Recommend bench/weights

JulieAnn72

My husband and I are considering buying a workout bench and weights for Christmas. We want something fairly simple and not huge. What are some things we should consider when picking something out? We'll both be using it so we need something that would work for a 5'3" woman and a 6'2" man. No idea if that makes a difference.

I'd like to do things like squats, bench press, deadlifts, overhead press, rows, etc. The compound lifts everyone on here talks about. My husband has back issues so he'll be more limited but would still like to lift heavy doing the lifts he is able to do without hurting his back.

Any recommendations on what we should look for, brands, features, etc?

micheleb15

Sounds like you want a power rack, not just a bench. I would look at Craigslist first or keep an eye out for used equipment.

Shari325

I second the recommendation to watch Craigslist. I found a very nice (barely used) 300# olympic set with incline/decline bench and power rack for $150. The bench alone was almost $150 new.

Be patient and you'll find a good used set.

JulieAnn72

Thanks. So I want a bench, power rack and weights then, right? Is it important to have the incline/decline feature on the bench?

I have to admit that I looked at Craigslist and it sort of grossed me out in terms of what people were trying to sell. I think we'll probably make this our big Christmas purchase this year and buy new. So if anyone else has recommendations on a good brand to buy new, let me know.

Also, what about the actual weights? Is there a standard set of weights that you can buy, or should we be figuring out how many 25lb plates, 10lbs plates, etc we need? If the latter, how many of each do you recommend?

mreeves261

Bench and weights for sure. There are designs out there to make your own Power Rack if you are at all on the "I can make my own for less" side of things.

ETA: Just in case anyone is interested...
https://www.google.com/search?q=build+your+own+power+rack&rlz=1C1EODB_enUS524US524&oq=build+your+own+power+rack&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.4695j0j8&sourceid=chrome&espv=210&es_sm=122&ie=UTF-8

AZ_Gato

Craigslist for sure...if possible I'd wait until around April time frame when all the New Year's Resolutions are forgotten and people are watching their shiny new expensive benches collecting dust in the garage.

summer8it

Craigslist is a great way to get equipment, and yes, some benches do look terrible, but this is what you can do with a staple gun and a yard of vinyl: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/summer8it/view/my-couture-weight-bench-578608

If you get a new bench, Craigslist is still a great place to pick up extra iron. If you can get actual iron plates (not plastic covered concrete) for less than 50 cents a pound, you're getting a good deal. Sometimes it's cheaper to buy someone's whole set and discard the bench, just to get the plates!

FrnkLft

You have a few options. The power rack is going to be big, tall, but it's a very simple aparatus. Another is the squat rack, or even the squat stand.

The least intrusive thing would be a bench, a barbell w/ weights, and a "Squat Stand" that can adjust low enough for your bench press, and with some safety pins in case your need to dump the weight. With those items you will be golden. Hell you can even make a squat stand pretty easily out of 2x4s (wooden planks).

You also might want some rubber mats for the deadlift.

Bench does not need to be able to incline, but it's a good feature. Decline benches are a different kind of bench, and unnecessary really.

As for weights, you're going to want to be able to increment up as you get stronger. It's up to you. Don't overlook the 2.5 lbs weights though, they are great for incrementing up slowly (5lbs at a time).

I would say...

2.5 x 2
5 x 2
10 x 2
25 x 2
35 x 2
45 x 2 or 4 (depending on your strength and your husband's strength)

JulieAnn72

Thank you so much! This is great, detailed information.

I'm leaning toward something like this, since it's smaller than a power rack but has multiple bar catches: http://www.****ssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=17108466&locale=en_US&clickid=prod_cs&recid=Product_PageElement_product_rr_4_11

:laugh: I guess you'll have to figure out what those **** stand for if you want to see what I was talking about!

rick_po

Make sure you can squat out of any rack you get - I don't think that rack can be used for squats. If I had limited space, I'd look for a squat rack and a separate bench. You can usually bench press out of a squat rack. A power rack is ideal, but it takes a lot of space, and some of them need high ceilings.

You need to be able to face the rack, duck your head under the bar and put your shoulders up under the bar, lift, take two steps back, do your squats, step forward, and re-rack. The rack needs to be super-stable with a lot of weight on it at shoulder height.

I bought an inexpensive 300-pound Olympic barbell set, and it works for almost everything I want to do at home. I had to buy two extra 45-pound plates after I'd been lifting for a few years. The bar in the set was pretty crappy, but it works for the basic stuff I do. I would never use it for a weight I had to drop, but I don't think my floors would survive a heavy drop, either.

My only real regret: I didn't spring extra bucks on plates with grips. I'll probably drop a 45-pound plate on my toe some day.