Affordable Olympic Weight Bench (Flybird Fitness)

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When building out a home gym there a few essential pieces that most of us would like to have as part of our set up.

Dumbbells, a pull-up bar, a barbell and plates and a solid bench are what most people would consider staples. And if your budget and space allow for it, a piece of equipment that can add more variety to your leg workouts as well.

I happened to come across a piece of equipment that not only allowed me to bring barbell benching and barbell shoulder pressing into my home gym, but also gives me the opportunity to add more exercises into my leg and arm training as well.

I’m talking about the Olympic Weight Bench from Flybird Fitness, and in this article I am going to share with you the details, as well as my own personal experiences, thoughts and opinions on this addition to my home gym. (Spoiler Alert: I’m still using it and loving it at the time of this writing)

Barbell and plates not included and must be purchased separately.

You can find the barbell I use here and the plates I use here to have a complete setup.

If you decide to purchase this, or any other products using any of the links in this article, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Key Takeaways

Multi-Functional. Great for barbell benching, added biceps curl variation and leg training.

No safeties or guards when benching, so bench safely and responsibly.

Leg Extension/Curl attachment is sturdy, comfortable and moves smoothly.

Specs, Dimensions & Assembly

Assembly

My Olympic Weight Bench arrived in a single box, with everything neatly packaged and protected.

The manual laid out each step well with clear pictures and orientation of each piece as it goes together. “L” and “R” labels on the legs give a clear indication of left and right let you know which side you are assembling and in which way you are viewing it as it’s being built.

The screws, nuts and bolt as well as the Allen keys come in a neat plastic package. The packaging has letters on each grouping of hardware so you know which ones to use when reading the assembly instructions. The letters on the packaging of the hardware can be a little difficult to see, but it didn’t really give me much of a problem with the assembly overall.

I built the entire Olympic Bench in roughly an hour and a half (90 minutes), and found the whole process smooth from start to finish.

Specs & Dimensions

The length of the Olympic Bench is roughly 74 in. (182 cm) from the back of the rear legs to the very tip of the leg extension attachment.

The rear is the widest part of the Olympic bench with the width being roughly 40 in. (102 cm).

Keep in mind however that this measurement is with empty rear weight storage posts and no barbell. If you plan to store 45 lb (20.5 kg) plates on the posts, then that brings the width to roughly 53 in. (135 cm) to account for the width of those plates that stick out further on the sides.

When you add a Flybird barbell like I have to the stand, that will add roughly 23 in. (58.5 cm) per side for a total width of about 100 in. or 8.3 ft. (254 cm). So keep this in mind when you are measuring out your space to keep it fully functional and usable.

The height of this piece varies due to the stands on which your barbell will rest being adjustable. At their lowest setting the overall height is 40.5 in. (103 cm), and at their highest setting the overall height is 50.5 in. (128 cm).

The Olympic Bench is made of steel alloy, and the Flybird website has the weight of this bench listed at 61 lbs (28 kg). I haven’t weighed it myself at home, but I can definitely say that it is very easy to move around when unloaded.

The backrest and seat are very comfortable. The back rest has a length of 31.5 in. (80.01 cm) and a width of 11 in. (28 cm). The seat has a length of 13.5 in. (34.3 cm) and a width of 12 in. (30.5 cm)

The backrest has 7 different settings to choose from.

There is 1 decline position, a flat position, 4 different levels of incline and an upright position which allows you to hit your chest from many different angles, as well as your shoulders in the upright position for a press.

Switching backrest positions is quick and easy. All you have to do is pull out the locking pin and raise or lower the backrest to your liking. Once you’ve chosen a position, make sure the support arm is fit correctly into the bracket of your choosing and reinsert the pin.

Let’s not forget about the barbell stand. This is where your barbell is going to be racked before you lift, and it’s important to have a few different heights to accommodate lifters of various sizes and arm lengths. Each side is simple to adjust with screw-in spinning knob.

The website specs state that this piece of equipment can hold up to 900 lbs (408.3 kg).

I can not personally attest to this being true or false as the highest amount I have loaded so far has been 155 lbs (70.3 kg).

Each arm on the barbell stand has 5 different height selections to choose from, which gives a bunch of different options for you to be comfortable on your bench press setup.

The preacher curl pad is another great feature and adds even more versatility. Like the arms of the barbell stand, it offers 5 different height selections and is very easy to adjust with a screw-in spinning knob similar to the barbell stand.

The preacher curl pad measures 11.5 in. (29.21cm) in length and 15.5 in. (39.37 cm) in width.

Last, but not least, we have the leg extension/leg curl attachment.

This piece features round foam padding for your thighs whether you’re in the seated or lying position. There is also the same type of padding for your ankles for both leg extensions and leg curls.

