Reddit reviews adidas Performance Flat Training Bench

Some food for thought. I thought about that weight bench and ended up with this one.

https://amzn.com/B00JQKSPHK

It's a fair bit more expensive, but it looks a lot more stable. Any extra weights you have hang right on the rack to help stabilize it. It's a few inches shorter than I would prefer for racking squats at its tallest, but the easy adjustment and really solid spotter bar make up for it. My main concern with a bench/squat rack is it toppling while I'm already tired and trying to rack the weights. So, stability is key in my opinion.

The other thing was the flat bench. I looked for a while trying to find a cheap one and the main problem I kept coming across was the 300 lb limit on most benches around $50. If you're a big guy, doing a 100 lb bench press, you can quickly add up to a total of 300 lbs on the bench. This Adidas flat bench is only about $80 and can support 600 to 1000 lbs. Which I felt was the better investment.

https://amzn.com/B00WHIG6X8

Typically a bench's max weight includes the user. If you're already 270lbs and you're lifting even relatively light weights for your body weight (130+ lbs) you're already at 400 total lbs. Even cheap flat benches can accommodate that weight, but a lot of the integrated bench plus racks can't.

You'll also need to decide between 1" and 2" (Olympic) bars. I've found that cheap 1" bars can even deform dealing with 135 lbs of total weight, so if you're lifting even half your body weight you'll probably want to go towards Olympic if you want stuff that's going to hold up.

So really I think you have some options:

1. Screw the ratings, get whatever's cheapest and use it with some care. Not recommended by your doctor or insurance company, but will probably work. I used some terribly ghetto shit for years in my parents basement when I was a kid (which is how I know how easy it is to bend a 1" bar.
   
   
2. Get the cheap stuff but don't lift too much weight. Plenty of things are rated for 400 lbs, so a light BP would still work.
   
   
3. Shop around and find a very specific heavy duty rated integrated bench and rack, if you can
   
   
4. Get that cheap flat bench and a relatively cheap rack, you can find plenty of discussions on deals around here. This Powerline is popular and often goes cheaper than $320. One huge benefit here is that the rack isn't supporting your body weight plus weights, so the total it needs to be rated for is lower than those integrated BP devices. You can also do a full great workout on it.
   
   
5. Do one of the above via Craigslist or your local variant. You might be able to save a lot of money and/or get way nicer stuff. I accidentally have a gym grade adjustable bench and rack that are like $3K MSP for $750 from a patient craigslist find.
   
   TL;DR Benches max weights describe your weight plus the weight you're benching, so a lot of cheap benches aren't as safe as you might think they are

You don't expect to lift more than 250lbs? You wholly underestimate your strength. You should be able to pull more than that on a deadlift before you max out on SL 5x5.

IF you really want to stick with lifting and not just a program but being dedicated to lifting regularly, then buy quality. Being thrifty doesn't mean buying cheap. It means getting the most out of what you spend, and good quality stuff will last you a lifetime.

Titan racks are great value, If you can't bolt the T-3 to the floor or a platform, look into getting the free standing T-3 Squat Stand with spotter arms. The T-2 cage isn't as heavy duty but still more than enough for most people.

There are other options but Titan's a good value.

As far as bars, get the CAP-OB86 which is a highly regarded barbell for it's price whihc regularly goes on sale for as low as 100 dollars.

As far as plates go, buy used if your local area has a good craigslist base. Get mostly 45s with a pair of 25s and 10s

Buy the Adidas flat bench which is a cheap but sturdy option to the more beefier $150+ dollar options

You should be fine then. I've been looking around at a setup for myself and this is what I'm seeing (just some choices, not necessarily the right ones).

If you're interested in a platform you can build your own:
https://www.reddit.com/r/homegym/comments/3xylb2/1_car_garage_home_gym_platform/
https://www.reddit.com/r/homegym/comments/5apsti/diy_lifting_platform_is_plywood_really_this/
https://www.reddit.com/r/homegym/comments/5frfij/if_you_could_do_one_thing_differently_with_your/

For a rack you might as well do a full cage, it is more safe. I used to own a squat rack with safety arms and it was fine. But a full cage allows you a bigger safety net.

Buget cage: http://www.titan.fitness/cages-and-racks/t-3-racks/titan-t-3-series-hd-power-rack-36-deep.html or something like a T-2 from Titan. The T-3 or X3 will be going on sale tomorrow (4/4/2017).

Midline cage: https://www.bellsofsteel.com/product/commercial-power-rack-light/

More expensive cage: http://www.roguefitness.com/rogue-rml-490-power-rack

For the bar I think starting in the mid 200-300 range will be sufficient for a long time. http://www.roguefitness.com/the-ohio-bar and https://www.fringesport.com/collections/barbells/products/bomba-bar-v2-black-20kg-oly-bar seem to be good choices. http://www.roguefitness.com/rogue-28-5-mm-boneyard-bars are slightly cheaper, slightly defective (scratch, paint, etc.) if you go with Rogue.

