BowFlex Weight Bench Series

I'm 6'3" and around 225 pounds. Key thing is the backrest is tall enough to support my head with room to spare in all 3 positions. Seat and backrest width are perfect, wide enough for good support, but doesn't get in the way during any workout. The fit and finish is fantastic and is a good looking bench, wasn't difficult to assemble using basic garage tools. It is very sturdy and doesn't instill any doubt, no rattles or creaks. Go to town chest pressing with 45lb dumb bells and the bench will keep up, never makes you worry about falling apart. The seat and backrest are attached to the frame in the middle long-wise only. No issues if you keep yourself centered, definitely not for "box jumping/stepping" type workouts. I just wouldn't sit off to one side (no reason to anyways form or safety wise) or press too hard with your support hand doing one arm bent over rows on the bench. Not that it's flimsy in any way, but I think this would cause stress over time on the threaded inserts on bottom side of the seat pad as well as the seat itself. It was well worth the slight premium for a longer backrest and the support rod mechanism to adjust its position. Very simple to use, doesn't require any locking pins or any screwing of anything. I've found the leg attachment comfortable to use and functional when doing decline work. My knee/calf/shin all line up where they should be to support myself in the decline without any pain or awkwardness. I don't see the need for an adjustable seat, but this one is fixed and doesn't move if that's a consideration for you. This bench has a slightly larger footprint than most due to its u-shaped support legs. It's a great bench and terrific value for the features it has. I've got no complaints or regrets about this purchase. Bought on Amazon, can't beat the super quick and free shipping.

My biggest question when buying a bench or any piece of exercise equipment is, "Will it be big enough for me?" At 6-3 255, this can be a problem. Seems exercise companies these days think only small people work out! I bought this along with the 552 dumbbells and stand. I found that this bench, just like the stand was much easier to assemble than some reviews say. The only part I had trouble with was putting the seat on, which can be explained by my body size. I'm sure there is a better way to do it, but I just picked it up and sat it on a table and put the seat on that way, instead of laying in the floor, cursing the little guy that decided to make this seat require me being under it to install the seat. Trust me, that is part of the fun! All of the instructions were clear, and it really wasn't that much that needed to be assembled. The parts as packaged, the seat, the back rest pad, the front stabilizer, the rear stabilizer and the rest was assembled. Well except the leg hold downs, which only requires sliding a pin and bar through a hole and putting the pads on each side. You bolt the main part to the rear stabilizer, then the front stabilizer, bolt the back pad and seat on and that is it. For a few measurements, and why I am more than impressed with this bench. The seat at its widest point is 15 inches wide, at the front (under your thighs in incline) and 12 inches wide at its most narrow point. The back rest is also 12 inches wide. The back rest is nearly 3 inches thick and the seat is a little over 3 inches thick. The material used in the frame is very sturdy. It says 300 pound user with 300 pounds of weights, can be supported and I believe it. The construction and design itself is excellent. What I did was pull the stand in front of the leg end of the bench. It is narrow enough to fit that way, with the stand and dumbbells right in front of you when you sit down. The incline is also very easy to use. You just slide the bar (that you can see in the picture) it has wheels on the bar and each setting has a gate/wall that the wheels stop at. That is it. No more pulling pins out, turning hex wrenches, or anything like that. Mainly what I am saying is that I am an old school lifter that is used to narrow benches that require work to adjust during the workouts, this bench takes all of that extra work out of it and it looks nice as well. Looks aren't a big deal, but trying to convince my wife that I really need this bench in the garage, near her artwork, made the looks matter! I also have reviews of the stand and dumbbells up, so check those out too. I'm very pleased with all 3 and recommend each of them as highly as possible.

I love this bench. I bought it knowing full well that there would be about a 2 inch gap between the seat cushions, plus the wheels aren't all that useful - but I would still buy this again. The number of angles, quick change, quality of fake-leather, foot rest, sturdiness, and build quality are fantastic. It took me about an hour to put together (while watching TV too). It was easy. I do recommend checking all the bolts that come pre-done from the factory - I found many that could be tightened down - that would probably help with any wobbling that people mention. The bench is stable, people have reported that the feet get in the way of your feet, but it's not as bad as people make it sound. You can put your feet on top if you want, or like me my feet normally sit in front of those support legs so they don't get in my way (I'm 6'). This isn't a gym, the bench is not bolted to the floor so it needs to have support legs. The incline and decline is just great - I did sit-ups on the bench and killed my abs for days (yeah, I was a bit out of practice). There is the crevice between the bench and back rest which can be annoying, but I think it is worth the trade off to get a bench of this quality and versatility at this price. I did what another reviewer suggested and just have a rolled up towel that I place in the crevice for certain exercises (like sit-ups). The last thing is the wheels for moving it - due to the adjustable rubber feet that allow you to fine tune wobbling issues on a hard surface, you have to lift this bench straight up so the feet are pointing at the ceiling before you can roll it on the wheels. I'm on carpet, so the rubber adjustable feet drag on the carpet. I guess it would be good to see if the Bowflex engineers could figure out how to put bigger wheels on that without hurting the stability of the bench. Either way, it isn't that big of a deal - you can lift and roll it, you can just drag it, or could even just pick it up and move it.

