Customer Reviews

Body Solid FID46 Flat Incline Decline Bench

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Pro's:
- really solid bench, is quite heavy and sturdy
- wheels allow relatively easy mobility
- 8 adjustable positions from decline, to flat, to almost upright
- leg extension with handles that can allow you to lay on your stomach to work your hamstrings
- good for sit-ups, especially from the decline position
- padding is quite thick and solid, yet comfortable
- the back pad is almost 3 ft. so ample space
- all the screws, nuts, bolts, washers are clearly labeled and separated to make for an organized assembly

Cons:
- the pads were a hassle to fit, the screws weren't drilled in the exact place so some adjustments were necessary
- this thing is massive, definitely not a space saver
- sits up pretty high off the ground (I'm 5'10 and in the lower positions my feet barely touch the ground, I end up resting them on the U-bar)
- in the flat position, there's a 3-inch gap between the seat and back pads, it takes some wiggling to find a comfortable position which is not so easy when you're holding heavier weight over your chest
- bench can not go into a perfect 90-degree angle, it's more like 100 at "upright"

I was looking for one bench to do decline, flat, and upright. It's not completely upright, which isn't such a big deal but having it not be so comfortable flat is a disappointment. Having the leg extension though makes up for the shortcoming as it makes the bench more versatile. Having the back pad so long though makes it difficult to do tricep extensions sitting upright. However doing them while sitting on a ball is better for you anyway. Paid $200 with free shipping off Amazon.

I bought this and the box came within a few days. I opened it up to find out that this was a box that had been opened previously and a few pieces were mising. Don't know who exactly to blame on that (Body Solid or Amazon) but I was extremely disappointed by this. I called Body-Solid and they sent out the missing parts immediately.

Once I had all parts assembly was not too bad but took a little while. I could see it being tough for the not-so-handy types, or the guys who get almost all the way through a project and notice they forgot a bolt from step 1 (I would be that category).

The bench is rock solid. My buddy and I are big dudes and we lift big weights. We got this bench to replace our old one which may not have been up to the task to support our lifting. This monster is more than able. Comes complete too with handles for leg excersizes and the leg developer locks in place to hold your feet when you do declines. This is a serious bench and a great addition to any serious lifter's gym.

The warranty must be returned within 10 days of purchase - this is absurd. This includes the 5+ days it will take to ship the bench out to you, so if you are very lucky you will have time to both notice this fine print and also return the warranty by overnight mail. further, there is no indication anywhere as to which number the "Serial Number" is on the bench. There are 3 different ID codes on the bench, none of them marked. This is all irrelevant for me as I didn't even notice that the warranty can only be valid if returned within 10 days from the date of purchase - I didn't have time to assemble this until a week after receiving it, so I definitely didn't bother sending the warranty in late. Note that this bench doesn't come with all the tools necessary to build it (you need 2 large wrenches or better yet locking pliers to build this).

There were a dozen or so large scratches on my equipment. The parts seemed to all be there, though the brass washers which are supposed to be on nearly every hole on the frame were missing from 2 spots, and some of the others fell off constantly - very annoying.

The seat pads are ridiculous - they didn't align with the frame for me, so I could only screw in one side of the pads. I know I assembled the frame right so the problem is not on my end.

They should also make it more of a point/in larger font etc to state that you should only tighten all bolts at the very end - instead, they state this in a single sentence in 10pt font, in gray on a white background (a lot of the crucial steps are inexplicably in light gray text on a white background - hard to read).

So it works well, but there are serious flaws to the product (largest being the warranty hoops you must jump through) and I'm not surprised they just dropped the price by $100.

Unless you live 100's of miles from a sporting goods/dept. store or can cope with the above, I recommend going to a store like that and buying a unit that is pre-assembled and that you can try out first.

PROS:
Sturdy & heavy-duty.
Comes w/ wheels
Very well-padded & the handles behind the seatback are a nice touch.
Warranty

CONS
Big & heavy (which is also a plus)
Assembly. Many write-ups complain of seatback holes not lined up with the apparatus. Depending on how poorly lined-up they are, this can be a real issue. My unit simply would not fit. After going back and forth w/Body-Solid, I had to report them to the Better Business Bureau for them to finally send me another seatback free of charge. This was rather frustrating after the excitement of getting it and the time spent assembling it. For such a well-made product, it's a shame they can't get the easy part right.

When the unit is put together w/ proper-fitting parts, it's the absolute best. The only reason I rate it 4/5 is because, after a number of similar complaints, they won't fix the unnecessary problem.

Good bench, Very poor packing, Item missing parts and finish was scratched to heck! Looks to be an open box that someone couldn't figure out how to put it together and sent back! Very unhappy with this purchase.

