A weightlifting bench is an essential piece of equipment every home gym should have. They are integral for exercises that form part of most strength training programs, including bench presses and shoulder presses. Your weightlifting bench is something you will use in most sessions, and it plays an important role in supporting you while you lift (potentially) hundreds of kilos over your body! While you can get away with going cheap on some parts of your home gym, we do not recommend skimping out on your bench. This guide sets out what to look out for when picking a quality bench for your home gym. The first thing to consider is what type of bench are you going to buy – a flat bench or an adjustable bench. 

Different types of benches

First let's give a brief overview of the two main different types of bench:

• Adjustable weight bench. Referred to as an FID bench, which stands for flat, incline, decline.
• Flat weight bench. A flat bench is just that – flat. The seat/padding is a single piece that does not move and cannot incline or decline.

As one of the core pieces of your home gym, the last thing you want is a flimsy bench that feels like it could fold in two while going for your record bench press.

The weight rating for benches includes your own body weight. Make sure you take this into account when choosing your weight bench! We recommend selecting a bench with a weight rating well above your max bench press plus your body weight. Adjustable benches tend to break if you are pushing their weight limit.

Some companies are conservative with their weight rating, while others might really push the limit. Make sure you look at the actual physical weight of the bench – this provides an indication of how stable a bench will be.

From our experience, you wouldn't want an adjustable bench much lighter than our home adjustable bench, which weighs 23kg. Anything less and you may feel it wobble/move when lifting heavier weights. We also would not recommend going for a foldable bench! While they might be a space saver, you will inevitably end up upgrading for a more stable piece of equipment. At VULCAN we offer the following adjustable benches:

The padding can sometimes seem like an afterthought when choosing a weight bench. However, it can be the make or break between a good and a bad bench. Make sure you look at the thickness and type of padding! Generally, you want between 5cm – 7.5cm of high-density foam to ensure you are comfortable lifting. If the padding is too soft it may feel unstable, while if it is too thin it can make lifting uncomfortable.

At VULCAN, our benches all use high-density foam with a thickness between 5-7cm. Our Commercial adjustable bench is 5cm for a slightly harder bench, while our Pro and FID benches have 7cm of padding.  

Upholstery is also an overlooked feature. Our VULCAN benches are made of super grippy vinyl, which means that you won’t slide around while performing your exercise. Poor-quality upholstery will also wear/disintegrate quickly. It is better to choose a quality bench that you won’t have to reupholster again and again over its’ life!

Some benches on the market come with a range of additional attachments, such as added leg extensions or preacher curl attachments. In our experience, these attachments are often expensive and clunky to use. You are better off buying a standalone machine or substituting other exercises into your workout routine, rather than looking for a bench that supposedly comes with all the bells and whistles but ends up doing nothing well. 

If you have chosen an adjustable bench to train with, there are also several additional factors to look out for.

a) Leg holders. A lot of adjustable weight benches come with a leg holder. This helps keep you in place while doing decline or core movements. However, if they are not adjustable or removable, they can often get in the way and just become plain annoying when doing other exercises. Make sure you look for a bench where the foot rollers can be adjusted or removed. You can adjust the height/position of the leg rollers on the VULCAN FID Bench and VULCAN Home Gym Bench.

We hope this guide has given you some useful information when choosing your weight bench! If you have any questions or comments, please feel reach out to our team at support@vulcanfitness.com.au