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Power Racks, Benches, Saw Horses,and Squat Racks

Dumbell Bench
This is a dumbell bench. Its meant to be used for dumbell oriented chest workouts. It lacks an upright support structure to hold a barbell because and that is the big difference between this bench and a barbell bench. These benchs are easy to slide in and out and I use one for bench pressing with a barbell between two saw horses. The thing can be slid out easily from the saw horses to enable me to quickly switch to using the sawhorses for barbell squats. This type of bench also works best with a power rack. If you plan on doing a bench press movement without a power rack, a spotter or sawhorses, then it is best to use dumbells rather than a barbell as you can just drop the weight when you fail without risk. This bench is meant to be used with dumbells so if you are going without spotters or support structures like a power rack this is your bench for working with dumbells.

Estimated cost $50 to $100 or more

Combo Barbell Bench

This is the traditional style bench that most people get for barbell bench pressing movements. It can be got with or without the leg extension attachment. If you are going to get a bench like this make sure it is meant for Olympic weight sets. The ones made for regular weigth sets can't support enough weight. The problem with bench pressing from this sort of bench becomes obvious when you lower the weight and begin pressing and fail. The weight has to be helped up with a spotter when you fail if you use a bench like this. I prefer to use sawhorses and a dumbell bench because of this. This particular bench is adjustable and can be placed on an incline. This is a factor if you plan to do incline bench pressing to target the upper pecs more.

*Estimated cost $100 to $200

Power Rack

A power rack is a structure meant to allow people to lift at home in safety. Rather than having to worry about being pinned under a heavy barbell one can concentrate on lifting instead. The apparatus uses rods that can be adjusted to various heights to provide a stopping point on a given lift. You can squat or bench from within a power rack as well as do partial deadlifts or shrugs. Power racks generally come without benches so one would have to buy one to go with them.

*Estimated Cost $500 to $1000

Sawhorses

Sawhorses are incredibly useful and cheap. A pair of sawhorses can be had for less than $120 or so. One can use sawhorses to bench, or squat from. They are designed to attach boards to and then work off of to saw or work on heavy items. They also can be used to bench and squat from. I suggest buying two and attaching boards to them to hold them an equal distance apart. Then you hop inside the structure and lift. The weight will be stopped by the Sawhorses and will not be resting on your body in the bottom position of a movement. Sawhorses are usually weight tested for 1200 pounds each so they should not collapse due to any amount of weight a human can use. Make sure to get an adjustable one as they only cost a little more and provide more flexibility.

Buy 1200 Pound Adjustable Saw Horse from Amazon.com