Looking for the best adjustable weight bench? Fitness buffs spill on what features to search for, their faves and raves, and what's best for you.
You go to the gym and look for the best adjustable weight bench in sight, but there’s none. You panicked a little, wondering how to do those chest presses and dips you asked yourself to do last Wednesday.
The person on the adjustable bench you are staring at doesn’t seem to have reached his third set yet. His trainer has asked him to do 20 reps of pullovers, presses and leg raises.
So, you opted to buy one for yourself because it’s that important.
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Best Adjustable Workout Benches
Why Do You Need An Adjustable Weight Bench?
A weight bench is a great gym equipment for strength training especially when you’re just starting out. But, even pros use it for their training regimen.
And contrary to popular beliefs, the adjustable bench is not just targeting the muscles of your upper body. It can also influence your buttocks, thighs, and hamstrings.
An adjustable weight bench is perfect for a whole body training because it’s flexible and lets you do a couple of exercises by altering the gym equipment as needed.
Example, adjusting it to a flat weight bench, makes it ideal for dumbbell and chest press workouts.
Incline weight benches help you target your upper pectoral muscles. Declining hits your primary muscles down below like your glutes. You can also benefit from abdominal and other core-strengthening training while in decline positions.
Also, a sit up bench is good for shoulder and also for core strengths.
How To Workout With A Weight Bench Properly
A weight bench can help you get a better strength-training workout. Since it is adjustable, you can slide the weight bench to an inclined or declined position. But how would you know you are doing it properly?
Here are some tips for using and turning it to the best adjustable weight bench.
Carefully Modify The Adjustable Bench Angle
It's crucial to adjust the bench angle to a comfortable and ideal level
Inclining or declining the seat gradually by small degrees allows you to utilize the muscle groups of your body entirely. NEVER attempt to adjust to a certain point where you have difficulty contracting your muscles.
- Declining an adjustable bench way too low for a sit-up can damage your back instead of strengthening it.
- Attempting to incline a little higher for a bench press can hurt your shoulders too. Go slow.
Work With Your Weight Bench
Use that support. SAFETY FIRST.
When you exercise and have to lie down, keep your head, shoulders, and buttocks resting on the seat. Use your weight to balance the pressure between you and the upholstery. They help to anchor your body.
STABILITY is what you need between you and the workout bench.
Keep Your Feet On The Floor Or The Bench
Don’t point your feet up. It’ll create an unstable support between you and the bench.
It’s a simple body mechanic on how you hold your body when sitting or lying. Feet pointing up can cause back problems.
Your spine will stress at your abnormal body alignment and can lead to spinal issues like injury, wear, and tear.
What We Look For In An Adjustable Weight Bench
An adjustable weight bench provides more features to make your workout regimens more rewarding. Some adjustable benches have attachments like leg lifts, foot lever, preacher curl, lying triceps extensions or barbell deluxe utility. Here are features to look for when buying one for your personal home use.
Quality
Don't buy a second-hand bench.
Weight benches might be costly, but they are reasonable. Sometimes you have to doubt the low-cost ones whether they are flimsy or not. They can put you in danger especially if you’re still holding to proper body mechanics when exercising in your home gym.
Buy a sturdy, durable bench. If you work out a lot, you would want the equipment to last for years.
Adjustment
You are buying an adjustable weight bench, but how flexible can they go?
A bench that can be easily modified freely can help you with your body type. A wide array of adjustments means that you can do different workouts. Or you can push through your comforts if you are ready.
Support And Stability
The sturdiness of your weight bench relieves you as it is meant to handle heavy pressure. If it is not stable, it can collapse when you’re using it. See if your bench can hold you and the weights you’ll be using.
If not, it can snap, and you’ll be seriously injured.
- Your seat should be locked in upon the floor and can’t be easily moved when you’re exercising.
Comfort
Is the upholstery giving you a hard time? Does the shape annoy you especially when you lie down?
If the bench is making you feel uncomfortable, walk away. You would not spend your money on something you would probably stop using because you can’t handle it.
Check the size and shape if your body can take it. The upholstery is equally important to avoid back strains.
We have compiled our top five best adjustable weight benches guaranteed by professionals and home gym owners, users and experts as grade-A equipment.
2019's Review Of The Best Adjustable Weight Benches
Product Name | Quality | Our Ratings | |
|---|---|---|---|
A- | |||
A+ | |||
A | |||
B+ | |||
A |
The Body-Solid Powerline is a multi-bench suitable for performing dumbbell workouts like chest presses, shoulder presses, crunches, and more.
It has a total of seven adjustment positions for versatility, which includes flat, incline, decline positions, and nearly vertical.
What We Like:
- Easy to fold and store. It’ll take you two steps to fold.It’s six inches thick so you can store it in the corner of the room.
- Sturdy and can hold over 400 pounds.
- The foam paddings are thick and comfortable. The upholstery is 32" long and 10.25" wide at bottom tapering to 8.25" wide at top for the back pad. The seat pad measures 15" long and 10" wide tapering to 8.25" wide at end.
- Great space saver. Not too big, not too small.
- It has leg pegs for your ankles.
What we didn't like:
- The upholstery is unstable. The foam pads stapled to the wood, may come off.
- Features are a bit limited to tall people.
