You can use a workout bench for curls and lifts, but for bench presses, leg curls, and squats, you need a weight bench. The best weight benches come with bars, guides, and support to help with proper form, balance, and safety during your workout. Our top pick is the Marcy Olympic. This adjustable weight bench has enough of everything to give your whole body a good workout without sacrificing quality or safety.
Best Overall: Marcy Olympic Weight Bench
The Marcy Olympic weight bench is made with steel and adjusts to create a sturdy piece of equipment to help with your whole-body workout. This bench allows for squats, situps, curls and bench presses, and many more muscle targeting exercises. It includes a slide track and locking mechanisms to help you stay in form while lifting to target muscle groups appropriately and minimize injury due to improper lifting. A leg station is included that can lock to provide support for situps. This weight bench also has two weight catches on the rear of the unit. The seat and back parts of this bench are padded and covered with vinyl that is easy to wipe down and clean in between uses.
Pros:
- Multi-functional
- Two weight catches
- Leg station
Cons:
- Pricy
- Takes up a lot of space
Best Overall
Marcy Olympic Weight Bench
Multi-use weight bench
The Marcy Olympic bench can be used for both weight and aerobic exercises. It has two weight catches and a locking leg station.
Budget-Friendly: Body Champ Olympic Weight Bench
This weight bench has a lot to offer, including a seven-position backrest, dual-action leg developer with adjustable foam leg rollers, and adapters for multiple weights and exercises. The Body Champ has an arm curl bar, ab crunch lever, preacher curl pad, and an adapter for Olympic plates. It's side rails are adjustable with a single weight catcher for bench pressing. It is a little on the small size and won't support weight bars shorter than 38.5 inches. Also, it isn't recommended that this weight bench be used for powerlifting.
Pros:
- Versatile
- Comes with several adapters
- Sturdy design
Cons:
- Assembly required
- Doesn't support shorter barbells
- Not made for powerlifting
Budget-Friendly
Body Champ Olympic Weight Bench
A good value
The Body Champ weight bench doesn't skimp on quality. Its sturdy design supports multiple exercises with included adapters.
Compact Design: Gold's Gym XRS 20
This weight bench adjusts in so many ways including six, leg roll positions and five back support positions. It holds a combined weight of 600 pounds, including 300 pounds designated for user weight. This particular model doesn't have weight racks, but it does have a curl yoke that works with both legs and upper body muscles. It also has spotters and a preacher pad. When the bench is in a flat position, there is a sizable gap between the seat and back parts that some users find uncomfortable. This isn't an issue when placed in a reclining position. The seat is padded and covered in vinyl that is easy to wipe clean when you're done.
Pros:
- Compact design
- 600 pounds supported weight
Cons:
- No weight racks
- Gap between seat and back
Compact Design
Gold's Gym XRS 20
Well-known, trusted brand
Gold's Gym XRS 20 is compact yet supports leg and upper body toning exercises. It supports a total of 600 pounds.
Powerlifting Tower: Steelbody Exercise Tower
The Steelbody Exercise Power Tower is a heavy-duty weight bench that supports even the most extreme weightlifting exercises such as squats, lunges, and powerlifting. Its towering racks have weight catches that are adjustable and hold an impressive amount of weight. This adjustable weight bench also includes handle grips used for chin-ups, pull-ups, and dips. The bench folds up and out of the way when you need to use the tower, or can be lowered and adjusted for even more exercise possibilities. The cost is quite high, but it is worth the versatility you get with this machine.
Pros:
- Versatile
- Folding bench
- High weight support
Cons:
- Expensive
- Cumbersome
Powerlifting Tower
Steelbody Exercise Tower
Whole-body workout
The Steelbody exercise tower has bars for chin-ups and dips, and the bench folds up for room for squats and lunges.
Just the Bench: Flybird Adjustable Bench
This adjustable weight bench doesn't have all the extra racks and bars, but it is sturdy and gives you support for several weight training exercises. The bench adjusts to six different positions and includes a foam padded leg rollers. It holds a total of 500 pounds, which is decent for a simple weight bench. It isn't very high or wide, so it isn't the best if you're taller than six feet and want to use the back to recline. The bench is covered in 18-inch thick padded that is then covered in high-quality leather for easy cleanup. When you're done, the Flybird bench collapses for easy storage.
Pros:
- Supports up to 500 pounds
- Compact and collapsible
Cons:
- No support for bench pressing
- No leg training features
Just the Bench
Flybird Adjustable Bench
Simple support
For smaller spaces, the Flybrid adjustable bench offers enough support for a little toning. It's good for aerobic exercises, too
Learn before you lift
Commercial-grade weight benches are available for home use but come with a steep price. The Marcy Olympic adjustable weight bench isn't the cheapest one out there, but it has so many great features that make it a great, overall value. This adjustable weight bench supports both upper and lower body toning exercises. Its side rack has two adjustable weight catches and allows for squats and bench pressing.
The leg station of the Marcy Olympic has foam rollers for both support and comfort for front and back curls. The station can be locked into place and used for situps. While this weight bench is big and costs more than others we evaluated, the Marcy Olympic is an overall good value because of the number of exercises it supports and the overall quality and sturdiness of its design.
Credits The team that worked on this guide
As a mom of 10 and grandma to five, Nicole Johnston pulls from her years of experience raising her family as she explores, tests, and reviews a variety of consumer products from food processors to bed pillows to parental control programs. Nicole has over 13 years of research and writing experience in both the public and private sectors.