CAP Strength Standard Bench with 100 lb Weight Set

I was looking for a simple and inexpensive weight bench I could use at home. I didn’t have any need for the weights that accompanied the bench as I already have a set of chrome weights. Nonetheless, the weights accompanied the bench so I will review those as well as the bench.The weights are obviously cheaply made. The weight plates are plastic coated. My best guess is that the interior of the weight plates is made of concrete. I had a set of plastic coated weights over thirty-five years ago. Previous experience suggests that the plastic coating is likely to become brittle with age. Plastic coated weight plates tend to chip and crack with use. The barbell has a one inch diameter and is made out of thin metal. I’ve never seen a barbell with walls that thin. I wouldn’t trust it to support even the relatively light weights with which I normally exercise. Again, I already had a set of weights so I threw the weight plates and the barbell in the recycling and trash bins.The frame of the weight bench is made from relatively sturdy steel. I have used the bench quite a few times now. It does the job with no serious problems. It supports my body weight and my weights with no evident problems. Unfortunately, the bench itself has three legs. Each leg has very narrow feet. This tends to make the bench unstable. It tips easily if I lean even a little of my body weight against it while I am standing. The weight bench should have been designed with wider feet, four legs, or both. The padding on the weight bench is very thin. It tends to hurt my back when I bench press. The stability issue should be relatively easy to address by drilling holes on the feet of the weight bench and attaching all of the feet to a single piece of plywood. The thin padding should be easy to address by adding more padding. Of course, all of this involves money that could be spent on better weight lifting equipment. It also involves time and effort.The length of the weight bench is relatively short. At 5’8”, I have to position my body as far toward the foot of the bench as possible in order to bench press. The length doesn’t make it actively difficult for me to use or unduly uncomfortable but I suspect this would be a more serious issue for taller individuals.I would not be comfortable recommending this product to anbody. The low purchase price might make it suitable for entry level weight lifters as long as a good deal of care is used while exercising. I frankly wish I had taken the time to shop in person and had spent some more money on a better quality bench.Updated March 19, 2019:I have been using this bench for about four months now. The issues I previously mentioned have become more irritating with time. Other issues have also come to light.First, the upright barbell support on this bench is only rated to support 100 pounds. I am in my early 50s and recovering from several serious injuries so I honestly thought this would never be an issue for me. However, I am presently bench pressing 115 pounds on a standard one inch diameter barbell. The barbell itself weighs approximately eighteen pounds. With a combined weight of 133 pounds resting on the uprights, the uprights are prone to some noticeable flexing forward and back. I am determined to slowly increase the weight that I bench press but I can’t do that on this bench.Second, the uprights are set too close together. I have found that they hold the barbell just about at the points where I prefer to hold the bar when I am doing a barbell bench press. This means that I have to grip the barbell either more widely or more narrowly than I prefer, lift the barbell out of the supports, and then slide my hands into my preferred position. This creates an obvious risk of those 133 pounds I mentioned above falling on my chest.Third, the leg attachment on the bench is only rated to support 80 pounds. Given my age and physical injuries, I would not have thought this would present a problem for me. I am now doing leg lifts with 100 pounds of weight and find that I would like to increase the weight. Not only is the bench not rated to support this much weight, it is prone to tipping toward the foot of the bench with that much weight on it.Fourth, I find that I need to hold onto the bench when using the leg attachment in order to prevent my body from rising instead of the leg exercise attachment. I am not an especially tall or heavy guy so perhaps most men wouldn’t have this problem. I am, however, taller and heavier than most women so there is still going to be a big percentage of the population with the same problem. This is an obvious issue of genetics and physics. Unfortunately, the manufacturer doesn’t provide handles to hold onto while using the leg exercise attachment. Given my body shape, the most convenient place to hold while I am doing leg lifts is the upper portion of the bench. This portion of the bench is adjustable and lifts upward if I hold onto it. The lower portion of the bench doesn’t lift but it is less conveniently placed to hold. The manufacturer should have identified this issue during the development process and added a handle on either side to hold onto while doing leg lifts.After less than five full months of use, I have already progressed beyond the point where I can continue to use this weight bench. Again, I am in my early fifties and have had several severe injuries and surgeries. I strongly suspect that younger and healthier people would be likely to progress much more quickly than I have and would therefor outgrow this weight bench more quickly. I suggest that you keep these issues in mind and invest a little more money into a more robust weight bench.I have personally chosen to purchase a separate weight bench, a weight cage to support the weights, and a stand alone leg exercise machine. I shopped carefully and was able to purchase these items for just under $450 including the cost of delivery to my home. I could have purchased an acceptable (but less versatile) one piece system for as little as $230. The money I spent on the first weight bench would have been better used to offset the cost of a better system.

