Phoenix 99226 Power Pro Olympic Bench

by Phoenix

Product Features

• Full Olympic-size bench with incline, decline, and flat bench positions
• Comes with leg lift, lat tower, and preacher curl attachments
• Heavy-duty 3-inch steel frame built for stability and long life
• Built-in squat rack in the rear; 3 Olympic weight plate adapters and spring clips
• Measures 88 x 83 x 60 inches (W x H x D); 1-year frame warranty

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Tired of heading to the gym for weight workouts? Turn to the Power Pro Olympic bench from Phoenix Health & Fitness, a full Olympic-size bench that offers incline, decline, and flat bench positions. The Power Pro is not a "cheater" by any definition, with uprights that measure 42 inches apart on the inside for serious stability. The bench is also extremely versatile, with deluxe lat tower and arm curl attachments, along with a leg lift station with its own curl bar. As a result, you can work out virtually any muscle group in the comfort of your own home. And thanks to the heavy-duty 3-inch steel uprights and main frame, you needn't worry about the bench buckling to the pressure any time soon. In fact, the Power Pro is tested to the following weight limits: 300 pounds for the bench, 400 pounds for the uprights, and 150 pounds for the leg lift and lat tower (the bench isn't recommended or guaranteed for use over these limits). Other details include a built-in squat rack in the rear, three Olympic weight plate adapters and spring clips, and adjustable uprights that conform to multiple uses. The Power Pro, which measures 88 by 83 by 60 inches (W x H x D), also carries a 90-day warranty on labor and a one-year warranty on the frame.

Specifications:

• Heavy duty, 3.0 inch steel uprights and main frame
• Full Olympic size; uprights are 42" apart on inside dimensions
• Adjustable uprights and seat back includes decline position
• Deluxe Lat Tower and Arm Curl included
• Leg Lift with Curl Bar attachment
• Built-in squat rack in rear
• Built-in storage stands for Preacher Curl and Lat Tower
• Three Olympic weight plate adapters and spring clips included
• Dimensions: 88" L x 60" W x 83" H (mounted on bench)

About Phoenix Health & Fitness
Established in 1998 as a wholesale distributor of fitness equipment, Phoenix Health & Fitness offers a complete line of high-quality exercise equipment to the in-home and light commercial markets. Working with a state-of-the-art computer system, the company can offer "just in time" delivery and other critical services while living up to its standards of reliability, consistency, honesty, and urgency. Phoenix Health & Fitness develops many of its new concepts and products in conjunction with its sister company, Reflex Design, and enjoys a reputation for delivering quality products in a timely manner.

Product Description

Full Olympic size, not a "cheater". Uprights are 42" apart on inside dimensions. Deluxe lat tower and arm curl included - great value! With built in squat rack in rear. This sturdy, heavy duty machine is multi-stationed and equipped with extra padding for comfort. Warranty is 90 days parts, 1 year frame. Maximum user weight 300lbs., uprights 400lbs., leg lift 150lbs., lat tower 150lbs. Not recommended or guaranteed for user over this limit.

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 88 x 60 x 83 inches ; 138 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 143 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item can only be shipped to the 48 contiguous states. We regret it cannot be shipped to APO/FPO, Hawaii, Alaska, or Puerto Rico.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B000LG3SOI
• Item model number: 99226
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,909 in Sports & Outdoors (See Top 100 in Sports & Outdoors)
  • #8 in Sports & Outdoors > Exercise & Fitness > Strength Training Equipment > Benches

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ok for price if you're not too tall., October 24, 2005

By 

Tied-up2 (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

For the price this low-end home gym is generally able to do the things I wanted a cheap home gym to do. However, there are a few issues you need to consider before buying it. The biggest issue is ergonometric - this unit is not designed to be used by anyone over perhaps 5'10" or 5'11". I'm 6'1" and this creates problems for me. I have to find work-arounds to use a unit designed for people smaller than me. The problem is that form is very important when doing the exercises (when you don't pay attention to form, you either reduce the effectiveness of the exercise or risk injury) and finding work-arounds sometimes compromises your form during the exercise.
There are also a few quality issues but these were not entirely unexpected considering the price of the unit. It would have been nice if the bench padding were a little better but its adequate. The two most annoying quality issues involve the plate bars (the bars that hold the weights). This first issue was with the plate bar on the lat tower (cable) unit. It wasn't level. This means the weights keep trying to fall off one side as you put them on. The second issue is also with the plate bars. The unit is designed to accommodate standard plates (small holes in the middle) or Olympic plates (big holes in the middle). A "sleeve" is included with the unit that slips over the standard size plate bar that enables one to use Olympic plates (big holes). However the outer diameter of the sleeve is slightly smaller than standard Olympic size so an Olympic size spring collar (to hold the weights on the bar) is too big and doesn't work. I went down to Home Depot and bought wood clamps to hold the plates in place. Kind of a pain but functional (just another work-around). If you buy this unit you probably want to go with standard plates (small hole) rather than Olympic plates (big hole).
So I put this at 4 stars because for this price you really can't expect too much and it generally delivers what I expected a cheap home gym unit to do - with the one caveat: persons over 5'10" should try to find a home gym designed for taller people. Since only 5% of the US population is over 6 feet tall manufacturers tend to design for smaller people. If you're tall, good luck on that search.
Follow-up note. At this time of the writing above this unit was sold by several vendors on Amazon so its worth comparing the pricing. When I say above that this unit is OK "for the price" means the price I paid for it not the price necessarily listed here now. At the current price (on 7/7/07) I would only list it as 2 stars but could not see how to change the star rating.

