches on Amazon. They're the simple ones that go from flat to 90 degrees, some decline. No other attachments. Some fold for storage, some don't. I'm newbie-ish so I don't need (I think) a lot of bells and whistles, but reading the comments on Amazon, I saw some remarks about how the seat adjustment (not the back adjustment) helped with their lower back issues and I got nervous about whether i should get that feature. I had planned to do all dumbbell presses and rows on it.
@jemhh - thanks! I would have never thought to look at the height. I can't afford to be using bad form with my back and hip issue. Is there a formula to determine best height for the user? I'm 5'2 if that matters.

Thanks!

Contreras has a section about it in this article: https://bretcontreras.com/how-to-hip-thrust/

He says optimal is 16" and 13"-19" would fit most lifters. I am 5'6" and have this bench, which is 17.8". I tested it at the store and thought it would be okay. In practice, it's not terrible but I do wish I had waited to find something shorter because I think it would be more comfortable. I used to use an old ottoman that was more in the 15" range and I felt more comfortable using more weight with it than with the bench.

Have you thought about putting plates (maybe a yoga mat over the plates, so your feet don't slip) under your feet? Many 45 lb plates are about 1.25" thick, so that would mimic a bench height of about 16.5". Obviously, you could put something under the plates, close the gap further.

That is a really good suggestion. I lift at home using a standard bar and instead of 25 lb plates I have sets of 25s. I will have to check them to see if they are thick enough to use. If they are not, though, I'm wondering if my bench is long enough to straddle my lifting platform sideways, which would give me a few inches. And then if that doesn't work, I could build a small platform just for my feet. We are building a loft for my daughter's bed this month so I can add that as a side project. Thank you for the suggestion