After ordering the Cap Barbell Fitness FID Bench which was less than half the price and probably the most poorly constructed piece of equipment I've ever encountered I sent it back and sprung for the slightly more expensive Bowflex bench. I was looking for something with a small footprint but still sturdy enough for rugged use. This was it. Assembly was really pretty simple and almost nothing to it. Essentially all you're doing is screwing on the padded parts and putting the foam on the leg brace. Everything else is pre-assembled. It was straight forward and easy enough. I would say be sure to get all your screws started before tightening them all the way. This will allow you some wiggle room to line up the screws as you go. I've used it for month now and had very little problems. The construction is solid and seems very well made. I even step up onto the bench when doing legs and it's plenty solid (including the padding taking the abuse from my shoes). The bar that sits in the notches to hold the bench up is a little flimsy between settings. It has rollers to slide up and down but you really have to make sure visually that it gets into the appropriate slot because if it wiggles to the left or the right it will ride the side of the notch and roll out from under you (causing it to crash down and be generally annoying to anyone else in the area). Once you get that bit figured out though it's fine. If it's notched correctly it holds my 165lb frame and 110lbs worth of free weights fine. It doesn't stow away as the frame is pretty much one solid piece but if you have a wall you can just slide it against it's not bad. It's a little over 4ft long and 2ft at the widest on the base. It has wheels on one side allowing you to pick up one end and roll it around for positioning and it's light enough to easily just move it around the room even without the wheels if you need. The leg brace is easily removable with a slide pin and I tend not to use it very much as it just kind of gets in my way. I don't do sit ups on it so I can't really speak to the experience. It's a good solid middle of the road bench as far as price and construction and I like it a lot.

This is a very nice bench by any standards and as other reviews mention, it was very easy to put together. The instructions are well-written, the diagrams clear and the whole thing is well-engineered and heavy duty construction. The manual says it can hold a 300lb. person plus 300lbs. or weight and I don't doubt that at all. It is also very easy to adjust and doesn't have a lot of little parts. It took me about 50 minutes to assemble it and I went very slowly. It is true that there are only four positions you can use on this bench, but for most people that is plenty. Also, it is a perfect product to use with a dumbbell workout. If you go this route, I recommend either Pair of Personal PowerBlock Adjustable Dumbbells - 5-45 Pounds in 5 Pound Increments or PowerBlock SportBlock Dumbbell Set . These adjustable dumbbells are rugged, less expensive than other brands and the safest that I know of. Some other details about the bench... the material is a medium thick vinyl and mine came with a 1 inch tear. I did not consult customer support yet, but I will update this review to reflect my experience of them when I do. I think a better material and padding would improve the product overall, but at this price point I think it's plenty rugged. If you get this bench, you can eventually get a power rack that can be used with your bench and as a squat/deadlift rack. One that I like is Phys-x Half Rack 10418 , but you there are others depending upon your needs. If you are new (or old) to this type of training, I recommend Build Muscle Lose Fat Look Great: Everything You Need to Know to Transform Your Body and Starting Strength . These are probably the ONLY two books most people will ever need on strength training, building mass, etc. They are BOTH dense with great information systematically laid out. I have other suggestions on my listmania lists, check my profile if you are interested. I also reviewed most of the adjustable dumbells on available on here.

This review is for the stowable bench. I bought this bench over a month ago: the long wait due to COVID-19 was well worth it. I received it yesterday and assembled it the same day. The assembly was straightforward and foolproof, all parts were accounted for and the instructions were easy to use; assembly time was about 30-45 minutes while taking my time. This bench is definitely high quality, but just under “gym quality”. The frame is sturdy solid steel and won’t be buckling anytime soon. One gripe is the quality of the backrest and seat. Although it is VERY sturdy, you can see the interior is plywood and covered with foam and a quality faux-leather covering. I have used it twice and have been pleasantly surprised and very pleased. The other gripe is that it is made in China. This may not matter to most, but after paying over $300, you would think it was made in the USA. aside from that, The knob assembly allows for you to easily adjust the back support and seat in seconds. Stowing it away is literally one touch and you are able to move it from one area to the next with little to no difficulty; the wheels ease the transition by rolling well. Space saving was the main reason for buying this version and it does not disappoint. Time will tell about its longevity, but I am glad I spent the money on this series. I also own the Bowflex Dial dumbbells with stand and have had zero complaints. I’d look to buy this brand again in the future. Money well spent. If I run into any issues in the future, I’ll update this review.

I recently purchased the Bowflex SelectTech 552 Adjustable Dumbbells (Pair) on a lightening deal along with the Bowflex SelectTech 552 / 1090 Dumbbell...

After about 5 uses this seems to be a good quality bench. I will try to include in my review the information that I both found useful when i was shopping for benches, as well as, information I wished I'd had. For reference I am 5'9" and about 175lbs. Pros: - The bench is a good fit for someone my size. - The back rest is plenty long (~33") and not too wide (~13" at it's widest) and the height of the bench is about 18" (when flat). - The seat is comfortable as well although some might find it to be a bit too deep (~17"). It is about 15" wide at the end and tapers down to about 12". - Padding seems to be high density, good quality padding. - Assembly was easy and all the holes lined up fine. Took me about 25 minutes to put it together. - The bench does come with the leg pad which you really do need (see below re: the lack of seat tilt). Cons (although some are minor and other are compensated for): - The seat on this bench does not tilt. Result is that when you have the bench inclined (especially the middle incline) you end up having to fight to not slide down/off the seat. Hence the need for the leg pad. - When in the flat or declined position the gap between the back and the seat is pretty big (about 4" when declined, slightly less when flat). This gap is less noticeable when inclined. In complete contrast, when you go to put the back in the upright position, you have to push the back against the resistance of it meeting the against the seat. - The wheels are kind of useless on plush carpet. Other: - The material feels to be typical material that you would find on a bench at a gym so it seems it will be fairly durable although I cannot attest to that as I have not had the bench for that long and, as I mentioned initially, have only used it about 5 times. Overall my initial impression is that this will be a good quality long lasting bench.