Does this weight bench look any good?

[mikec222]

york bench.

Hey guys, someone here might have some knowledge of this.

A york weight bench has come up on my local kijiji. Model 0111. It's pretty cheap so I'm just wondering if anyone knows if these are decent enough to use for someone starting out. I don't think I'll ever be able to bench more then 180 so it doesn't really matter if its not heavy duty.

Or if anyone knows any good cheap benches that would be good too. Only problem is I live in Nova Scotia. and we don't have the greatest selection of some stuff.

Anyway if anyone knows anything about this stuff it would be great.

[TKing]

The York stuff is fine. It's not exactly high end but you have to take a deal when you find it since shipping on this stuff is expensive. My personal favorite equipment manufacturer is for quality and fair price is:

http://www.pro-fitness.com/

 

I didn't look to see what that bench was exactly though. My preference for a first piece would be a power rack with a chinup bar and weight stack for pulldowns and low pulls with an adjustable bench.

 

edited to add: I did a quick Google search and found this:

http://victoria.en.craigslist.ca/spo/1090216531.html

 

which is probably what you are looking at. Not a bad deal but I still don't have any idea what the bench is like.

[mikec222]

Here is a pic of it to help you out a bit. He's selling it for 30 bucks. The reason I'm looking at this one is because the holders for the bar are adjustable, as I'm going to try and make a make shift squat rack out of it too, as I'm not really doing much weight yet, I'm pretty weak.

 

I don't know much about this stuff, but it looks decent. Doesn't do decline but thats not a big deal.

 

The power rack and everything would be nice, but space is a bit of an issue right now. If I get more into the lifting I'll definitely look into the rack if I find some space.

[TKing]

The link didn't show me a picture but I think I have an idea. To tell you the truth, those things are what most people think they need to start with but in reality they are pretty useless for much except bench pressing and a lot of them I've seen have the bar rack in terrible positions anyway. If you are thinking about exercising for golf, bench pressing is the last thing you need to do. I've been lifting since 1963 and I don't even do bench presses. They make my pecs stick out too much in the middle. I've seen too many kids hurt themselves doing bench presses. I do them once in a while but never more than 285. I mostly do a variety of flys with dumbbells. I do flat flys with 45 lb. dumbells and have plenty of chest. I just started golf a year and a half ago and at 58 years old have swing speeds higher than Tour average. I haven't missed bench presses at all.

 

I'd start with just an adjustable bench and a set of dumbbells up to maybe 25 pounds. You can add the bigger ones as needed.

 

I like this bench: http://www.ironmaster.com/store/Super-Bench-pr-3.html

 

The reason that bench is 30 bucks is because that's about what it's worth.

 

edited to add: I saw the picture and I don't like it but you can start with it and sell it when you quit using it.

[ezra76]

Fine for the price. Save your larger spending for an Olympic bar and some plates. Google Mark Riptoes if you want to look at a pure strength training routine that you won't need more than that bench and a good bar with some big plates.

[DukeNasty]

Fine for the price. Save your larger spending for an Olympic bar and some plates. Google Mark Riptoes if you want to look at a pure strength training routine that you won't need more than that bench and a good bar with some big plates.

 

 

That would be Mark Rippletoe and he wrote Starting Strength which is a fundamental strength platform used by a lot of CrossFitters. It is a fantastic program, but given the original posters lack of experience, olympic lifts without the proper instruction are probably a recipe for disaster in terms of injury. Having said that, I do absolutely no golf specific workouts and do CrossFit pretty religiously along with CrossFit Endurance for the cardio component and can absolutely crush the ball. Heavy olympic lifts ala Mark Rippletoe (he is sort of a crossfit legend) are a strong component of CrossFit and definitely work, but getting some good instruction is necessary in order to prevent injury.

 

E.

[ezra76]

Fine for the price. Save your larger spending for an Olympic bar and some plates. Google Mark Riptoes if you want to look at a pure strength training routine that you won't need more than that bench and a good bar with some big plates.

 

 

That would be Mark Rippletoe and he wrote Starting Strength which is a fundamental strength platform used by a lot of CrossFitters. It is a fantastic program, but given the original posters lack of experience, olympic lifts without the proper instruction are probably a recipe for disaster in terms of injury. Having said that, I do absolutely no golf specific workouts and do CrossFit pretty religiously along with CrossFit Endurance for the cardio component and can absolutely crush the ball. Heavy olympic lifts ala Mark Rippletoe (he is sort of a crossfit legend) are a strong component of CrossFit and definitely work, but getting some good instruction is necessary in order to prevent injury.

 

E.

 

Well, we both spelled it wrong. Rippetoe is the name. I'm a firm believer in strength training first. I mean, you can do stuff like P90X, get tone, lose weight but you'll still be weak, generally speaking.

 

For the OP, here is a link to massive amounts of info on his program. He shows how to do all the exercises and you'll see the beginner routine you actually only use the bar to get used to the movements.

http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/Sta...g_Strength_Wiki

 

actually here is a more direct link to the program and exercises http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ...arting_Strength

[mikec222]

thanks guys, I actually stumbled on that site today when I was looking about info on bench's but didn't know what it was.

 

Yea I've seen the p90x ad like 100 times because I work at a golf store where we leave the golf channel on. Looks great for people wanting to lose weight and get into shape. I might do ab ripper, but I can't see it being the most efficient way of putting on mass. I'll check out this crossfit site.

