Review by Navster:

Brought this bench, took about 40 mins to put together at a slow pace. Very easy to put together. For the price it is fantastic, with the ability to go from flat to incline/vertical easily and having a max of 200KG.

Its light to move out of the cage at will but still very sturdy. The bolt that holds the seat in place is a little stiff, but nothing a little oil couldnt fix.

The seat is very slightly off centre, but its more a cosmetic issue rather than practical, and you really have to be fussy to notice it or let it bother you.

Its not the widest of benches nor the thinnest, for me at 11.5 stone 5ft 8, its perfect and a fantastic bargain/buy in such credit crunch enviroments.

Review by Soupy:

As others have already said…. this is an excellent bench.

I was looking for a heavy duty flat bench when I spotted this offering from York.

It’s easy to put together and feels very solid when lifting heavy.

Adjustment is easy and fast and the bench feels very solid during use.

The thick padding is comfortable and the vinyl covering should last a long time.

It’s a surprisingly compact bench and it can be tucked in a corner on it’s end when not in use.

In short… this bench is a bargain.

(£59.99 from Lloyds pharmacy… just sayin)

Review by J. R. Mahoney:

It’s not hugely sturdy (i do heavy bench singles and lockouts with a rack but don’t fancy doing anything over 120kg with this) and doesn’t decline very well, neither does it go completely flat (with any decent level of support). It’s a lot of hassle altering the angle of the bench but that comes with the territory of a home bench this price.

For £40-odd this isn’t bad i guess if you’re a casual trainee and don’t mind that it screams “cheap”, but personally i’m regretting not spending the extra £30 and getting the far superior York 13 in 1. Bit of a false economy so it was my fault entirely.

Review by Ian Kidd:

Bought this dumbell bench on Amazon and it turned up as a flat pack only a few days later. It took me about 30 mins to assemble. The bench itself is excellent for the price and is ideal for the fairly light dumbell and barbell weights that I want to use in conjunction with it.

This bench is not as solid and sturdy as say the type you would use in a typical gym. But then you are getting this particular bench for only £35 including postage – great value.

My particular training regime includes plenty of aerobic exercise which I supplement with some work on the weights. For this type of lightish weight training this bench can’t be bettered.

If I were into the more serious (and heavier) weight training I would be looking at the more expensive and sturdy weights benches.

Review by muscle monkey:

It’s difficult to see from the pictures what your getting isn’t it? When you open your box you’ll see instantly that you have bought quality. This bench comes more or less fully assembled and is ready to use within 2 miinutes. It is thickly padded and comfortable to lie/sit on, without bottoming out (I’m 14.5 stone). It is also made of heavy guage metal, finished it a hammered grey, which looks good, and feels robust. Whilst doing the exercises, even hyper-extensions it felt secure and stable. The adjustments are reasonably easy to make, using either slot in or screw in pins, but knowing where to adjust takes a bit of practice. However it does come with a good manual which tells you which pin holes to use to get the position you want. The positions yo can get are, flat, incline, decline and hyper-extension/preacher board, the other 8 positions are degrees of adjustment within these opsitions.

Review by Rob:

I bought this bench as I’m limited on space in my garage/home gym and needed a more versatile bench that could offer more than the usual inline/decline bench features. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the quality and robustness of this bench as mentioned by other reviewers, it’s really solid. The additional positions that it offers such as hyper extensions is fantastic. The alternative for this exercise is to buy a roman chair which is probably double the price of this bench alone! Ignore any comments that it’s difficult to change the positions. You can simply move each bolt by hand with no need for tools. You also wont need to consult the manual after completing a couple of workouts as all you need to remember is for example: incline bench is bolt positions B-X-3, decline is A-Y-2 etc etc.

Overall I’m really impressed with my purchase and the bench has exceeded my expectations.

If you’re in the market to buy a new DB bench you should seriously consider this.

Review by Mark Twain:

This product is of extremely low quality, the weight supports are too narrow for even a slender person to fit between. The bench press can not be used in conjunction with the fly attachment as it gets in the way as the bar is lowered. The bench is very short and the seat is dangerousy unstable. I don’t know what they were thinking when they designed the leg curlers, maybe they tested it with someone that had an extra joint in both legs. This ‘thing’ should not exist, if you are thinking about buying it for yourself or anyone else please don’t ruin yours or their day and waste a considerable amount of money in the mean time.