The rod on which you stack your weights for loading up your extensions and curls measures roughly 10 in. (25.4 cm) and the diameter is 1 in. (2.54 cm) which will fit plates with a 1-inch diameter center hole as well as 2-inch center-hole Olympic plates.

There is even a tiny latch which locks the leg extension/curl piece in place when not in use.

My Experience & Opinion

I had been training exclusively with dumbbells for a while, but had been wanting to bring in some more variety into my training.

My main goal was to reintroduce barbell training into my routine, and would have been happy with just that addition. But when I came across Flybird’s Olympic Weight Bench, I saw that it would provide me not only with a means to bench and shoulder press, but to add in a new way to hit biceps curls and train my legs as well.

I train in a garage gym, and I really like that this doesn’t take up a huge amount of space, and is also very easy to move around as long as there aren’t any plates stacked anywhere on it.

I have only owned and used this weight bench for a few months at the time of this writing, which isn’t a significant amount of time. But up until this point the fabric on the padding as well as the cushioning inside is holding up well.

I also own and have written about one of the Flybird adjustable bench models, so as it stands now I am going to expect the same quality out of this piece of equipment as I am still getting out of that particular Flybird bench, which is that it’s still holding up well except for some expected wear and tear from consistent use over a long period of time.

You can check out that article about the Flybird bench here.

A bit of wear and tear I did notice almost immediately was on the cups where the barbell rests.

The rough knurling of the barbell does scratch and grind away some of the coating on the cups.

I imagine that this will only happen more and more throughout its usage, but for me personally this isn’t much of a factor at all since I fully expect scratches, scuffs and dings to happen with gym equipment.

Speaking of the barbell stand, I like the mechanism Flybird chose to adjust and lock in the desired height of each post. I find the screw-in knob style to be pretty fast, with my perhaps my favorite detail being that the screw is able to pass through the entire shaft and through the other side.

I like the fact that I can see the screw sitting completely through both sides of the shaft giving that extra support.

I will point out that I do wish the arms of the barbell stand were spaced out just a little bit further to allow a wider grip on the barbell if someone using it preferred.

For me personally this is not a big deal and I can grab the barbell just fine for my own comfort.

Keep in mind I am only 5’3. Someone with a larger frame and longer arms may have a different experience.

One final piece of advice when it comes to these barbell cups and bench pressing, is to be wise when it comes to selecting a weight and how close to failure you want to train, especially if you are without a spotter.

I have sometimes found that placing the bar successfully into the cups after a set takes a bit of control and precision, which might be difficult to do when fatigued at the end of set. So always lift safely and with a weight that you can control.

Working my way down the bench, I find the padding on the backrest, seat and preacher curl pad to be soft and comfortable.

The leg curl/extension attachment has felt sturdy throughout my usage of it so far. It swings smoothy with each rep with no grinding or tightness in it’s hinge.

If you’re used to leg extension machines in commercial gyms, you may be used to having a pad for you to lock your knees under as well as handles to grab onto for stability which does come in very useful with heavy weights.

While this piece of equipment doesn’t offer those things, I have found no problems repping nearly 100 lbs (45.4 kg). This is the heaviest weight I have attempted so far but I expect to have the same efficiency as the weights get heavier.

A tip I can offer and one that I have been using is to grab onto the sides of the seat as a way to keep yourself locked in and provide whole body tension as well that will help you stay stable throughout your sets.

Lying leg curls are comfortable as well. My tip from above also applies here. Grab onto the bench good and tight and that should help keep you in place and locked in.

The ankle padding has been comfortable on both curls and extensions. Even when I’m digging in hard on the final reps of each set, I don’t feel any hard metal pressing against me at all.

Price

The price of the Olympic Weight Bench is $245.88 at the time of this writing.

After doing a quick search of other brands, I was able to find a handful of others at various prices.

Out of the ones that I found, prices ranged anywhere from $140 – $375.

This was not an exhaustive or extensive search, but from what I was able to find it seems the Flybird model falls somewhere in the middle when it comes to price.

Conclusion

I have been very happy so far with my Flybird Olympic Weight Bench. It has been a key addition to my home gym and wish that I had gotten one for myself much earlier than I did.

While there are cheaper models out there, I have no regrets paying a bit more for what I am finding to be a very quality piece of equipment.

If you have been wanting to upgrade your gym environment and add different elements into your training while not taking up a huge amount of space, then I recommend giving this one a serious consideration.

Thank you for taking this time to read my review and I wish you all the best in your training.

Disclaimer: None of the information in this article is intended to be medical or health advice. Always consult with a qualified physician before taking part in any exercise or fitness regimen.