Home-friendly equipment

Bench exercises

Flat, incline or a sturdy chair. Needed for pressing, supported rows and step-ups; a hard bed or a low table covers many of them.

What this kit can actually load

49MOVEMENTS

Covering 15 muscle groups as prime movers and 6 of the 9 movement patterns — all of it usable in a front room.

SOURCE·Published exercise references·COVERAGE COUNTED FROM PRIME MOVERS ONLY·REVIEWED JUL 2026

How the bench list is built

Start from the joint action, not the sensation. A muscle is credited when the action it produces is the one being resisted.
Credit exactly one role per exercise: prime mover, or synergist and stabiliser. Nothing is listed twice.
Rank by technical demand on a 1–5 scale — how much practice the movement needs to be done safely, not how hard the set feels.
Credit a movement to a piece of kit only when that kit supplies the resistance — a bench you lie on is not the load.
Attach the published MET category so the energy figure on every card traces back to the same table.

The attribution rules in full →

SOURCE·Published exercise references·ATTRIBUTION BY JOINT ACTION·REVIEWED JUL 2026

All 49 bench movements

Exercises using bench, easiest first.REVIEWED · JUL 2026
Exercise	Primary muscle	Pattern	Level
Barbell Wrist Curl	Forearms	Isolation	Beginner
Concentration Curl	Biceps	Isolation	Beginner
Dumbbell Triceps Kickback	Triceps	Isolation	Beginner
Dumbbell Wrist Curl	Forearms	Isolation	Beginner
Incline Push-Up	Chest	Push	Beginner
Reverse Wrist Curl	Forearms	Isolation	Beginner
Seated Dumbbell Lateral Raise	Side deltoid	Isolation	Beginner
Bench Dip	Triceps	Push	Beginner
Chest-Supported Dumbbell Row	Upper back	Pull	Beginner
Decline Crunch	Abs	Brace	Beginner
Decline Dumbbell Fly	Chest	Isolation	Beginner
Decline Dumbbell Press	Chest	Push	Beginner
Dumbbell Bench Press	Chest	Push	Beginner
Dumbbell Fly	Chest	Isolation	Beginner
Dumbbell Hip Thrust	Glutes	Hinge	Beginner
Dumbbell Skull Crusher	Triceps	Isolation	Beginner
Incline Dumbbell Curl	Biceps	Isolation	Beginner
Incline Dumbbell Fly	Chest	Isolation	Beginner
Incline Dumbbell Press	Chest	Push	Beginner
Incline Dumbbell Row	Upper back	Pull	Beginner
Incline Rear Delt Raise	Rear deltoid	Isolation	Beginner
Lying Dumbbell Lateral Raise	Side deltoid	Isolation	Beginner
Lying Triceps Extension	Triceps	Isolation	Beginner
Neutral-Grip Dumbbell Press	Chest	Push	Beginner
Preacher Curl	Biceps	Isolation	Beginner
Prone Y Raise	Trapezius	Isolation	Beginner
Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press	Front deltoid	Push	Beginner
Single-Arm Dumbbell Row	Lats	Pull	Beginner
Smith Machine Bench Press	Chest	Push	Beginner
Smith Machine Incline Press	Chest	Push	Beginner
Smith Machine Shoulder Press	Front deltoid	Push	Beginner
Spider Curl	Biceps	Isolation	Beginner
Arnold Press	Front deltoid	Push	Intermediate
Barbell Bench Press	Chest	Push	Intermediate
Barbell Hip Thrust	Glutes	Hinge	Intermediate
Barbell Pullover	Lats	Isolation	Intermediate
Bulgarian Split Squat	Quadriceps	Lunge	Intermediate
Close-Grip Bench Press	Triceps	Push	Intermediate
Decline Barbell Bench Press	Chest	Push	Intermediate
Decline Sit-Up	Abs	Brace	Intermediate
Dumbbell Pullover	Lats	Isolation	Intermediate
Incline Barbell Bench Press	Chest	Push	Intermediate
Seated Barbell Overhead Press	Front deltoid	Push	Intermediate
Single-Arm Dumbbell Bench Press	Chest	Push	Intermediate
Single-Leg Hip Thrust	Glutes	Hinge	Intermediate
Copenhagen Plank	Adductors	Brace	Advanced
JM Press	Triceps	Isolation	Advanced
Paused Bench Press	Chest	Push	Advanced
Seated Good Morning	Lower back	Hinge	Advanced

Muscles you can cover with bench

Chest 15 Lats 3 Upper back 2 Trapezius 1 Front deltoid 4 Side deltoid 2 Rear deltoid 1 Biceps 4 Triceps 6 Forearms 3 Quadriceps 1 Glutes 3 Abs 2 Lower back 1 Adductors 1

Not covered: hamstrings, calves, obliques, hip flexors, rotator cuff. That is the honest gap — fill it with another implement or with bodyweight work.

Programmes that run on this alone

Push Pull Legs (PPL)Full gym · 3 days a week (one cycle) or 6 days a week (two cycles). Both work; the six-day version needs the recovery to match.Upper / Lower splitFull gym · 4 days a week — upper, lower, rest, upper, lower, rest, rest.Full-body, 3 days a weekFull gym · 3 non-consecutive days — Monday, Wednesday, Friday or equivalent.Beginner gym plan (first 8 weeks)Full gym — machines and dumbbells · 3 days a week, with at least one rest day between sessions.Bro split (one muscle a day)Full gym · 5 days a week.5x5 barbell strengthBarbell, rack, bench · 3 days a week, alternating A and B sessions.

Other equipment

Barbell 54 Dumbbells 68 Kettlebell 17 Cable machine 36 Machine 42 Smith machine 8 Resistance band 31 Bodyweight 121Pull-up bar 17 Medicine ball 3 Suspension trainer 5 EZ bar 5 Dip bars 3 Ab wheel 2 Weight plate 11 Box or step 10 Landmine 6

The questions that come up on the floor

What can I train with bench?

49 exercises on this site use bench, covering 15 muscle groups as prime movers and 6 of the 9 movement patterns. 26 of them are compound movements, which is the number that decides whether a piece of equipment can carry a whole programme on its own.

Is bench enough to build muscle?

Yes. With 49 exercises across 15 muscle groups, bench covers enough of the body to run a complete programme. Muscle growth responds to effort, load progression and volume — not to which brand of resistance supplied them.

Can I use bench at home?

Yes — this is home-scale equipment. Flat, incline or a sturdy chair. Needed for pressing, supported rows and step-ups; a hard bed or a low table covers many of them.

How do I make bench exercises harder over time?

Add weight in the smallest increment available whenever you reach the top of the target rep range with clean technique, and keep the range of motion and the tempo identical as the load climbs.

Muscle roles follow standard kinesiology references and are described by joint action rather than by gym convention — see how this site is built. Energy figures are derived from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities. Every reference is named and dated on the sources page. General information only — not medical or coaching advice. Load, form and progression should be adjusted to your own experience and any injury history. When in doubt, get coached in person.

SOURCE·Published exercise references·MUSCLE ROLES ASSIGNED BY JOINT ACTION·REVIEWED JUL 2026

The people behind these sites

Follow the build

This site and nine others like it are built and photographed by two people: Amit Sharma — behind the build; Geeta Patel — the poses, demonstrated. New work goes up on Instagram and Facebook before it reaches a page here.

Amit Sharma @amitsharmaofficial Instagram

Geeta Patel @geetapatelnz Instagram

Geeta Patel GeetaPatelYoga Facebook

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