A weight bench is a piece of exercise equipment that can be used to work your entire body. You can use weight benches along with free weights or medicine balls to perform a wide variety of exercises, from stepups for legs or chest presses for the pectoral muscles. Since weight benches are versatile, you can target each major muscle group using only a weight bench and dumbbells.
Step 1
Train your pectoral muscles by using the bench and doing the dumbbell chest fly. Lie back on the bench while holding a dumbbell in each hand. Extend your arms above your chest with your palms facing inward. Open your arms out to the sides until the dumbbells are even with your shoulders. Squeeze your pectoral muscles and bring your arms in together over the chest. Repeat for three sets of 15 repetitions. Use moderate weight so that your muscles are close to full fatigue by the last few reps of the exercise.
Step 2
Work your lower body on the bench with stepups. Stand in front of the bench with your feet together. Place your right foot on top of the bench. Step up onto the bench and bring your left foot up onto the bench beside your right foot. Step down from the bench with your left foot and bring your right foot down next to your left foot, returning to the stating position. Repeat the exercise for three sets of 15 repetitions on each leg. Increase the intensity of the exercise by performing the movement while holding a dumbbell in each hand.
Step 3
Stimulate your triceps muscles or back of the arms with triceps dips on the bench. Sit on the bench with your hands beside your hips and palms facing forward. Extend your legs in front of you with your feet together. Lift your hips off of the bench so your hands are supporting your body weight. Lower your hips toward the floor until your elbows are bent 90 degrees. Press yourself up until your arms are straight. Repeat the motion for three sets of 15 repetitions.
Step 4
Activate your back and bicep muscles with single arm dumbbell rows. Kneel over the weight bench with your right knee and lower leg on it and position your right hand in front of your knee on the edge of the bench. Hold a dumbbell with your left hand and extend your left arm straight down toward the floor. Position your left leg beside your right knee while your left foot remains on the floor. Squeeze your back muscles and bring the dumbbell back in a rowing motion until your elbow is bent 90 degrees. Keep your elbow close to the body and slowly lower the dumbbell down to the starting position. Repeat for three sets of 15 repetitions on each arm.
References
- ExRx.net: Dumbbell Bent-over Row
- "Weight Training Manual"; National Federation of Professional Trainers; 2006
- Bodybuilding.com: Compound Exercise; Diana Rini
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