Need a Weight Bench, Squat Rack or Power Cage?

We all know that working out with free weights is one of the most beneficial activities you can do to develop and maintain a healthy, strong body. A quality weight bench and power rack are two piece of fitness equipment that you absolutely need in your gymto achieve your goals. At Muscles and Curves we carry a large selection of benches and cages from several major manufacturers. We only carry quality equipment and respected brands and we do so at prices that just cannot be beat online. And as always, Everything We Carry Online Ships Free!

So whether you plan to "get your swole on" in a home gym or a large commercial fitness center, there are three items that are essential to achieving a complete and full body workout. First, of course, will be a good barbell and weights of all varieties from plates to dumbbells. But the number of exercises you can do will be very limited unless you have a good weight bench and a power rack, also known as a power cage or squat rack.

Not only do these pieces of equipment help you diversify your workouts but they can also provide an element of safety to your workout, such as using a squat rack with safety pins to catch the weigh if you are unable to lift it back up. Many weight benches are also available with built in spotter mechanisms. Still other bench and rack combos are made to work together as an unattached bench that can be use inside the power cage itself.

Weight Benches

If you're buying a fitness bench for your home gym or a small club then you'll definitely want to consider an adjustable bench. These are often called FID benches, short for Flat, Incline, Decline - all the positions the bench can be adjusted to. Depending on the type of bench, you may have several degrees of incline or decline available for adjustment.

You will also want to consider the required weight capacity of the bench and whether or not you want a multi-purpose weight bench that has attachments to increase the number of exercises you can perform. Some of the nicer benches have a total weight capacity of over 1,000 pounds (user included) and have leg extension, leg curl and preacher curl extensions that can be attached to the bench itself. This is extremely useful in smaller gyms where space is limited.

Power Racks

A solid power rack is probably one of the best investments you can make if you intend on working out alone, especially if you want to lift HEAVY WEIGHT! A squat rack can be used for performing all types of exercises, not just squatting. Back exercises such as rack deadlifts, good mornings and rack chins can be performed safely as well as military presses and behind the head shoulder presses. A power cage can also make lifts like shrugs and zerchers much easier.

Power racks are not without their list of features that you should review either. Again you will need to research the weight capacity or safe load limit of the unit to make sure you select a piece of equipment that meets your current needs and has room to "grow into". Also, size room area is generally a concern with most garage gyms or home gyms, you'll want to pay close attention to the assembled size and footprint of the unit.

Weight Bench and Power Rack Combos

Some units are solid as a combination weight bench - power rack and are meant to be used together. These systems are wildly popular with the home gym crowd for their space saving design. All the above information still applies to buying one of these units.