Ok, most people buy these and after 3 months they collect dust or used as side table for ironing. Not me. I specifically was looking for a compact bench that could fold up, and more importantly do the one exercise everyone doesn't like.. back extensions. The reason is I'm getting older and i can feel my back and core being weaker and I want to hold it back as much as possible and this is the best combination of those factors at a low price too!
unboxing- I unboxed it in my family room with my son's help and we put it together in about 30minutes maybe less. mostly straightforward but you have to make sure to use the correct 'lockpin' as there are different sizes. if you make a mistake, just use the other one. problem solved. once put together Ii see how removing two of hte locking pins in the middle, and removing the curl bar and leg extension can allow it to fold up pretty small and be placed in a corner.
Useability – The padding is pretty good for a budget bench and i like the colors. it looks higher class than others. the padding on legs is pretty thin but I know I 'm not using it for extensions but rather to hold my feet in place so i can do situps without having to be on the ground. the benefit is also I can use a 5, 10, 20, r 25 lb plate on my chest to really isolate my abs in the correct order. then i can turn around and lower the bench to hit the really low abs with leg raises or scissor kicks.
elastic bands. – hmm.. i guess if you've never worked out these are useful but for any serious gym rat these will be useless. i did however find a way to use them to work shoulders, and if you squat on the bench it self give a littel resistant for legs.
curl bench- the curl part is very narrow and not good enough to do two arms very comfortably. I'd have to do 1 arm at a time which is fine, but I'd rather do both together in the interest of time.
side handles. good for beginner pushups (reverse elevation so less weight). not sure what else you can do with these yet.
Any other exercises are pretty common to all benches, so they all work. Overall, a good bench for not a lot of money and it will help save my back. I have a competition going on with my two children to see who does the most situps/ pushups/ back extensions this month. wish me luck.. regardless I'll be a lot healthier.
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