Bench Wars: The Bowflex Bench vs Soloflex vs Nautilus
Sunday, May 15th, 2011
A workout bench is an equipment you use along with your free weights. It allows you to access difficult or hard to reach areas so you can work or train them as you wish. This is made possible through the versatility benches offer you where you can position your body in different ways (incline, prone, etc). Imagine being in a particular position other than lying down while doing your chest press, doesn't that feel like an entirely different workout? In a word, what workout benches provide is leverage. A workout bench along with weights can pretty much be all you need to have a well-rounded and effective full body workout. If you have these two at your home, you can actually consider never having to step inside a gym.
Now there are a lot of benches being offered in the market today and while it makes it harder for users to pick one, the good thing is the options make sure you can find the one most suited to you in terms of both needs and budget. The following are some of the more popular brands and make of workout benches. What you should look for when investing in a workout bench are a sturdy build for safety and endurance, good upholstery for excellent grip and longevity, ample room or space to do all your workouts with, and lastly, if possible, arm and leg handles.
The Nautilus Bench
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Pros
The Nautilus Bench
The Nautilus 5-Position Bench is the equivalent of Bowflex’s 3.1 and 5.1 benches. Since Bowflex is made by Nautilus, there are some evident similarities in the make and build in their equipment and that’s a good thing. Bowflex is popular for its sturdy build and Nautilus exhibits the same quality in this workout bench.
- The Nautilus 5-Position bench is a beautiful, compact, solid and really well-built workout bench. It doesn’t move at all when you do your weight training on it, even though its small frame would make it seem like it would. This is because it is equipped with stabilizer levelers that make it safe and sturdy on any type of flooring.
- It is tiny for a workout bench, measuring just 45 x 15 x 5.5 inches and weighing only 21.5 pound; that’s almost half as most benches weigh these days.
- It is easy to set-up, you only have to give or take 20 minutes to spend on its assembly.
- It can incline to 3 positions, 15, 30 and 45, and decline at a ’10 angle.
- It is very comfortable owing to the fact that it is padded with 5-inch foam rollers.
- It runs cheap at less than $100 at Amazon. For its build, that’s quite a steal.
Cons
- Because of its size, the Nautilus workout bench might not be a winner for those who prefer more space; this is despite the fact that it can accomodate up to 300lbs of mass.
- It is very limited in its range. Its incline is limited and when it does decline, it is barely even doing so.
- It can’t be folded or stowed away easily. Despite being small as it is, some people still prefer to have the option to do this with their equipment.
The Soloflex Bench
Pro
Soloflex
The Soloflex bench has the advantage of being one of the longest running equipment in the world. This means that its concept and mechanism do indeed work and it hasn’t lost its appeal or effectiveness even when going head-to-head with the latest equipment.
- It has a very simple concept and that translates to ease of use. In Soloflex’s case, simple and ease of use doesn’t have to mean ineffective. In fact, a quick look at the reviews online would tell you that 100% of its users who use the equipment right have experienced muscle gains indeed.
- Its range of resistance is incredible. It can go from as low as 2lbs to as high as 500lbs and that is something that no equipment can provide these days.
- It has a very solid build and is very well-constructed and you can tell from the get go because of the pure steel you’ll see. No fluffs. The padding on the seats are also just right for any user, be they beginners or heavy weightlifters.
- It is easy to assemble and disassemble and you can actually tuck it away as you would any other compact equipment these days. Storing it away is probably even easier and less bulkier than many supposedly compact products you see these days.
- You can do almost any exercise on the Soloflex including bodyweight exercises like pull-ups, dips,upside down crunches and hanging leg raises. Again, that’s something machines these days cannot provide you with.
- The Soloflex Bench is a really good fitness machine that can provide you a wide variety of exercises and range of resistance.
- You can use free weights instead of the straps provided by the Soloflex.
Con
- The Soloflex Bench can be a lot expensive because you don’t have much options like lesser resistance, for example, the way you would when you get other brands. The minimum you can get it for is $1,000.
- There’s no getting around replacing the straps. They get worn out, tear, loosen up and etc. after extensive use. This usually results to not being able to accurately determine whether you are getting stronger or not.
