15 of the Best Bench Workouts to Maximize Your Training at Home or the Gym
Many people who are pursuing personal fitness success feel like they must have the most gym equipment possible in order to succeed. That is not always the case. Yes, having more options would be nice, but you can certainly get started with just your bodyweight, a weight bench, and dumbbells.
You can make great strides and see positive results just from putting your best effort into training with weight bench exercises alone.
Related: Need Dumbbells? See what we have here.
How Many Bench Exercises Should I Do?
We are going to cover 15 exercises on a bench that you can use every time you train in order to start seeing improvement. Of course, there are more out there, but we think these will surely be fire bets to succeed. We even have a sample workout for you to try so you can start reaping those benefits immediately without committing a lot of time to the workout. This will be a great start until you get the extra equipment you want like a squat rack or barbells.
An Extra Piece of Advice
Of course, many of these exercises can be done with a barbell and plates as well. So, if you have those instead of dumbbells, simply put in the barbell version instead. You can also add more to the equation as you get new equipment in. This is a starting point, but it does not have to be all you are limited to doing.
Best Bench for the Best Training
A basic utility flat bench is all you really need for this one, but having an adjustable bench like Iron Bull Strength’s AWB Adjustable Bench would be even better because you can take advantage of all the angles and make the workouts more interesting. Adjustable benches allow you to feel more comfortable when you are working out as well, so you can pay more attention to the work that needs to be done.
If you have an adjustable bench, then you can opt for incline or decline versions of these exercises to provide those new challenges. Most of these exercises are well-known, but there are a couple that we are adding some extra instructions in case you are not familiar with them.
Chest
Bench Press
One of the first exercises that gym rookies learn is the barbell bench press, but the dumbbell bench press has two distinct advantages over the barbell version. First, you get a greater range of motion because you can lower the dumbbells further than the bar. Second, each side has to do its own work, which can help promote balance and symmetry as well as strength. You can even work one side at a time if you like.
Dumbbell Flye
The dumbbell flye is a great isolation exercise for the pecs. You get the stretch at the bottom that can also help with mobility (don’t exaggerate it too much, though), and you can get a great squeeze at the top to help improve that separation and make the chest appear even fuller and bigger. Like the presses, these can also be done on an incline or decline as well as flat.
Back
Two Arm Dumbbell Row
The one arm row is a great option, but doing it with both arms can save time and be done safer. Lie chest down on the bench with the dumbbells in your hands. Make sure your feet are stable so you don’t move or sway. Keep your palms facing each other and have your arms stretched down towards the floor. Row up and squeeze the back muscles when you’ve reached the top position. Lower the weights slowly to the starting position and repeat. If you have ever done a T-Bar Row on a pad, this will have a similar feel.
Dumbbell Pullover
The normal version of this exercise requires you to lie with your shoulders across the bench and your head hanging offwith your hips off and set closer to the floor on the other side. However, many lifters may have back issues. So, this can also be done lying on the bench in a traditional manner. The stretch at the bottom matters a lot here, but don’t risk getting hurt. Go back as far as you safely can and lift the weight up slow until it is over your neck or chest.
Shoulders
Arnold Press
You know who this is named after, so we won’t waste time here. You can do these either one at a time or both arms simultaneously. The key to this one is a full range of motion. You could lift and turn the weights at the same time so that your arms are near lockout at the top of the movement. When you come down, don’t simply stop at shoulder height. Tuck the elbows down and in so the weights are closer to the chest. This may seem subtle but will make a difference.
6-Way Raise
This is one that may be complicated for some beginners, but once you try it, you may throw it in with every shoulder workout you do because you can target the front, side, and rear heads of the shoulders at once. Go super light on this one.
Sit on the bench with dumbbells in your hands to your sides. While keeping your arms straight, perform a lateral raise by lifting your arms to your sides. Once you are parallel with the floor, bring the weights in front of you while keeping your arms straight. Then, lift the arms overhead until they are completely. Reverse that motion until you are back where you started. That is one rep. Repeat for the desired reps.
Triceps
Tricep Bench Dips
You can do these dips with your feet on the floor, or you can make the movement harder by lifting your feet up on a block or seat in front of you. Either way, lower yourself until your shoulders are even or below the elbows before using your triceps to push yourself up. Hold yourself up as long as you can at the end of the set to really work the back of the arms hard.
Lying Tricep Extension
You can do this one in one of two ways. The traditional method is to lower the weights down by your ears or even behind your head to get the best stretch possible before pressing up and contracting the triceps. Another way is to do Tate Presses, where you have palms facing away, you bend the elbows and lower the weights to your chest, then press the dumbbells up and out. If you have elbow issues or want to work on the lockout strength for presses, the latter choice would be best.