For a bench if you go flat you will find a lot of decent ones for $100-200. It seems all of the sites selling the flat benches around $115 are currently out of stock.

https://www.amazon.com/adidas-Performance-Flat-Training-Bench/dp/B00WHIG6X8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1491262179&sr=8-1&keywords=adidas+bench in stock (600 lbs rated)

http://www.titan.fitness/strength-equipment/weightlifting-plates-and-bars/benches/flat-bench-1-000-lb-capacity.html (1,000 lbs rated) out of stock

http://www.roguefitness.com/rogue-bt-bench in stock (1,000 lbs rated).

For plates you can buy used locally. There it seems $0.50/lb is good for steel plates, and around $1/lb for bumper plates. New you can try a local sports store for steel plates. For bumper plates you can get them from a lot of sources https://www.repfitness.com/bars-plates/olympic-plates/bumper-plates/rep-black-bumper-plates

http://www.roguefitness.com/rogue-hg-2-0-bumper-plates

http://www.vulcanstrength.com/Vulcan-Alpha-Bumper-Plates-Set-p/alphbsets.htm (fancy).

I can't agree more with your gym sentiments. Walking through a sea of resting bitch faces at the gym just to see that two people were already waiting for the squat rack tended to ruin my somewhat fragile motivation.

I would recommend against the FT2, having an enforced straight up and down bar path will not help your form and will make your workout less effective for your core/stabilizing muscles. If you're thinking you want something safe for home workouts alone, you can still do that with a free weight barbell setup, spotter arms are wonderful thing.

I haven't tried that many options, but I can tell you what is working for me. I got the titan T3 squat rack and I love it. I highly recommend the spotter arms, I try for bench personal records all the time by myself and I've never had issues when I failed. This rack is stable enough for pull ups but you don't have to screw it to the floor to install. I did have to take off both the weight storage arms so that the plates on the storage arms didn't impede my bench press. http://www.titan.fitness/cages-and-racks/squat-rack.html

For the barbell I got the CAP OB-86B, it's reasonably priced and I'm not doing anything too fancy with the olympic lifts. I expect to get another, better bar and keep it as a beater bar eventually. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001K4OPY2

My plates are a mix, I recommend getting some bumper plates off craigslist or a local shop to get started then adding bumper and iron plates as needed. Another option is to get the $300 iron set from Dick's as a starting set, but from what I've heard the bar is fit only to trash/resell. http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/p/fitness-gear-300-lb-olympic-weight-set-16fgeu300lbstwth7brb/16fgeu300lbstwth7brb

For bench I'd recommend getting something strong and adjustable. I got the flat Adidas bench and it's fine, though I now want an adjustable bench so I can do incline/decline. https://www.amazon.com/adidas-Performance-Flat-Training-Bench/dp/B00WHIG6X8

Appropriate flooring, resistence bands, and dumbbells are also incredibly helpful.

I got the Titan HD rack and love it. I won an auction on eBay for it for $326; they run one at a time, it seems, so you might want to see if you can save some dough that way. Some are listed w/dip bars included.

What about the adidas flat bench? Solid weight limit, gets great reviews for sturdiness. You can get an adjustable later; do you even need it for 5x5?

I also just snagged a CAP OB-86B barbell and man, that thing is nice. I would definitely spend the $142 on it.

I have gotten all my Oly weight plates on craigslist for cheap so you might find that works for you to save some money.

Have fun!

to piggyback off of /u/HomegymFriend

This is my setup and a little less expensive option:

Necessities

• Fitness Reality 810XLT Super Max Power Cage - 214 (seen as low as 160)
  
  
• Fitness Gear 300 lb. Olympic Weight Set - 200
  
  
• adidas Performance Flat Training Bench - 80
  
  Accessories
  
  
• CAP Barbell 2 in. Plate Rack - 30
  
• 4 ft. x 6 ft. x 3/4 in. Thick Rubber Stall Mat - 43
  
• Valor Fitness MB-A BD-7 Dip Handle Accessory Set - 40
  
  
• Cap Barbell - 112 for future reference
  
  
• Total without tax and accessories 494 with accessories 607 w/o upgraded bar
  
  Google around for promo codes and check camelcamelcamel for additional discounts.
  
  
  If I'm understanding you correctly, you plan on carrying your weights from inside your spare bedroom to outside in order to do OHP? Sounds like a pain in the ass to me but to each his own.

This is the one I was going to get before I decided on a FID bench instead. I had heard good things about it and it's quite a bit cheaper in price than the Rogue bench.

Wow, thanks, this bar looks awesome! I'd just gone with the one recommended in the FAQ, but this is even better!

What do you think of this bench? It costs $150 + $15ish for tax/shipping/etc. Though it says it's rated for 300lbs on Amazon, the company site says 600, and it's been tested for up to 1000. Also, it has plenty of reviews so I'm pretty confident about it. Just wanted to see if you got a better deal :)

http://www.amazon.com/adidas-Performance-Flat-Training-Bench/dp/B00WHIG6X8