Bench sports: tips for choosing and self-manufacturing

The sports bench is a universal design that allows you to effectively pump the abdominal muscles, engage with the bar, support the other muscle groups in tone. Let's find out at which points worth paying attention to when choosing such an inventory.

Material of manufacture

It is best if the sports bench is made of steel. Such a material is capable of withstanding significant mechanical stresses, enabling the user to safely operate the simulator.

It is desirable that the parameters of the steel profile used to make the bench correspond to the expected structural loads. For this reason, experienced, heavyweight athletes should purchase a bench assembled from metal elements with a cross section of at least 50x50 mm. For beginners, a simulator made of a steel profile with parameters of 25x25 mm will suffice. As for the thickness of the walls of structural elements, the parameter should be at least 2 mm.

Ergonomics

The sports bench can have an even or curved area. The latter option is suitable for former athletes, but is not recommended for beginners, as well as for users who have problems with the lower back. On a straight board it is much easier to choose a safe position for the back. In addition, in this case, there is no muscle overload, as many of them remain in a relaxed state.

Functionality

The sports bench must contain elements for adjusting the parameters. Their presence does not force you to adjust the body to the simulator during training and provides increased comfort for each individual user.

Stop selection is recommended on models that allow you to easily change the height of the structure, the angle of the backrest. All this opens up the possibility to adjust the bench to the parameters of your own body.

Upholstery

The sports bench should be lined with sufficiently reliable material, which is resistant to tearing and abrasion. Preference should be given to natural skin. Despite the high cost of such upholstery, the material will serve much longer compared with artificial substitutes.

When choosing a sports bench it is recommended to assess the comfort of the cladding. During the exercise, the body should not slide, fidgeting on the surface of the support. The presence of this drawback will force the concentration of tension on the muscles, which will ensure the fixation of the body in its original position, instead of focusing on the abdominal area, thorax, other areas that are subject to study.

As for the filler, it should not be too soft. After all, a sports bench for a home is not a mattress, and occupations on it should not have a relaxing effect on the body.

Width

If the sports bench is used for the bar press, in this case its width should be about 29-32 cm. This parameter is recognized by the optimal athletes who are engaged in powerlifting. As for the dumbbell spreading to the sides, it will be convenient to carry out the exercise with a bench width of 18-22 cm. Based on the foregoing, we can conclude that the optimal parameter for performing a variety of exercises will be a sports bench of medium width, about 24-28 cm.

Length

It is worth noting that there is no sense in purchasing a too large, large sports bench. The main thing is that when choosing the position, the buttocks and the back of the head create a comfortable rest for the body on its surface. In general, the correspondence of the length of the device to individual parameters should be tested in practice. High athletes are advised to check the comfort of the backrest by moving it to a position at an angle of 45 °. Comfortable training will be, if the back of the head rests against the plane, and does not go beyond its edge.

Sports bench by one's own hands

The main for self-assembly of the sports bench can serve as a profile steel pipe with parameters 40x40 mm, which must be welded in the form of a rectangle. To prepare the frame, which will play the role of racks, it is enough to use a metal strip with a width of at least 30 mm. To make the material the desired shape, it is enough to bend it with a hammer, and then connect it to the profile pipe by welding.

Finally, on a rectangular basis of a profile steel pipe, it is sufficient to impose a board or a piece of plywood cut in accordance with the parameters of the metal structure. The element can be fixed with bolted connections, for which it is necessary to pre-drill the corresponding holes in the frame of pipes.

As a filler, a foam sheet can be used. To prevent such a "crumb" from moving along the surface of the bench during training, it is necessary to first plant it on the glue. The finishing touch is the creation of a dermal upholstery, which is wrapped around the wooden part of the bench and fixed with the help of a staple gun.

Finally

As you can see, there is nothing difficult to choose a sports bench for the house. The main thing is not to rush and test several devices from an affordable price category. If you want, the availability of tools, tools and materials, this simulator can be assembled with your own hand, using as a sample a bench from a store or a gym.