- Users report seeing and experiencing defects on the legs. The folding legs won’t align with the teeth that are supposed to locked-in whenever the bench is idle.
- Wheels are easily broken or snapped.
- The back support is too narrow. It can be uncomfortable for people who gives enough pressure in weightlifting.
The Fitness Reality 1000 has 800 lbs of max weight capacity overall.
People beyond six feet can enjoy working out with the bench. It has 12 adjustable positions and might be useful for individuals who want to experiment with different angles. Backrests are even adjustable to -20-degree decline up to +80 degree in incline.
What we like:
- Heavy duty when it comes to weight lifting. The lifting of weights causes no movements or wobbling. The bench is very sturdy and long enough to support chest press and sit-ups
- Assembly and adjustments are just right. Assembling and adjusting the parts are an easy task. Modifications are useful as it comes with 12 position adjustments, giving users more workout options
- Foam paddings are good. The materials for the padding seem to be of excellent quality and thick enough for back support at your home gym
- Durable. The quality is good, and users expect the bench will last longer than they wanted it
- It's for people who want to level up their workout regime
What we didn't like:
- The front legs of the equipment stick out further than expected
- Narrow back support
- Lightweight
- Paddings, though made with excellent materials, have ripped off
- Cannot be adjusted to a perfect 90-degree angle.
The Bowflex features a removable leg plug for the adjustments in the decline position. Adjustability is up to six different position adjustments with 17-degree decline to 90-degree incline. It boasts of correcting posture and stabilizing positioning for safety features.
It guarantees a 30-year warranty on frame and one-year warranty on upholstery.
What we like:
- Stable features. The bench itself and the detachable leg attachments are very sturdy. You don’t get to wobble around while using it
- Construction and functionality are excellent
- Upholstery. The foam padding is thick, firm and the vinyl cover is sturdy
- The back support is full. Users shared that they felt comfortable with the back support and did not hurt their shoulder blades
- Max weight capacity a little over 500 lbs. Not bad for beginners for adding up weights
What we didn't like:
- Back pads stitching. The pads are stitched too carefully making the adjustable weight bench hard to modify at 90 degrees
- Wheels are small.
- Bolting is an issue. One hole to the other is not of the same size, making it difficult to bolt the adjustments in place
- Big gap between back and seat bench.
- Welded frames. Though the bench is sturdy, misalignment in frames can disintegrate it down.
If you are not planning on doing heavy lifting workouts, the product is right for you.
The adjustable bench has five positions which are used by many for dozens of exercises.
The shape and five-inch foam rollers of Universal would like to ensure your comfort and safety upon using the equipment. Levelers show a stable base on any flooring to avoid wobbling.
Max weight capacity is 430 pounds both user and weights.
What we like:
- Design and support are stable. Frames support and rest directly on the foot piece rather than being bolted to the side.
- Portability is excellent. Users can move the equipment with ease, saying that Universal is not heavy to lift.
- Upholstery comfort. The five-inch foam padding is comfortable and not too thick and hard to hurt your shoulder blades.
- The back support is neat. It’s suitable to be used by tall or short people.
- Stability is alright. It can handle casual weightlifting but has limits against heavy lifting.
What we didn't like:
- Foam rollers for the legs. It pops off now and then.
- The angles are a bit awkward. Some body types can’t handle the positions the weight bench has at -10, 0, 15, 30, and 45 degrees.
- It wobbles for HIIT. Some high-intensity workout regimens are not accepted by the bench and can go wobbly in a second. Go slow.
- Vinyl cover for upholstery. Quickly get worn because it’s thin.
- Knobs for the pads. It moves around.
This weight bench can be for home gyms and professional use. Rep has a thick 2.5" pad with vinyl covers. The solid steel ladder has seven positions users can adjust from 85 degrees incline to negative 20 degrees decline. It has wheels for easy transport.
What we like:
- Padded material is thick, firm and comfortable. It’s comfortable according to the users and takes away back pains
- The bench height is good for tall and short people. Proper height can save a lot of strains not only in the back but at the neck area and your glutes
- Ladders are in solid steel. It’s strong, sturdy and keeps you in place. It won’t be wobbling any time yet
- Leg rollers are nice and covered. It protects them from sweat and users can clean it quickly
- The bench is wide yet secure. While most adjustable benches have small back cushions, the Rep is wide and hits the shoulder blades correctly
What we didn't like:
- Foot holders are far. The design is a bit complicated to other people who wanted to secure or rest their feet
- Assembly for the solid pieces was challenging. The metal frames can’t be assembled easily
- Rollers are closer to the seat. It’s a bit awkward to the knees
- No rubber padding on feet. Highly depending on the surface, the seat can move and slide
- Loud clanking sounds when adjusting. The metals creak loud once you modify the angles.Generally speaking, the bench gives off that professional feeling like you’re just using one at the gym
Conclusion
Conclusion
And the best adjustable weight bench is the Fitness Reality 1000 Super Max Adjustable Weight Bench! It can handle both beginner and heavy duty workouts and is a lot durable as it can last for years as well.
The back support, though narrow, helps you to align your body and do the workout properly. The foam is thick and can ease the shoulder blades. It’s light in weight, making it easy to move around.
If you’re looking for something conducive to your workout regimen, going from slow to pro, Fitness Reality might be worth the shot.
