Weight Bench Series

Purchased this bench as part of the beginnings of putting together a home gym. We're short on space, so it was important that it had a small footprint. Assembly was relatively straightforward, and if you can put together a small Lego set then this should be a breeze for you. Total assembly took about 30 minutes, and you'll want a knife or a pair of scissors to work through the packaging. Allen keys to assemble everything are included. During assembly, the "heavy-duty-ness" of the frame was apparent, and I wouldn't hesitate to load this bench up with the recommended max weight (person plus weights) of 600 pounds. Once assembled and flat, it does take up some real estate; in the stowed position, that's cut down to about 1/3rd. In the fully declined position with seat lifted, decline sit-ups feel just right with the ankle bar. The flat position is rock-solid when doing bench presses, and it's very nice to have several options for incline. The mechanism for raising/lowering the bench is a spring loaded "pull pin" type which allows the upright support arm to glide easily up and down the floor leg - no grinding or scraping sensations. Once your desired position is selected, you can allow the pin to pop in place which fully secures the back rest. Optionally, you can twist the same handle to lock the support arm and leg together to eliminate any play between them. The seat has two position options, flat of course, and then raised. In the raised position, it's high enough to fully prevent sliding down the seat when doing incline work but not so high as to be distracting. With the seat raised, it's also set at the same angle as the backrest when fully lowered, providing for a great base for decline work or for decline crunches/sit-ups. The seat mechanism is simple. Lift the seat up to lock it into the up position. Lift a small red lever to allow the seat to drop back down to the flat position. The rounded edge of the seat has plenty of flex to it, almost like I'm sitting down in my favorite recliner at first. I worry that this flex may lead to long term wear and tear issues, but without knowing the internal design of the cushion (no, I'm not tearing it apart) I have no evidence to suggest that my worries are true. The ankle holders are foam, not super soft, and they seem like they'll hold up for a good while - time will tell on both items. The ankle holder folds up for storage, but the mechanism which allows it to fold up also allows for some free play. You can get it to rattle quite a bit and make some noise if you grab it and shake it, though good security of the mechanism is apparent, and I expect it to be very reliable. The feet of the bench are adjustable, so if you don't have a perfectly flat floor, it will allow you to compensate. Some have indicated that the gap between the back rest and the seat is very wide. There is truth to that; the gap is 4" when the bench is fully flat and 2" at a 45 degree incline and raised seat. At a 90 degree incline, the back meets the seat. It would have been possible for Bowflex to eliminate this gap, but it would have required a much more complex mechanism resulting in either a higher cost or a lower quality product. To be honest, I find that my butt rests perfectly in the gap on a flat bench when my ankles are under the ankle supports which allows the back rest to provide support to the arch of my back, sort of like how a good car seat provides just that little bit of much needed support. Because the seat is roomy though, there is some space to move around a little bit, perhaps to locate the gap directly under the arch of my back, but there was no way that I could completely eliminate the feeling of the gap. The best that I could actually come to getting a "gapless" sensation was to actually lie on the bench backwards with my head on the seat and spanning the gap with my neck, though even that wasn't perfect. If you require a bench with minimal gap, definitely look elsewhere. Beyond that, the quality of the material looks solid, and I'm not worried that I'll damage the upholstery. It also looks very sharp. Oh, when it's on the casters, it doesn't *quite* fit through a standard 30" doorway unless the door opens a full 180 degrees. The total width of those legs is probably 28 1/4" wide. If you can turn it and pick it up though, not a problem.

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.

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.

رائع في الثبات والتمرين والتخزين

Delivered earlier than expected. Easy to assemble with supplied tools. Good quality, but waiting to see how it performs after a few weeks use.

This bench is of outstanding quality at the present price point (and I paid $40 more than the current, recently-reduced price of $159). The most common problems with inexpensive benches are (1) size (too small), (2) poor workmanship, (3) instability, (4) limited features, and (5) difficult to assemble. This bench has NONE of those problems. This bench is very heavy duty, stable, well-made and easy to adjust. There is a more expensive version with an additional two positions, for which can't see any real need. This one gives you decline, flat, 45° and upright. At this price, for almost everybody, this is probably the bench to buy. If there is any downside, the seat is quite large, and for smaller people, it's going to feel like sitting in the king's chair. Additionally, the seat does not lift up, which could be a concern for some users. I have to make some adjustments in my body position to accommodate the large seat (it is both long and wide), but the absence of a seat lift has not proved a problem for me so far. I do about a dozen exercises on the bench, and it's sufficiently stable to do off-centre core work (legs up and to side, for example), as well as traditional dumbbell work. I will also be using this for bench press, though I haven't set it up yet. I keep the leg hold-down brace on all the time. So far, it hasn't gotten in the way of what I do.

Le Banc de musculation Bowflex SelectTech 5.1S est une excellente option pour un home gym, offrant à la fois robustesse et praticité. Sa construction solide et stable assure une utilisation sécurisée pour une variété d'exercices de musculation. La capacité de ce banc à se ranger à la verticale est un véritable atout pour ceux qui disposent de peu d'espace, permettant de le ranger facilement après chaque séance d'entraînement. Le banc est également conçu pour s'adapter à une grande variété de tailles et de morphologies. Grâce à ses dimensions généreuses, même les personnes de grande taille peuvent s'entraîner confortablement sans avoir la tête dans le vide, un problème courant avec de nombreux autres bancs de musculation. Le Bowflex SelectTech 5.1S offre plusieurs positions réglables, permettant de varier les angles de travail pour cibler différents groupes musculaires. Que vous souhaitiez effectuer des exercices en incliné, décliné ou à plat, ce banc s'adapte à vos besoins pour un entraînement complet et efficace. En résumé, le Bowflex SelectTech 5.1S est un choix idéal pour ceux qui cherchent un banc de musculation fiable et bien conçu pour leur salle de sport à domicile. Sa combinaison de compacité, de solidité et de fonctionnalités adaptables en fait un investissement précieux pour tout amateur de fitness.

El banco es perfecto, muy fácil de montar y robusto, muy buena calidad, después de buscar muchos bancos al final he acertado y encima con los prime days me salió por 200€, también recalcar que la entrega era para el martes y me llegó el sábado, antes de lo esperado! :)