 

I guess I'll pick up this bench no one has noticed anything significantly wrong with it, nothing to lose. If I hate it I'll just sell it for more then I payed.

[ezra76]

Good luck with it. Bodybuilding.com has a lot of info on programs and nutrition. IMO you can't go wrong with the strength training program. I believe there already is a modified workout listed there with less chest workout. If you did that for 90days, like P90X, I garuntee you'll put on some mass but also get a lot stronger. I did a similar workout plan for about 14 months and went from 140 to 190. I was squatting 315 and deadlifting 405 by the end of that time. I had to drop back to about 170 to get back to about 9% bodyfat, see all 8 abs. Felt great at that time though. Very fast and strong.

[mikec222]

Thanks again guys, How much weight should I Pick up? I have no idea what a reasonable squat or dead lift weight is. So far I have picked up 100 pounds, and a solid bar from kijiji, but that is more for bench's and dumbells.

 

Right now I'm about 6'2 187, and fairly thin, but not srawny. It's really just my height that gives me most of that weight. Any rough estimate would be great.

[mikec222]

I said I was going to pick it up this afternoon and she sold it to someone else.... well that was nice of her

[ezra76]

Don't get discouraged. At this point I'd consider looking at the weight programs you are interested in and decide from there. You could easily get started without the bench for a little while doingdeadlifts, pushups, military press, rows, straight legged deadlift, heavy curls. You can do squats as well if you can figure out how to get the bar on your shoulders or just use the bar with little weight that you could press up off. That might be a good idea as squats are hard to get the form right on for a beginner. Plus, if you do sets of 20-30 with lighter weight it'll really build up your muscle endurance.

[mikec222]

thanks I'm getting the weight tomorrow so i'll start with that. One of the reasons I was looking at the bench is because I can't do push ups anymore, they give me nosebleeds once I get around the 40 push up mark. I think it's because I'm doing them with my chest almost touching the ground and the blood just rushes to my head.

 

I'm looking at another one now it actually looks a lot nicer, and still only 40 bucks.

[TKing]

Those butterfly things on it are worthless. Do dumbell flys. I'm not saying not get it if it's cheap like the other one was.

 

You will probably need to change the nut and bolt holding on the leg extension attachment to a shorter bolt and low profile nut if the one on there hits the inside of your knees. It looks like it sticks out further than would suit me.

 

To me doing leg curls on a flat bench is very uncomfortable and the reason the dedicated leg curl machines have a bench that lets you lie on it with a bent waist.

 

When I was a teenager I built my own equipment out of 2x4s. It doesn't have to be pretty to work comfortably.

 

You will need to do pulldowns or pullups to balance out chest work and for something useful in your golf swing. My son bought one of those pullup bars that fits in a doorway without any kind of attachment to the door jamb and I was pretty impressed. I can't remember what it's called but he got it from Dick's. I'd suggest buying one of those and a 110 lb. barbell set. The important part about a barbell is that the weights are easy to change-not one of those screw on plate things. Buy fixed dumbbells cheap at Walmart or Dick's and add sizes as needed. An Olympic set may even be too much because at 45 lbs the bar alone may be too heavy to start with-plus they are 7' long and need more room than a 5' bar.

 

Start with light weights and do the full range of motion. Don't get in a hurry to go up in weight. Connective tissue takes longer to build than muscle mass. There is nothing more important than not to get injured. Get sore yes, but don't hurt yourself.

 

It's fun being strong.

[mikec222]

Thanks for the tips king, I'm actually getting a different bench now, I still got a great deal on it, but it's alot better. I like how the bar holder is seperate from what you sit on. It also comes with a bunch of weight, a bar, and dumbell bars. I'm picking up another hundred pounds today as well. So I should have enough for deadlifts and squats for a little while atleast.

 

A chinup bar would be great too, I just have to find a model that would be good for someone my height (almost 6'3)

[Strikeb4ck]

That last one looks good, I'd get it, how much are you paying for it?

[TKing]

Good find!!! That's SO much better. Now you can do squats and not hurt your back doing leg curls. That's actually a decent setup to start with. I'll tip my hat to the outfit that designed it. I cringe every time I see one of those other things because I've thrown money away on them too.

 

My son has to keep his knees bent to do pullups and when I tried it, it wasn't so bad. Much can be accomplished with a bar. You can do hanging leg raises which are 1000% more effective than any other ab exercise. You can start with knee-ups and work up to straight legs with weights.

[TKing]

When you start doing squats put the safety bar on it's highest setting and just do sets with just the bar. Some people need to put a board under their heels to not stress their knees.

 

Adjustable dumbbells are just a pain to change the weight in the middle of a workout. They'll be okay for a while but you'll start seeing the need to buy fixed ones but at least you can find which weight ones you want to start with.

[mikec222]

I picked up the one in the last pic. For what would be 40 usd. I'm just setting it up now but it looks awsome. Very sturdy, Everything is adjustable, how far the bar holders are apart, the height of them. (can go up to past 5 feet). Came with about 100 pounds and a a few bars too.

 

Now I just have to find out how to put it together... could be interesting.

[birdiemachine11]

Get a pullup bar along with a weight bench if you want to add some good strength. You can either make your own or buy one that will hang on a door.