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Equipment
2020 Best Weight Bench For Home Workouts
03
Jan
Jan
Many of us enjoy the privacy of working out in our own home gym. There is no waiting in line for equipment and we can blast whatever music we want – and it’s available 24/7. Because many exercises require you to lie down, a weight bench is one of the most essential pieces of equipment that needs to be present in any home gym. That’s why we’re going over the best weight bench for home use.
Getting an adjustable weight bench will provide you plenty of options for hitting all your muscles, and no full-body workout can be complete without it. A good weight bench can be used with dumbbells, cages, and multiple add-on attachments to optimize your training.
This guide will help you narrow down the choices for finding the best weight bench for home.
Comparison chart for the best home weight bench
Weight Bench Model | Weight Limit | Adjustability | Price | Assembly | Rating(out of 5) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bowflex SelectTech 3.1 Adjustable Bench  | 480 lbs | 4 positions (including decline) | $$ | Do it yourself | 4.5 | Find Cheapest Price |
BodySolid GFID225  | 1000 lbs | 7 different adjustment positions (including decline) | $$ | Fully Assembled | 4.5 | Find Cheapest Price |
XMark Fitness Commercial XM-7472  | 1500 lbs | 7 different adjustment positions (including decline) | $$$ | Do it yourself | 4.5 | Find Cheapest Price |
Universal 5 Position Weight Bench by Nautilus  | 430 lbs | 5 positions (including decline) | $ | Do it yourself | 4.5 | Find Cheapest Price |
Marcy Adjustable Utility Bench - SB670  | 300 lbs | 6 positions on the backrest and 3 on your seat | $ | Do it yourself | 4 | Find Cheapest Price |
PowerBlock Sport Bench  | 550 lbs | 5 position back pad adjustment (no decline) | $$ | Almost fully assembled | 4.5 | Find Cheapest Price |
Scroll down to see each of these weight benches in more detail.
Why do I need an adjustable weight bench?
Having the ability to adjust the position of your weight bench will help you tremendously in building a better body. Think about the bench press, and how would you target every muscle fiber in your chest? The answer is quite simple, by changing the angle of benching whether on incline or decline.
Important weight bench features
Safety
One of the downsides of working out at home is that you’ll most probably be alone.
Thinking about your safety when handling heavy weights should be one of your top priorities. Weight benches with racks offer the safest experience due to their safety catch. When benching heavy weights, you’d at least have a place to rack your barbell in case no spotters are available to help you.
Adjustability
The ability to change the angle of your bench will provide you with multiple options to hit your desired muscle groups.
Selecting a bench that has more than 2 adjustments will probably give you the best experience and will keep you from purchasing extra pieces of equipment in the future.
The most popular settings on a bench are flat, 45-degree incline and 30-degree for decline. The angles in between will deliver an engaging way to challenge your muscles and hitting them from every possible angle.
Quality
Just like your home furniture, buying a piece of equipment for your home gym should be durable.
The best weight bench for home is supposed to last you a few years easily, if not a decade. Aside from longevity, the better quality benches will provide you with better stability – you don’t want a wobbly bench when you’re trying to hit your next PR.
Keywords here are steel and heavy-gauge tubing. Most brands will also specify the weight load that their bench is supposed to endure, so depending on your lifting level, you might want to get something that will be able to support it. We compare the weight limits in the comparison table above.
Style
The choices here are very straightforward: the two options are utility and benches equipped with racks.
Utility benches are mostly used by those who prefer some dumbbell work, or the ones who don’t plan on moving heavy weight. Utility benches can also be adjustable, which is always a plus in our books.
Now at a higher price range, you can get a bench equipped with racks. You’ve definitely seen those in gyms; they are the one with an added catch on the sides to rack up your barbell at the end of a lift.
One could argue about barbells vs. dumbbells and what’s the best method of training, but to make it easy for you, if you plan on using barbells, it’s good to invest in a bench with racks.
Space efficiency
The most expensive commodity we have is floor space, and that’s a major consideration before setting up your home gym. Luckily, weight- benches available in the market are compact and designed in a way that doesn’t hog floor space.
Certain models have a folding mechanism that’s very useful for storage or for the purpose of moving them from one place to another. Of course, if you picked a weight bench with a rack, it will definitely take up more storage space as few if not none of them can be folded.
Weights
Buying the weights is usually the first step in the transition to a home gym. Here, regardless of the type of bench you picked, compatibility with the weights present at your house is essential.
With dumbbells(our favorites), it’s a simple and easy choice since they could never go wrong coupled with a utility bench. But if you have picked a bench with racks – the length of your barbell must be compatible with the length of your rack as it should fit in it and have some extra length on the sides or else that safety catch is useless.