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great value, August 26, 2009

By 

JDub "Superstar" (West Coast, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Phoenix 99226 Power Pro Olympic Bench (Sports)

I did a lot of research before purchasing this bench because:

1) The pictures show both the lat and preacher extensions in their *storage* locations, so I wasn't able to see how they were usable from the pictures on the interwebs.
2) Comparable benches start in the $400-$500 range, and this sells for about half that...
3) The fact that it accommodated both Olympic and Standard weights was mysterious.

I've been using it for ~2 weeks now, and I can comfortably say that I would purchase it again. The lat and preacher extensions both fit in the usual location (into the upright that the leg extension comes off of), and work great. The product ships with Olympic "sleeves" and standard-sized plate poles (on the leg extension for example), so you're supposed to slip the sleeve over the poles (and your standard bar if you have one) if you want to use it with Olympic plates. As I have standard weights, this was great for me. I can't comment on how it performs with the sleeves, although others have suggested it's not quite perfect.

As for the low price? The bench is of seemingly good/high quality, but Phoenix (the mfg) definitely skimped on aesthetics *not* function when producing this. Here are my gripes:

* The paint they used is some kind of bubbled-looking powder coat (or so...) and it likes to flake off in places where you're sliding plates on and off of it. So, no big deal, vaccuum it up and move on...

* One of the uprights was welded 1/4" too low and I couldn't fit a washer when assembling. Washer omitted, works fine.

* The numbered assembly steps in the instructions are incomplete (you end up with left-over parts) but the exploded view of the bench is complete. So for a few of the minor parts (like the rubber stopper for the lat bar, and various caps for the ends) you'll need to refer to the exploded view.

* Assembly takes a considerable while. I would leave a good 3 hours.

* Mine shipped with an "Other side up" label affixed to the wrong side of the cross-bar that connects the two bench uprights to the leg extension upright. The pictures clearly indicated which side in fact had to face up, however.

So, the overall impression that I have is that this is a quality bench that definitely gets the job done, but that some of the minor details are keeping it from selling for more. That's great for me, because I have a perfectly functional bench at half the price, and I don't care about the details above. In fact I'm leaving the "Other side up" label for effect.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Most amazing piece of gym equipment i've owned!!!, June 16, 2009

By 

Farooq Pervez - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Phoenix 99226 Power Pro Olympic Bench (Sports)

Just like a lot of other people that get home gyms for the simple reason of not going to the gym for personal reasons, I too was looking for the most parts an all in one type. I don't like those cable/rod type machines, they just don't give you that being back in the gym type of feeling. So after some positive reviews, good price and most importantly, the Lat pull bar option, made me go with this bench. I had it shipped to my home in a really heavy box. The assembly was very difficult and some of the instruction was just inadequate especially assembling the Lat bar and required just some common sense. Having your own wrench/socket set helps big time. Because of the lack of instruction, I first didn't put the plastic cuffs on the lat bar that first go in the base and at top and in between the moving mechanism which made it very uneven and frictional. I think one of the other reviewers probably made the same mistake and mentioned something about the weights being uneven. Once I figured that out and put all the cuffs in the right places, the Lat pull became amazingly practical and definitely a plus feature of this bench. The bench itself is very sturdy and cushioning is just right, I didn't want it too soft. I purchased a Weider 300lb Olympic bar set from Sears the very next day I got the bench and couldn't be happier. I can basically get a complete gym workout with this thing other than aerobics. The only annoying thing is and it's not the bench's fault is taking the lat bar out for legs etc. Even if you have a midsize ceiling, you would just have to tilt the whole bench to be able to take the Lat bar out, but if the lat bar was any shorter, you wouldn't get a nice workout, so I guess something you have to work around with. All in all, I'm very happy with this purchase.