There are so many benefits to having a home gym. A home gym with an adjustable bench? That’s next level.

While an adjustable bench might seem unnecessary, we promise it will help you get more out of your home fitness routines.

We would argue, besides dumbbells, a fitness bench is the best investment you can make for your home gym.

In our previous blog “Finding the Right Fitness Bench” we explored how to find the right adjustable bench for you. Now, we’re going to help clarify why you would even want one in the first place.

So, here we go.

Having an adjustable bench in your home gym will help you:

Work different muscle angles

And? Ok, fair. If you’re not an experienced exerciser, this might be a bit of an underwhelming reason to invest in a bench. However, its importance is big enough that it’s our number one reason.

Our muscles are made up of fibres. When we do one exercise one way for an extended

Preacher Curl

period of time, we are consistently only working a portion of those fibres. This is the perfect way to create imbalance in the muscle, limit strength and prohibit overall muscle growth.

When we change the angle of an exercise (even by a very small amount) we are providing new stimulus to the muscle group which can trigger new growth and development.

So when looking for a bench for your home set up, look for one with as many different angle settings as possible. Your muscles will thank you.

Add previously inaccessible exercises to your toolbox

It’s hard to do certain exercises without a weight bench. Of course, it’s not impossible.

DB Chest Flys

The floor or even a stability ball are adequate substitutes for many, but nothing allows you the stability and increased range of motion of a bench.

You can, for example, affect a perfectly acceptable bench press from the floor. However, you are limited in depth because your elbows can only get so far before they stop. You’re not working with your full range. With a stability or Swiss ball you can achieve full range of motion, but your weights will be hindered by the instability. You’re definitely not doing a 1 rep max with a stability ball. That’s just asking for an accident.

Single Leg Thrust

Some benches allow you the option to decline the back rest. This opens up a whole new set of exercises like: decline bench presses or decline crunches. These can only be done safely with a bench.

The stability, support and versatility of an adjustable bench allow you to add other exercises like: kneeling rows, hip thrusts, preacher curls and flys, just to name a few, to your repertoire. And just like above, exercise variability is just as important to muscle growth and development as changing up your angles.

Easily incorporate progressions & regressions into your workout, as necessary

If you’re staying consistent with your workouts then you need to progressively increase the difficulty to continuously see change. Benches give you the support you need to set up heavier lifts with ease. They also provide you with the stability required to do more challenging unilateral exercises, like single leg thrusts or squats. When it comes to fitness, the only way to progress is to change. With adjustable benches, change is pretty much the name of the game.

Conversely, a bench is also a great tool for people just starting or suffering from an injury. Again, it comes back to the stability and support provided. Sure, you can squat to a chair, but there’s always a chance that a chair will slide. The weight and structure of a bench mean it’s not going anywhere. You’re covered.

We could list dozens of progressions or regressions you can use when you own a bench, but we’ll cap it there for time in this blog.

So, let’s quickly recap from above, an adjustable bench helps:

• avoid muscle imbalances
• avoid overuse injury
• add exercise variability to your routine
• add different angles to your routine
• increase muscle strength
• increase muscle size and definition
• achieve greater ranges of motion
• achieve progressions & regressions
• improve stability & support

Ultimately

Your home gym should be a space where you feel like you’re getting the most out of your workouts. It doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive, but it should be functional and flexible. With a set of dumbbells and an adjustable bench there’s really no limit to what you can accomplish at home.

If you’re looking to build a home gym and want customized recommendations on equipment that are based on your personal space and fitness goals, don’t hesitate to contact us!