Customer Reviews

Powertec WB-LS Workbench Leverage Gym

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought my Powertec Workbench Leverage Home Gym for 4 months now. I waited to give this review because when you look for something like this one of the main things you want to know is, "Does it really work?" I spent months researching and trying out comparable machines like BowFlex, Weider, and Soloflex. I chose this machine because I wanted to lift REAL weight. I also needed something versatile and something that I wouldn't easily outgrow.

Space: The machine measures `6.5 feet Long x 3.5 feet Wide x just over `7 feet Tall. You will need at least `10 x `8 feet of floor space and a 7.5 high ceiling.

Packaging: Comes unassembled in 2 flat, heavy boxes. Total Weight: 328 lbs

Assembly: I assembled it by myself in 3 hours. The instructions were sketchy at times.

Capacities: You can load up to 500 lbs on the Press Arm, 350 lbs on the Lat Machine, 250 lbs on the Leg Lift, and 300lbs on the Squat Bar.

Quality: Has an in-home lifetime warranty and built to last. No weebly, wobbly, weight bench here. The bench is well padded and covered with good material.

Workout: Pure Power! I like that you can use real Olympic Weight Plates. No stretch bands, power rods, magnetic resistance, etc.. 100 lbs will feel like 100 lbs, no doubt. The press arm is self-spotting (good safety feature) and the leg lift and leverage arm move smoothly. I don't like that I have to completely empty the Press Arm when switching between some exercises. I sometimes avoid this by getting my wife to adjust the spotter arm while I lift the Press Arm. Considering that this is a multi exercise machine vs. single purpose benches that you'll find in the gym, this is only a minor issue. I found the movement on the leverage arm to be somewhat limited when doing Tricep exercises, I bought a Tricep Rope and it solved the problem

Recommended Accessories:

Olympic Weight Plates - These are the plates with the big holes. You can only use this type.

Olympic Curl Bar -Powertech offers the curl arm attachment, but save your money this.

Tricep Rope - A straight bar is included, but the rope will let you hit your triceps a whole lot better.

Gym Floor Mat - Protect the floor under your weight bench. The machine weighs over 300 lbs not including you and the weights you put on it

Powertec's machines are the real deal. Very heavy duty construction and built to last. This machine will give you as close to a gym workout as you can get using a single home gym. If my space wasn't limited, I might've chosen the PowerRack instead, but it's been four months now and I am very happy with my choice. I wish the Owner's Manual had more detail about exercises. A training video would've been nice. I had a hard time finding a store with a floor model I could try. Dick's Sporting Goods is the only store I know of that has them on display. My answer to the original question: I like the results. It works! Yeah, it definitely works!

By far the best home gym. I have had the crossbows, bowflex, and others. Nothing compares to the Powertec home gym. When you max out your bows and bands and it tells you that you are benching 280, and you know that's not possible, it's time to move up to heavier duty equipment.

This latest version seems to be about as perfect as can be, they added a little handlebar below the bench to grab while you lie on your stomach and do hamstring curls. And you can do pull ups too.

The gym was easy to put together. Grab a sharpie and label all the bolts, nuts, screws, washers before you start, or it may get confusing. It takes about 4 hours to put together by yourself. I had to go back and remove a few bolts, and exchange them for different ones, because I didn't label them. Otherwise, it would have taken only 3 hours. But it was a joy to watch this monster come together in the basement.

Most of it is already put together and you just have to piece it together. If you ever have to move, it can easily be disassembled into 3 main parts and will be easy to move.


The chest exercises are easy to do. Incline, decline, flat bench all feel about right. The bench is a little higher off the ground than normal, so in decline, your legs may just dangle, unless you are taller.

The lat pull down works well. Great motion. Awesome pulley. Probably one of the smoothest, most perfect pulley motions you are going to find. Great for bicep curls, tricep push downs and more.

You can also actually do real squats. Swivel the bench around, attach the attachment, and you can do serious real squats. All of this without the need for a spotter.

Also, it doesn't take up as much space as I originally thought. It fit in a normal 8 foot basement, with plenty of space overhead. Not sure I believe it is actually 7.5 feet tall.

One dumb issue, on the sides it has two poles that you can stack weights on as a storage area. You can store extra weight here. Well, they are held on pretty loosely with a small bolt. And if you screw the bolt in too tight, it strips, and then it is loose. That part actually sucked.

Poweretc service department is great, if you have any missing parts, they respond quickly and send them out.

Great product overall, very well built. It has a lifetime warranty, and it's obvious why.

