· Steve Callanan · 6 min read
After a set of dumbbells, a bench is the piece of home gym equipment that adds the most. It turns a handful of standing exercises into a full upper body program: flat and incline presses, chest-supported rows, seated shoulder work, step-ups, split squats with the back foot raised.
It is also the piece most people buy badly. A bench that wobbles under a heavy press, slides on the floor or pinches your back where the seat meets the backrest gets used less and less until it becomes somewhere to put towels. Here is what to check before you buy one.
Flat or adjustable?
Start with what you will actually do on it.
A flat bench is simpler, lighter and cheaper. It has no moving parts to loosen, and it handles flat presses, rows, hip thrusts and step-ups well. If your program is mostly barbell work in a rack, a flat bench may be all you need.
An adjustable bench gives you flat, incline and seated positions in one footprint. For a home gym built around dumbbells, that range is worth a lot: incline pressing, seated shoulder presses and chest-supported rows all need a backrest that moves.
For most home lifters training with dumbbells, adjustable is the right first bench. If you later add a rack and barbell and find you press flat most of the time, a flat bench is an easy second purchase.
Check the weight rating, and ask what it covers
A bench's weight rating is your margin for error. You are not just loading your own body weight: you are adding a pair of dumbbells, then shifting your weight as you sit up, get into position and set the dumbbells down at the end of a set.
As a guide, the MasterKraft Adjustable Utility Weight Bench Pro is rated to 400kg, and the Flat Utility Weight Bench Pro to 300kg. Either gives a comfortable margin for a heavy lifter with heavy dumbbells.
When you compare benches, ask the supplier what the rating means. Some ratings describe a static load spread evenly across the pad, which is not the same as a lifter dropping onto the seat. A higher rating on a heavier, fully welded frame is a better sign than a high number on a light frame.
Count the positions that matter to you
Backrest angles are where adjustable benches differ most. The Adjustable Utility Weight Bench Pro, for example, has four backrest positions (flat, 30, 45 and 65 degrees) and three seat positions (0, 5 and 22 degrees).
Here is what each backrest range is used for:
| Backrest angle | Typical use |
|---|---|
| Flat | Flat press, flyes, single-arm rows, hip thrusts |
| Low incline (around 30 degrees) | Incline press with more chest, less shoulder |
| Mid incline (around 45 degrees) | Steeper incline press, incline curls |
| High incline (60 degrees and up) | Seated shoulder press, seated curls |
Two things to think about:
- How upright is the top position? A strict seated shoulder press is usually done close to vertical. A bench whose top position is 65 degrees gives a steep incline press rather than a fully upright press. Plenty of lifters prefer that, but if you want strict seated pressing, check the top angle before you buy.
- Does the seat adjust? A seat that tilts up stops you sliding down the bench on incline work. It sounds minor, but it is one of the things that makes heavy incline pressing feel stable.
Mind the gap between seat and backrest
On many adjustable benches there is a gap between the seat pad and the backrest pad when the bench is flat. A small gap is normal. A large one sits right under your lower back or hips on flat pressing and hip thrusts, and it gets uncomfortable fast.
If you can, lie on the bench before you buy. If you are buying online, look at photos of the bench in the flat position and ask the supplier about the gap.
Measure the footprint and the space around it
A bench is bigger in use than it is on the floor. The Adjustable Utility Weight Bench Pro measures 1,370mm long, 730mm wide and 460mm high when assembled. The flat bench is smaller at 1,170mm long and 515mm wide.
You need space beyond that:
- Either side, room to lower dumbbells out wide on presses and flyes, and to set them down at the end of a set.
- At the head, room for your arms on overhead work and to sit up without hitting a wall.
- At the foot, room to step on and off, and to use the bench for split squats.
A strip of tape on the floor marking the bench plus a generous working margin will tell you quickly whether it fits.
Think about moving it
In a garage or spare room, the bench often has to move out of the way. Both MasterKraft utility benches have transport wheels, which matters: the adjustable model weighs 37kg, the flat model 25kg. Without wheels, a bench that heavy tends to stay where it is, which defeats the point of a multi-use room.
Read the warranty split
Bench warranties are usually split by component. On both MasterKraft utility benches the frame carries a 5-year warranty, foam and coatings 1 year, and hardware, plastics and upholstery 3 months. That split is common, and it tells you something useful: the frame is the long-term part, and upholstery is a wear item. Wipe the pad down after sessions and keep it out of direct sun, and it will last much longer.
Put flooring under it
A bench on bare concrete slides, scuffs and transfers every dumbbell set-down into the slab. Rubber flooring under the bench and either side of it, where dumbbells land, gives stable footing and protects both the floor and the equipment. MasterKraft's flooring range includes commercial rubber tiles and an acoustic underlay.
Buy the bench with the room in mind
A bench is easier to choose when the rest of the room is planned around it: where the dumbbell rack sits, which wall the bench lives against, how much floor is left for everything else. If you are planning a home gym for 2027, the MasterKraft home gym fit-out service gives tailored recommendations based on your goals and the space you have, so the bench, storage and flooring work as one room rather than three separate purchases.