Biceps
Incline Curl
Yes, you could do dumbbell curls seated to hit the biceps, but having your back on an incline bench will make it harder because you are less likely to swing the arms up. Keeping your upper arms and shoulders back will be the key to the effectiveness of this one. A way to extend the set past failure is to transition from normal curls to hammer curls at the end to target the forearms and brachialis muscles. You may be able to extend the set by three to five reps this way. If your bench does not adjust, standard seated curls are fine too.
Spider Curl
This can only be done on an adjustable bench. Kick the angle up to 45 or 60 degrees and lie chest down on the bench with feet flat on the floor, a dumbbell in each hand, and arms hanging down in front of you. Curl the weight up and hold it briefly before slowly lowering it back down. You will likely need less weight here than on other curls. You can also do hammer curls here once you reach failure doing them the normal way.
Abs
Lying Leg Raise
What is the point in trying to get ripped if you aren’t going to train the abs, right? This is as basic as it gets, but doing them on a bench is nice because you can allow the legs to go a little below the hips at the bottom, and you can also lift the hips up for an extra contraction at the top. Don’t sleep on these. They will work the lower portion of the abs very well.
Feet Elevated Mountain Climber
Assume a pushup position, but place your feet up on the bench. While holding yourself up, bring one knee in towards your core. Return to the starting position and repeat with the other knee. Once you have done each knee, that is one rep. Repeat for the desired reps. As you feel more comfortable with this movement, try to perform it a little faster to save time and elevate the heart rate.
Bonus: Want to really push it? Do a pushup after each rep. Right knee, left knee, pushup, repeat.
Legs
Bulgarian Split Squat
This is one that will hit the quads, hamstrings, and glutes at once. This is not one that beginners should jump right into. Make sure you can master your bodyweight comfortably before trying it with weight in your hand. If you can’t lower your knee to the floor, go as far down as you comfortably can with the goal of making it to the floor in the future. You should not try it with a dumbbell until you can reach the floor comfortably.
Hip Thrust
Lie on the floor with the bench across in front of your feet. Keep your arms to your sides with palms on the floor. Lift one leg up onto the bench, and then lift the other leg straight up in the air. Drive the foot on the bench down into the bench and lift your hips up to contract your glute. Briefly hold and slowly lower yourself down before repeating. Once you finished a set in this position, switch feet and repeat.
Seated Calf Raise
Yes, you can even train calves with just a bench and weights. Take a dumbbell and place it on each knee while sitting on the end of a bench with feet flat on the floor. Lift your heels off the floor while keeping your toes down to flex the calves. Hold this position for a moment before lowering the heels back down.
There is even a way to target the tibialis in this position. Once your heels are on the floor, lift the toes up for a second, then return them to the floor. This is one full rep. Repeat for the desired reps. If you have a board you can place in front of you to rest your feet on to get the full stretch at the bottom, you can definitely use it.
Sample Workout
These bench workouts can help you save time by training efficiently and effectively. We are taking that to another level by providing a superset and triset workout you can do so you can get in and out of your weight room while being assured you got some serious working out done.
For those of you that don’t know, supersets are two exercises performed back-to-back without rest so your muscles work harder with less rest time. Trisets are the same but with three exercises. Perform both or all three exercises in a group before resting for 90 seconds. This workout can be completed in as little as 45 minutes if you can keep up that pace. Of course, if you need more time to rest, take it.
| Superset 1 | Flat Dumbbell Flye and Flat Dumbbell Press | 2 supersets of 10 reps each |
| Superset 2 | Dumbbell Pullover and Two Arm Dumbbell Row | 2 supersets of 10 reps each |
| Superset 3 | Arnold Press and 6-Way Raise | 2 supersets of 12 reps each |
| Superset 4 | Tricep Bench Dips and Lying Tricep Extension | 2 supersets of 12 reps each |
| Superset 5 | Spider Curl and Incline Curl | 2 supersets of 12 reps each |
| Superset 6 | Lying Leg Raise and Feet Elevated Mountain Climber* | 2 supersets of 12 reps each |
| Triset 1 | Bulgarian Split Squat*, Hip Thrust, and Seated Calf Raise |
2 trisets of 15 reps each |
*Reps are per side.
Conclusion
Training does not have to be complicated to be beneficial. A simple bench workout and open space are all you need to get the job done so you can start getting in better shape now and later. Give these 15 exercises a try, and try to find your own creative ways to maximize your training so you can get closer to fulfilling your own true potential.