Olympic Benches

If you've been to a gym lately you'll notice that gym rats tend to gravitate towards certain pieces of equipment for a while and ignore others. However, one weightlifting tool that's always en vogue is the Olympic bench.

As far as I'm concerned, an Olympic bench is an indispensable part of any weightlifting program. Combined with an Olympic barbell and rack you'll need little else for a complete workout.

If you're looking to purchase an Olympic bench for your home gym, you may be a little confused by the various styles available to you under the Olympic designation. Now there is a ton of debate between what Olympic lifting versus weightlifting versus powerlifting versus bodybuilding are, but for right now let's keep it simple for those just starting to work out. Basically, Olympic equipment is considered the top end in commercial-grade weightlifting equipment because it takes its name from the Olympic sport of weightlifting. Therefore, an Olympic bench is very heavy duty and particularly convenient for barbell exercises especially the bench press. Olympic weight benches are generally 48-inches wide so they can accommodate a 7-foot standard Olympic bar and the widest weightlifters out there.

The majority of Olympic benches have flat, incline and decline adjustments. I would also recommend spending the money on an Olympic bench with an adjustable rack attached. This way you can adjust your barbell height and you don't have to worry about getting the weight in position before you perform the exercise. Also, you don't have to worry about a spotter. The rack on an Olympic bench is angled back away from the lifter, rather than at a 90-degree angle to the floor. This is so the rack won't interfere with the lift. Some of the top-end Olympic benches even come with dip station, lat station and leg extension attachments, but depending on how much you use these, you can always use the flat bench and a weight belt as your dip station and I stand by my claim that squats are the best exercise for your legs.

Sure, Olympic benches tend to be a bit more expensive compared to their competition (starting at $200 online), but if you're serious about heavy weightlifting then an Olympic bench will stick it out for as long as (and probably longer than) you will.