The Olympic weightlifting bench, one of the most widely used gym pieces of exercise equipment, primarily helps gym goers to perform the bench press, an exercise that develops the chest muscles. The bench press is one of the three lifts contested in power lifting competitions, and some athletes specialize in competing in the bench press to the exclusion of any other exercise.
Design
Olympic weightlifting benches are designed for home use, light commercial use or professional use. The strength of the materials used in construction will dictate the suitability of the bench. Professional benches will support in excess of 1000 lbs. where as a home-use bench may only be designed to support 300. Olympic benches have padded backrests for comfort and strong uprights that support the bar when it is not in use. Some benches also have footrests so that shorter exercisers can raise their feet if they are unable to reach the floor without excessively arching their backs. A standard Olympic bench is flat but there are also inclined, declined and adjustable models available so that you can perform numerous bench pressing variations.
Significance
Despite the name, the Olympic bench press is not connected with any Olympic events but merely refers to the type of bar used. An Olympic bar weighs 45 lbs., is 7 feet long and has knurled handgrips to reduce the likelihood of your hands slipping because of sweat.
Purpose
An Olympic weightlifting bench allows you to lie on your back and receive a weight at arms' length so that you can then lower it to your chest before pressing it back up. It negates the need for a training partner or spotter to pass you the weight, although some bench pressers prefer to have someone help them to unrack the bar before the initial lowering. An Olympic weightlifting bench can be used for performing wide grip, narrow grip and reverse grip barbell bench presses as well as dumbbell pressing exercises.
Features
Olympic weightlifting benches, typically those designed for home use, allow you to add attachments, such as leg extension and leg curl units, arm curl stations, squat racks and dipping attachments. Commercial-grade Olympic weightlifting benches do not usually offer add-ons.
Warning
Bench pressing is an inherently risky exercise, as you will be lifting and lowering a potentially heavy weight directly over your chest. Because of the danger of injury, place collars on the bar ends to secure the weights in place and have a spotter or training partner on hand to help you if you fail to complete a lift. Serious injury can result if you get pinned across the chest by a loaded barbell.
References
- "Men's Health Home Workout Bible"; Lou Schuler and Michael Mejia; 2002
- "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Weight Training"; Deidre Johnson-Cane; 1999
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