- Some of the exercises feel weird using the straps. Anything that has to do with pull downs and curls may have an alien feel to them but you will either get used to them or substitute the exercises.
- The bench is not adjustable and is positioned too high. It is also too short for taller people. Reports have been made on it being too loosely connected to the base too and that it isn’t as sturdy when used on some flooring like carpeted ones.
- To get to the varied exercises, there are a few changes that may take time to do such as strap changes or removing the bench and etc and it takes practice to be able to do them in 30 seconds.
- It is also a disadvantage that the Soloflex is too old school and limited in upgrades. It lacks in grips in the bars and innovations that spell safety for the newbs or average users.
- The bar provided for the free weights are a bit too small for comfort or safety.
The 3.1 Bowflex Bench Vs. the 5.1.
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Bowflex Bench 3.1
The Bowflex Bench 3.1 and the 5.1 are pretty much the same in design, build and functionality in that they both serve as sturdy leverage when doing free weights. In general, the two share the following advantages and disadvantages.
Pro
- Use of free weights is always better than using straps or other mechanisms as far as I’m concerned as they do not limit your range of motion to a predefined one. The body can move naturally as it should with both kinds of Bowflex benches.
- Both are easy to assemble and adjust. You just lift and slide the wheels located at the back of the chair.
- The Bowflex benches are sturdy and do not move when you lift weights.
- There’s a latch for your feet for decline exercises and this is detachable. You only need to put or remove a pin.
- Wide space translates to ease of positioning when doing chest presses and etc.
- Can support a total of 600lbs, a 300-lb person and up 300lbs of additional weight.
Con
- They’re quite big for supposed compact benches. You can’t fold either or and tuck them under the bed.
- The gap or opening between the butt and the crack can be cumbersome.
- You can’t do bodyweight exercises with these benches. There are no bars or options for bars.
- The padded seating can easily tear or wear out although the upholstery do come with warranties.
- The wheels at the bottom for storing tend to get stuck when you roll them.
- They’re a bit expensive than the other adjustable benches available in the market.
Now, for the Bowflex Bench 3.1 and 5.1’s head-to-head:
Their main differences lie in the variety of positions they offer. The 3.1 only provides 4 positions: a decline of ’10, flat, and inclines of 15, 30 and 45. The Bowflex Bench 5.1, on the other hand, can be adjusted to a decline of ‘17, flat, and 30, 45, 60 and 90 inclines.
The 3.1 is perfect for those in tip top condition and do not need the added support the 5.1 can give. The 5.1 is a great find for those who need added support because of previous injuries or those who carry a strain or easily do so and whatnot.
Many users find enough functionality in the 3.1 though and say that they have already more than they can chew with the equipment. But for sophisticated muscle builders, the 5.1 can satisfy their workout needs just right. The 5.1 also has a wider and longer bench ( 51 x 17.5 x 10.5 inches ) thank the 3.1 ( 40 x 17 x 10.5 inches ) but it is also much heavier.
Naturally, the added features in the 5.1 makes it more expensive than the 3.1 so that should be taken into consideration too. Both benches have 10-year warranty for the upholstery but the 5.1 also comes with a longer warranty for the frame at 30 years than the 3.1’s 15 years.
Final Words
Bowflex Bench 5.1
If you want to build a home gym, the best way to start is by getting a handy set of weights (the adjustable ones to save on space) and a sturdy bench. Apart from being cheaper than sophisticated ready-made home gyms, I’m just really sold out on free weights as being ideal for muscle building for the wide and natural range of motion it allows you to do.
While I appreciate bodyweight exercises too and thus applaud the features in Soloflex that allow you to do so many of those, the machine simply doesn’t cut it for me with its lack of attention to little details that provide comfort and safety for the average user. Nautilus is my top choice for its affordability and also since I’m little to begin with and the space it provides is big enough. The average person might find a winner in the Bowflex Bench 3.1 for its ample space, more or less affordable price, functionality, safety and sturdiness. The important thing to remember though is that each person has different needs. Before you get a bench, you need to take into consideration your workout needs and assess what features you can live with and without in order to find the best one that is suited for you.
The Bowflex Motivator 2 can help you build just enough muscle to make you look and feel good. Your body will be in shape and you get to burn calories even when you’re not working out, because we all know that’s what muscle does.