Upholstery
You might think that building a home gym and checking padding and fabric is kind of an oxymoron, but believe me buying a weight bench with cheap or thin padding will soon make you regret not paying attention to this.
Your back will thank you for picking a minimum of a 1-inch thickness of upholstery on your bench. Now the best weight benches for home will also have their upholstery sewed on with a box stitch. That is one of the small factors that can elongate the lifespan of your weight bench.
Add-ons
Some benches come with extra add-ons such as leg curl attachments or even hamstrings extensions, other will have some type of high pulley stations for back exercises and/or triceps pushdowns.
Although for many these types of add-ons can save space by combining many exercise equipment in one, I personally prefer my weight benches to perform their task exclusively.
A closer look at the top home gym workout benches
Bowflex SelectTech 3.1 Adjustable Bench
One of the best-selling standard adjustable benches is the Bowflex SelectTech 3.1 and for a good reason – you will get a weight bench that has four different angles, 45 degrees, 90 degrees, flat and decline, equipped with a leg hold-down brace for additional support when you are performing decline exercises – all for under $150.
This bench is easy to assemble. The maximum weight capacity is 480 lbs and it’s built out of steel to provide a longer lifespan.
Changing angles is easy and the manufacturer provides a 15-Year warranty on frame and a one-year warranty on upholstery.
BodySolid GFID225
A minimalistic design with a folding capability makes the GFID225 an excellent choice for those looking to maximize their space usage. This provides more positions than the Bowflex 3.1, with seven different angles supported by solid oval tubing.
The selling point of the BodySolid GFID225 is that it comes with a lifetime warranty that promises to cover everything forever.
Built-in wheels make transport fast and easy, and the weight capacity on this solid bench is 1000 lbs.
XMark Fitness Commercial XM-7472
If you’re looking for the best weight bench for home then most definitely the Xmark XM-7472 has popped into most of your search results.
Unlike most competitors in the market, the design of this bench is made of rectangular steel and 3” thick pads.
You have the choice of 7 different adjustment positions for your back coupled with a weight limit of 1500 lbs. The seat can also be moved around and you get three different positions.
Add-ons to the XM-7472 are a popular choice amongst customers, mainly those providing some leg work like the Curl Attachment and the Leg Extension Leg Curl Attachment.
If you’re looking for a durable and sturdy bench that is aesthetically pleasing and you don’t mind paying a little bit extra, then the XM-7472 is a great choice.
Universal 5 Position Weight Bench by Nautilus
We’ve been mentioning specs, high weight limits, and add-ons but for those of you looking for a simple and durable entry level weight bench, then the Universal 5 Nautilus is one of our favorites.
The name tells it all; five different positions including a modest decline option is available here. Whilst not very suitable for those looking to lift very heavy weights, the Universal 5 can still hold up to 430lbs of weight.
Stabilizers are present to prevent wobbling and a very good padding makes a comfortable usage of this cheaply priced bench.
One thing to keep in mind is that you have to assemble this bench yourself, but rest assured, it comes with all the necessary wrenches and tools to complete that.
Marcy Adjustable Utility Bench – SB670
Another fabulous option for entry-level weight benches is the Marcy Adjustable Utility Bench.
Six angles on the backrest and three positions on your seat provide you with plenty of exercise options to hit those muscles well. The SB670 is foldable for quick transport and storage and has a weight capacity of 300lbs.
We like the 14-inch gauge steel used for the frame and the fact that it is powder coated as a rust-prevention measure. The upholstery is comfortable for the price range offered, and like other budget weight benches, it’s up to you to assemble it after purchase.
There’s no leg support here, so decline benching might need some extra balance from your side.
PowerBlock Sport Bench
Another great mid-range bench is the PowerBlock Sport Bench.
It’s solid, adjustable, and super comfortable thanks to the great designers that reduced the size of the gap between the seat and backrest compared to many other benches.
For the average lifter, a weight limit of 550 lbs is more than enough to stay with you for years to come.
The cushions are aesthetically pleasing and made out of self-skimmed foam which means durability. An extra dip attachment is available here, but for an extra $60. No decline option on the Poweblock sport bench but apart from this, it ticks almost all the essential features.
Wrapping things up + our #1 pick for the best weight bench for home use
These were our top recommendations for you to pick whichever suits your needs.
If we had to make a choice, we would easily go for the Xmark Fitness XM-7472.
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Even though it’s on the higher price range, the best weight bench for home use is supposed to be durable, adjustable, and safe and can hold weight. Building a safe and durable home gym is a long-term investment for most, so it makes sense to pick a quality product for an important piece of equipment such as the weight bench.
