York FitnessB530 Heavy Duty Incline and Decline Bench

Great bench, very solid and easy to assemble.While it does have some small flaws, the price and build quality makes up for it.So if your looking for a good sturdy bench, at a good price, this is it. nothing else comes close.Pros : Sturdy, well made, great price, small footprint, extra " add-on's " like the preacher pad make it a great bench to upgrade.Cons : Seat is a little narrow for leg extensions ( uncomfortable ), Hand location for bench press ( beams are too close together ).All in all, and with a little bit of give and take, this bench is a great all-rounder and highly reccomended. im really happy with it.

Overall, this is a very sturdy home bench with some really good features - such as the price, its relatively compact size and the ease with which it can be put together. However, it suffers from a few design flaws, most of which have been noted already by other users. The most obvious when you start using the bench is that the upright bar supports are almost exactly where your hands want to be. This means that you have to choose between a narrow grip or a very wide grip when you first lift the weight, then try to shuffle your hands into a comfortable position with it in the air - not ideal given that the barbell will be directly above your head! Then you're going to have to shuffle your hands out again when you want to rest the weight - again not ideal if you're at the end of a set and your muscles are already fatigued. Secondly, even with the adjustable supports at their highest setting, it is impossible to use the highest incline on the bench because there is then only about 4 or 5 inches between the bench and the bar - in other words, unless you have a head the size of a small coconut you're not going to be able to fit your head under the bar without the weight balancing directly on your forehead. I've tried to get around this by taking the bar away and using the high incline setting for dumbbell flys and presses. The bit on the end for quads extensions is OK, but I would guess that if you are any taller than 5'8" you'll have trouble using it. This is because the whole bench is relatively low off the ground, so that with the quads fully extended, as you start lowering the weight back down your heels will then hit the floor at about 45 degrees. Lastly, another point about the adjustable supports. Unlike professional benches where once you have finished your set you can tip the weight backwards, let it hit the frame and then it drops safely into the rests, the rear part of the supports is pretty short, such that with your arms extended, the bar will be way higher than the frame and you will then have to carefully manoeuvre the bar (again, right above your face and with tired muscles!) back down to rest it. Given that most people will be buying this piece of kit to use at home without a spotter, there's a potential for disaster and it makes me reluctant to use too heavy a weight in case I end up with a hefty dental bill.I still think the B530 is good value - I realise that it's not a piece of professional gym equipment and I'm sure it will be more than adequate for the beginner, but there may be other bits of kit out there for similar cash which don't have the same irritating faults.

I am a God"This item requires self-assembly." A seemingly inconsequential sentence, but one of the few which has the ability to strike sheer terror into me at fifteen paces.As one of the least practical men in the known universe, I would rather sleep on a bare floor than make my usual ham fisted attempt at putting together, for example, a 'self-assembly' bed (the last time I did foolishly have a go at something like this, I ended up with a kind of non-symmetrical bedroom hut).So when I decided last week - against all rules of common sense - to buy a fairly simple-looking weight bench (an exercise thingy), little did I imagine that it would arrive in exactly 107 pieces (OK, that's counting every nut and bolt, but 107 is a big, scary number). After picking myself up off the floor, and almost as if to add insult to injury, the exploded illustration of how the accursed thing was supposed to piece together looked like someone had entered the National Confusing Drawing of the Year competition, and had come in a clear and resounding first place.My first thought, naturally, was to phone a (female) friend and beg her to put it together for me. However, wishing to retain at least some morsel of macho pride, I decided (in a quite heroic way, I thought) to have a go without any aid whatsoever; I reasoned that the whole thing looked pretty sturdy, and at least there was little chance of my breaking anything.Anyway, to my own utter incredulity, one hour and fifteen minutes later, I had done it: I had succeeded in putting together something that, for once, actually resembled the picture on the box. And I am so glad there is no CCTV in my front room, because I stood there grinning like an idiot to myself. Then I took a photo of the damn thing. Life doesn't get any better than that.So, in other words, if I can do it, you can. And the finished result is extremely solid and sturdy, and compared to some I've seen in shops (e.g. JJB Sports) this thing verges on the professional in terms of build quality. You won't be disappointed.

This is a great product in my eyes! I did not open it from the box for a few months due to having a new outhouse where I currently put the weights bench.It was really simple to put up and only took an hour or two! I particularly love the feeling of putting somehting together by yourself and the sense of satisfaction you receive every time you use the product. Subsequently, using this bench is very easy and takes a simple adjustment of 2 pins to put the arms of the bench up or down in conjunction with the bench itself to prepare for incline, decline or normal stance. Also, being a York product you know you are getting amazing value for a great price!A last word of advice, it is very easy to convince yourself to get a cheap weights bench in order to save money but believe me, it is so worth it to fork out the extra for a tried and tested bench such as this instead of a cheap bench that may rock and be unstable.