The bench press is one of the three powerlifting competition lifts. However, this exercise shouldn’t be reserved for only powerlifters, it’s a great compound movement that helps to build chest, shoulder and triceps strength regardless of your training goal or experience level.

When performing the bench press, it’s essential that you have the right equipment. That begins with picking the right weight bench, the bench you choose depends on your training style.

What Is a Powerlifting Bench?

The M3 Flat Powerlifting Bench is ideal for anyone who is training for powerlifting competitions. The bench meets the IPF requirements, so that you’re able to practise for competition day. The feature that makes this a specialist powerlifting bench is the single post leg. Instead of having a floor bar at both ends to stabilise the bench on the ground, the top of the bench still has the bar, however the bottom of the bench where you place your legs has a single-leg post. This is to allow for better foot positioning during the lift.

The traditional M3 Flat Weight Bench has the floor bar at both ends. This makes the bench more stable, but less ideal for a powerlifting bench press. However, if you already own a flat bench, you can purchase a single post leg conversion kit so that you can transform your bench from a normal to a powerlifting bench with ease.

Both benches have a max capacity of over 500 kg and are made with anti-slip pads for stability and safety.

What Are The Benefits of a Powerlifting Bench?

The single leg post is more appropriate for powerlifting because it allows the athlete to position themselves for the lift. The traditional bench has a floor bar that blocks your feet from planting the ground at a certain position. Without the bar you can firmly plant your feet on the ground and therefore use your leg drive to help push the bar back up to the rack during the second part of the lift. This means having a single-leg post during training will allow you to practise your positioning for competitions.

Should I Buy a Powerlifting Bench or a Flat Weight Bench?

If you’re looking for a bench to solely practise your bench press and other supine bench exercises such as flyes, then a flat powerlifting bench is for you. Especially if you’re training to compete in powerlifting.

If on the other hand you want to use the bench for a variety of exercises such as seated shoulder press and single arm bent over row then the traditional flat bench is more appropriate for you. That’s because the single-foot leg is less stable when sitting upright at the end of the bench due to the weight distribution of the bench.

Remember that the bench press consists of lifting a weight directly over your body. Therefore, if you’re practising a barbell bench press and you’re working on your 1 rep max, or low volume, heavy weight training, you should have a spotter or have spotters attached to your Squat Rack at all times for safety reasons.

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Tags: Equipment > Bars and Weight Plates ; Equipment > Benches ; Exercise Type > Strength ; Misc > Gym Planning