Review by Mr. Colin P. Bowley:

delivery was great didn’t take long. all the parts were there which is always good ha .. but the main point is to be strong and stable and it isn’t. you can tighten as much as you like and it still rocks tighten any more and the metal bends in so you stuck.. i am going to get the main connections wielded by a friend .. and even if your a girl its no good to much of a mess on to put the fly’s on and you have to take them off to bench press .. in all very unstable and poor

Review by Alex Maceachern:

I bought this bench maybe 9 months ago,it wasnt too tough to build(took me a couple hours I think),I wanted a bench that would fold up so I could put it away when I was done,its got a weight limit of 200kg(including user)which is better than the 150kg you will find on alot of benches.I think you want a minimum of 200kg(however I’ve heard benches are tested to withstand more than double their suggested maximum before showing signs of fatigue),The leg extension has a 30kg limit which is alright but you will probably out grow as I have.

Mine has started to wobble abit,since it only has one support at the front as alot of benches do.When I use it outside I’m sometimes not on the most even of ground(like a sloping drive way) and it has tryed to tip over when I’ve been doing leg curls(my fault for putting it on grass).

over than the front end become slightly wobbly when you have 30kg on the end,its a sturdy bench.Perfect for bench pressing(obviously)and other exercises,I’ve bench pressed over 100kg on this bench without a creak from it(well maybe a little one).

It folds up very quickly you just have to undo a couple of bolts and put the bar through the back to hold it up(the first times I didnt do which caused it to fall over by itself later on) which all in all takes about 30 seconds and you’re done.For the money you can’t knock it.

Review by Jimmy C:

I’ve had this bench for ages, what a waste of money. It feels badly made, and shakes considerably when using heavier weights. The height off the ground, and the poor build quality, makes dumbbell exercises feel very unsafe. A dumbbell bench would always be a more suitable purchase. The leg curls and extensions have low maximum weights you can use, and make a hell of a lot of noise if you don’t really gently return the weights to the starting position. Also as has been mentioned, you cant do incline press because the arms aren’t adjustable, you would have the bar going across your face/neck. Poor design. Get a good dumbbell bench, and if you want to train your legs, squat and dead-lift.

Review by Wendy:

Came in one big box and was very straight forward to assemble, taking about an hour or so. This bench is very well built, and feels very stable. Out of the many benches out there this bench actually has a DECLINE on it! Very hard to find! It also has 3 levels of incline and a flat position as well. You can add various accessories to it making it a very versatile bench. I am very happy I bought this product and would reccomend it to anyone.

Review by fiferunner:

well built with the plenty of room between head and bar even at highest incline which can be a problem on other benches. bonus of being able to add on curl attachment and lat pull doen.

Review by Kit:

Deceptively good buy, surprisingly sturdy, although the butterflys aren’t great (hold only 15kg each) and could get in the way of bench presses but can be removed or placed on the other side of the uprights. Handy (or footy) foot exercising bit too, but basicaly this is the best value bench for us bedroom bodybuilders (btw www.argos.co.uk has it at £39.99 plus £4.99 delivery!) I cannot pretend that its a good bench for serious bodybuilders, but for most guys at home it will do the job, and will work out much cheaper than a gym membership!

Recommended as an entry level bench.

Review by Tommy W:

I am very pleased with the york bench I have purchased and I recommend it will be one of the best things you buy too. I am 24 and just starting to weight train properly and it means I can do it whenever I fancy without having to take the time to drive to a gym messing about in changing rooms etc.

Only recommendation I would make is save yourself some money and don’t buy a bench with the flys on the side. I read a few reviews saying they get in the way of bench presses and they do. Not only that, when you use the flys, the arc that they travel in do not match the natural arc of your arms during the exercise so you don’t work the right muscle group properly. Its not hard to do flys manually with your own dumbells either is it, so its a lot easier to do them youself lying on the bench.

Hope that helps. Highly recommend the york benches. Very sturdy and comfortable.

Review by S. S. Noronha:

Although not pricey at all, the product is pretty much substandard, the padding/foam is ridiculously nimble and will wear off in no time, it’s very narrow to take on even an average physique. Would not recommend this item at all.

Review by a bright cold day in april:

If you are a regular, seasoned and dedicated weight-lifter, using a bench for 30+ minutes per session, 3 sessions+ per week, then I would say that this bench isn’t for you and that you should invest in an expensive piece of equipment.

But this is an entry-level bench and it’s advertised as such. So if you’re after a good-value foldaway benchfor occassional use then this is for you and it comes highly recommended.