This is a HEAVY duty bench. It is extremely comfortable. I'm 5'10 or 11 and can reach the floor with my feet, no problem. The handles for the leg workouts are a great addition. The wheels make moving it easy. It is really long, but getting it out of the way is a snap. With the bench in the flat position, it can be stood up on the wheels and the top of the back support. Adjusting the angle is a smooth action. If you don't want to use olympic weights, you can leave the sleeve off. Once it's installed though, it's not something that you can just slide back off.

This is a really solid bench. A really nice piece of equipment. The leg attachment is also pretty functional. My only complaint is that it's a bit high so I can't get my feet flat on the floor when lying flat (I'm 5'9").

I'll break down my 2 star reveiw into a couple of components:

Procuct Condition - 1 Star
As a couple of other reviews have stated the packaging of this item is very poor. It arrives looking like the whole thing was just thrown into a box with only a few zip ties as packaging. That much weight shifting around in shipping results in a whole lot of missing paint. There wasn't a single piece of the frame that wasn't damaged in this way. It is important to note that this damage is cosmetic. There was nothing that was damaged to the point of making the unit non operational. If it is not important to you to receive a new item in new condition and cosmetic apperance doesn't matter to you than read on, this bench may be a good fit for you. If you don't want to buy a new product that will look like its been used for several years than select a differnt bench.

Bench (Quality and funtionality) - 5 Stars
This is a heavy duty well made bench. It is made for heavy use. The incline function of this bench works smoothly and is easy to adjust. The seat is designed to automatically tip as you incline the seat back so you are in the correct position. This is by far the best function of this bench. There is no locking position for the decline setting of this bench it just rests on the frame if you go past flat. Not sure if that should really count as a decline bench. And lastly, as many have pointed out the padding on the seat and back are very well made.

Leg Developer - 2 Stars
The leg developer does not fit securely in the frame. As the frame is round and the leg developer shaft is square there is a cheap plastic shim that it fits into. This shim is not on par with the rest of the bench; it allows the leg developer to rock back and forth about an inch while in use. If the leg developer is just an extra on this bench and you don't really intend to use it you may be happy with this bench. If you intend to use the leg developer select a different bench.

Customer Service - 1 star

I called Bodiy Solid on two occasions regarding the poor condition the unit arrived in as well as the leg developer. They seemed to think it was crazy I would be annoyed that the unit was in poor condition when it arrived as long as it still functioned. They could only offer paint to rectify the situation. Regarding the leg developer they indicated the wobble was normal and that nothing could be done. In general they were quite rude and ultimately offered no real help. Does not seem like a company willing to stand behind their product.

This is an incredible piece of equipment.

I had to purchase a new bench when my last bench broke. I am 250 pounds and have worked my way up to 95 pound dumbbells for flat bench press. Sitting on the bench holding these is a total weight of approximately 450 pounds. If you check the other bench options on Amazon(I had to find PDF owner's manuals on line to do this for most of them), some will only take a total of 250 lbs. Others say a user weight of 300 pounds but give no indication of the amount of weight you can lift in addition to that. Kind of an important piece of information given the purpose of a weight bench. The bow flex bench can take 300 pounds of user weight and 180 pounds of weight on top of that giving a total of 480 pounds. That was too close for comfort, but clearly my second choice. This bench is suggested take 800 to 1000 pounds of total weight. And it was not much more than the bow flex bench. This also can go from decline to military press for positions. This thing is built like a tank.

Even though this would have been my choice based on maximum weight and number of positions for the price, it has another huge benefit. That is the ability to get a leg workout in your home. I had previously just accepted I would not be able to do leg workouts at home. No longer. This thing gives a great leg workout also. And the leg part comes off easily which is very important for me. I hate having it attached when I am doing flat bench press.

The bad, or at least less than ideal:
1) My bench may have been opened by someone else and sent back. All of the pieces were there, but the finish on some of the bars had been scratched due to rubbing up against each other during shipping. Straps and cardboard that looked like it would have protected it had been cut and were still in the box. It does not look very bad, just does not look new. Since I am primarily interested in the solid workout this allows, this is not a huge deal to me.
2) The assembly instructions had one piece out of order. The handles should not be put on until after the seats are attached. A little frustrating, but easy to resolve once you realize the seats won't go on with the bolts that need to be tightened prior to putting the handles on.
3) The thing is huge. I ended up turning around the front legs to reduce the footprint in my weight area. It is high also. This is necessary to provide decline all the way up to military press with the design. Being 6'4", it was surprising to feel that way. But by my second workout, it feels totally natural.

Overall, I don't think I could have done better for under $270.00 in a single piece of equipment. If you have the space (and you should check), this is a great buy.

I am very satisfied with this in my first week.

I pretty much agree with the things others have said about this bench. It came very poorly packaged and did have some minor cosmetic damage but the price I got on it was unbelievable. It is big and the seats are of good quality. Assembly isn't too bad but like others have said the seat holes do not line up at all. I managed to get one in each corner on the seat but it sits crooked and was only able to get 3 screws in the back. Other than the packaging and seat sitting crooked because of poorly placed holes I am thoroughly satisfied with this bench.