I was pretty anxious and excited to get the bench & weights in... When the bench & weights were delivered, the bench package itself was in pretty shabby shape... and the weights package was taped together, but also looked in bad shape. I lugged the bench downstairs to my basement and opened it up and noticed right away that the hardware package that contained the nuts and bolts was torn open. I started to put the bench together and could not get past step 2 of putting it together because it was missing bolts I needed.I called the number for Cap Barbell, and the lady I spoke with clearly lacked motivation of any kind. She didn't really seem to like her job much... I told her I was missing the hardware, and she said she'll send a new hardware package out, and send me an email... I've yet to receive the email and package with the hardware. I contacted the seller here on amazon, and informed them as well, they compensated me for the missing hardware and gave me a 17% refund (thank you).The other day I went ahead and went to Home Depot and purchased nuts and bolts that would fit so I could finish putting the bench together.... everything now works and the bench is together and for the most part seems to be good quality for a beginner bench.Because I had my own weights already, I didn't open the package that contained the weights until today (2 weeks later)... low and behold, the package did not contain all the weights either... I received 3x 20lb weights and 2x 10lb... doing quick math I think that equals 80lbs. Clearly I am missing 1x 20lb weight. Ugh...I don't know who to really point the finger at, at this point... the seller or Cap Barbell... regardless. I guess I'll attempt to reach out to the seller and see if I can get the weight issue resolved... Oh... one of the 20lb weights that I did receive is cracked.

It's a good bench. There's just some things around the manual I dont like. It says that the user cannot be over 200lbs which is crazy because most men will be over 200lbs. It also says dont put more then 100lbs on it which is also crazy cause 100lbs is not gonna get anyone anywhere. I put 150lbs on it and its fine(note I'm not using the bar that it came with). Its wonderful it exercise the legs as well. Good cheap bench. Dont try what I'm doing in risking it because if makes no sense to make a bench that can't hold at least 300lbs weights. I wouldn't try it with the bar that it came with tho it seems a little weak. If want to know what bar I'm using just ask.

You have to understand you get what you pay for and I will say I do like the plates it came with but the overall bench even after making all the screws as tight as I possibly can it’s still very flimsy but still the barbell and plates were good and that’s really all I cared about. The box it came in was pretty beat up but everything inside was fine. FYI the bench is not for above average height. I am a female that’s 5’5 and even that was too much for this bench. Buy this for the weights and barbell not for the bench.

Arrived today thrown into 2 boxes taped together. I was first a little sceptical by the packaging but it was all there. Put it together and made sure everything was nice and tight. So far it’s a nice bench for the $100 spent on it. In no way high end equipment but it’s perfect for my son who wanted it to bulk up some before Basic Training.

It's not for tall people at all. I bought this as a beginner bench for my husband (6ft tall), but should have got a more advanced bench I suppose because it's not going to work for him. But for the price I'm not too mad. Guess it'll be my bench now...although it's a little tight for me too (I'm 5'6)Weights are not metal and the bar is pretty flimsy in my opinion