Bought this from Powertecfitness directly (lower than here) and LOVE IT!! Took about 2.5 hours to put together solo. Wasn't difficult, just be sure to properly lay out the hardware (nuts/bolts). It's a nice, strong, sturdy piece of equipment to replace a aged Smith machine I had (10 yrs old) and is sure to last at least as long as it did. For the suggestion that the screws to hold the weight storage arms in place being too short: I used the 102 bolts instead of the 64s because, when I was done, I had 4 extra despite following the directions and checking 3 times that I'd used the correct bolts all over. The 64 is for the seat back and the 102s are waaay longer, which is great to hold what is probably an already sufficiently well-constructed weight-rest even better. I'm hoping to use this bench for years and enjoy each and every workout. The movement is smooth and changing plates/exercises is relatively easy, but remember it's not a Bowflex; you're using real weights. It also comes with a wall chart of exercises, though a booklet of exercises as done on this machine, I think, would have been a great addition. If you have any previous lifting experience, there ought not be any problems knowing how to perform the exercises.

I find I'm stronger than I thought after years of using that Smith machine and it's very limited range of motion. Yay!!!

I also have Powertec's leg sled (leg press machine) and am loving that, too!! Safe alternative to squats. Great, smooth movement, and a comfortable cushion to boot! Also comes with an attachment for working calves. Awesome products, Powertec!!

Bought the gym directly from powertec to be sure I was getting the new model which resolves the flaw and safety issue of using the bench without the chair attached. Ordered in Black since yellow's a bit too loud for the house. Overall this is one solid Gym! Assembly wasn't too bad, did it by myself and followed some good suggestions of labeling and sorting the bolts first. Another good suggestion during assembly is don't tighten the bolts before you assemble the lower half and tower. Get it all together, a bit of play will help with fitment and then synch it up. Likewise with the press arm, I attached the press arms and axle first and then attached the press U shaped handle bar to them. I couldn't get the axle in and across when I tried it with the press fully assembled. A little bit of proactive thinking will make assembly and fitment easier in short.

My biggest complaint is the way the bench attaches to the frame. A t-handled bolt passes through a hold on one side of the bench through a bar on the frame with a thankfully larger hole and then finally threaded into the other end of the bench U bracket. I would think a pin would have sufficed and saved the pain of threading and tightening this connection. Secondly quality control was a bit lacking. The paint finish had a large dull spot on one press arm, the powertec sticker on the frame was poorly applied with bubbles and wrinkles.. looked awful so I removed it. I also got the preacher curl attachment and the main pad had holes that were off alignment by 1/4 inch, and threading on the pad a bit skewed as well. Still it all fit together and works well and strangely you can't really notice it's crooked, I can't believe that's by design and requested a replacement pad. Another strange fact is the bolt heads are I'd guess 20mm which I couldn't find a wrench or socket head for and ended up using a crescent wrench. Thankfully the nuts are a standard size so this really wasn't that much of a concern, just weird. Lastly the gym would have been better if shipped with quality weight clamps. I quickly discarded the stock clamps and ordered 4 sets of muscle clamps although that does add another $150 to the cost. These are the reason this only gets 4, because otherwise, this is one of the best gyms you'll find. Lot of value and exercises for the space and it's built to last.

First,I would like to say, if you want a machine that can hold the weight load, and take the abuse this is the machine to have. You don't have to have a spotter,and you can train heavy with confidence, without thinking about the weight falling on you. It's built with heavy guage steel that makes, this machine strong and durable. You can do all of your compound movement exercises that really builds muscle,and mass, and many more exercises for isolation. This is the way to go!!!

Great quality. The machine is very smooth and can do multiple exercises. I am not usually a big fan of the all in one systems, but this machine is great. Definitely happy with my decision to purchase.

This leverage weight bench is the best.
I have looked at Sears, and several other stores, and nothing they sell comes even close to this equipment.
It came in three boxes, with the heavest one at right over 125lbs.and bulky, so you will need someone to help get it in the house if you have stairs, or as I did use a appliance two wheeler.
If you are not wanting to spend the money for professional equipment this is very close for a good bit less money.

This machine is just what you need when you cant or just don't want to go to the gym. You can get multiple excellent workouts with this machine. The only draw back is the directions on putting it together. Its not bad but your basically looking at a picture with the parts stretched away from the machine. Do not let that deter you the good far out weighs this little prob.

2010 Yellow model. Would give it 5 stars, although I cannot use any bench exercises. The right press arm is two+ inches closer to the bench than the left. Not bio-mechanically correct and injurious if used this way. I have photographed, emailed issue, and although I have spoken with their techs they have no answer and no suggested solution. I cannot believe I am the only one with an alignment issue in the course of their business over the years! Gotta get a solution and get working out.

Got this a few months ago and I have to admit it is the first home gym I have seen that has the true "feel" of a regular workout with free weights. The movement is solid and smooth (I can't stand the bowflex styled resistance) and has enough capacity that even a competing bodybuilder could put enough weight on it to work out.

The only negative if any is that over a trip to the gym a complete workout takes a little more time because of the changes to move from exercise to exercise. However, if there is someone home with you that can assist ("uh, honey can you come in here for a sec?" :) )it makes the time impact minimal.

Overall very, very pleased with the equipment and I got mine in gunmetal grey to match my workout room. They offer yellow and red also.