Best Portable Weight Bench For Small Spaces

A bench press is the perfect piece of equipment for anyone looking to gain extra arm strength.

For those who don’t have much space, a compact folding bench is even better.

A portable weight bench allows you do do both incline and decline workouts. Plus it’s foldable, so you can always store it away easily.

What to Look for While Shopping the Best Portable Weight Bench

Identifying the best portable bench amongst the plethora of options available can be pretty overwhelming. Here are things you should consider to make your shopping process a breeze:

Adjustability

Some of the best portable benches can go from flat to incline and decline positions with ease. Others feature adjustable leg holders, and others have a second level for seamless multi-level exercises. The more adjustable your folding weight bench is, the more exercises you can do on it. So be sure to look out for such features.

Sturdiness

Since you’ll be lying and sometimes standing on it to do particular exercises, a folding bench should feature a sturdy build. Otherwise, it’ll not only put you at risk, but it may also break. An excellent folding bench should hold at least 500 pounds so it can safely hold your weight as well as that of your weights. To identify the best, most sturdy weight bench, consider your weight and how much weight you intend to lift on it.  

Design

Comfort is critical to efficient workouts, and a compact weight bench’s comfort level is as good as its design. That said, even while looking for a functional folding weight bench, ensure it has a good design. Look for features such as a thick vinyl padding for maximum support and a powder coat finish to prevent scratching and rusting problems. 

Budget

Even if you find a compact folding bench designed to suit your every need, it will be of no good use to you if it’s not within your price range. For that reason, determine the minimum and maximum amount you can spend on the best portable weight bench to shop within your price range.

Why a Portable Weight Bench is Among the Best Gym Gear to Buy

Adding a folding weight bench to your home gym is among the best decisions you’ll make because:

Space Will Never Be a Concern

With a portable bench, limited space should never be the reason you didn’t work out. These benches offer both functionality and portability, thanks to their folding feature. They’re lightweight and can be moved around with a lot of ease. Whenever you’re ready to work out, all you need to do is set it up, do your bench presses or overheads, then fold it up and store it away whenever convenient.

It’s Extremely Versatile

A compact weight bench is among the most versatile pieces of gym equipment you’ll ever own. Whether your goal is to shed off the extra pounds, get a full-body workout, or strengthen your muscles, a folding weight bench allows you to do it all. You can bench press, do crunches, overheads, flies, curls, and many more exercises that we’ll highlight later.

You can exercise either at incline or decline positions, and the bench can switch up to suit nearly any function you have in mind. For instance, it can serve as a stand for pull-ups, support for squats, and as a base for decline workouts.

In a nutshell, if you’re looking to build a functional home gym in limited space, a good portable  bench is your best bet. It’ll serve a wide range of functions, limiting the need for a lot of gym equipment.

It Offers Excellent Support

Folding weight benches facilitate a broad range of exercises and offer reliable support while exercising. They’re sturdy enough to distribute your weight evenly and keep your spine straight while you work out. That facilitates a range of movements and enables you to try various exercises while in incline and decline positions.

For instance, the best portable weight benches feature thick padding to support your neck, back, core, and even legs while you work out. Others feature a second level for exercises like step-ups and a series of other adjustments that allow intense workouts without your muscles tensing up.

It Provides Efficient Muscle-Targeting

Whether your goal is to get perfect triceps or biceps, a portable bench is your secret weapon. Since it is sturdy and can be angled in different ways, a folding weight bench guides your movements, making it easier for you to isolate and target specific muscle groups. 

For instance, if you’re working towards a Dwayne Johnson’s kind of chest, consistent incline bench presses between 45 and 60 degrees on a folding weight bench will get you there. It encourages good posture by keeping your spine straight and offers multiple positions to work out your core.

It May Feature Extras

Some of the best portable weight benches aren’t just portable and versatile — they also come with extras that further elevate your home gym. For instance, some compact weight benches often come with barbell holders, latches, leg-down holders, and internal storage compartments when folded. When you’re short on space, equipment with such features is guaranteed to make your life easier.

It is Ideal for Everyone

If you’re looking for gym gear anyone who comes to your home can use, a compact folding bench is all you need. Anyone, from novices who just got into strength training to experienced lifters, can use it at ease.

The Best Portable Weight Bench

Now that you know what to look for, some of the benefits of owning one, and exercises you can do on them, here are some of the best portable weight benches in the market:

Top Choice: Flybird Adjustable Bench

Very few folding weight benches strike a balance between a lightweight build and stability. The Flybird adjustable bench is among the few. At only 10kgs, the compact weight bench can seamlessly accommodate up to 600 pounds. That’s an insane weight capacity for a bench at this size and price range.

It has a heavy-duty commercial steel build for durability and a soft leather bench pad stuffed with 1.8″ thick, soft foam for maximum comfort while you work out. The unique triangular design greatly enhances storage since folding means you lose about 70% of its volume.

The marquee feature on the Flybird adjustable weight bench is its excellent FID capabilities. It has six back positions making full-body upper workouts a breeze, and four-seat positions for seamless incline workouts. What’s more, these positions are easy to set up since all you need to do is pull the support bar and adjust.

• Six back positions and four-seat positions
• 600-pound weight capacity
• Soft, leather bench pad stuffed with soft foam for comfort
• Unique triangular design for easy storage

Top Value: Reebok Professional Aerobic Deck

The Reebok Professionals aerobic deck might look simple, but it has more to offer than you may think. It boasts three flat, incline, and decline positions and can comfortably accommodate 330 pounds. If most of your workouts include resistance training, the Reebok Professional deck is an even better pick since you can connect resistance tubes to it during exercise.

It’s one of the most versatile weight benches around as it can also double up as a stepping deck for cardio workouts. When using it as a stepping deck, you can leave it at its normal eight-inch height for low impact workouts or adjust it to 14 inches for intense aerobics.

This portable weight bench features a hard, lightweight plastic build and has a rubber grip for maximum stability. We also loved that it features internal storage, which is perfect for keeping your weights, resistance bands, and other well-organized and safely stored workout accessories. However, it has quite a limited weight capacity range.

• 3 FID positions
• Two height positions
• 330-pound weight limit
• Internal storage

Most Durable: Escape Fitness Multi-Purpose Fitness Station

The Escape Fitness Multi-purpose fitness station is surprisingly versatile and durable for a compact folding bench with a plastic build. It weighs only 29 pounds and measures 14″x12″x248″ and has a 375-pound weight capacity.

It makes up for the limited weight capacity through its wide range of adjustability options (16 configurations), including 30, 45, and 70 degree back angles. There are also resistance channels for your resistance bands. What’s more, it doubles as a stepping platform and a plyometric box, allowing you to perform an even greater range of both cardio and strength training exercises.

If you have a hard time organizing your workout accessories, you will love this folding weight bench even more because it features integrated storage right beneath the adjustable backrest.  It has a foot position guide for those who’ve never used a folding bench for workouts. You’ll never have to worry about slipping since it features a high-quality anti-slip mat.

• 375-pound weight capacity
• 16 configurations
• Integrated storage compartment
• Resistance channels for resistance bands

Popular Exercises You Can Do on a Folding Weight Bench

As a piece of versatile gym equipment, a folding weight bench is your best bet for the following exercises:

• Dumbbell bench presses: Bench presses with a dumbbell of a folding weight bench allow a more comprehensive motion range than with a barbell and eliminates the need for a spotter. You can do so many dumbbell exercises using portable benches, ranging from popular options like incline to one-arm dumbbell presses.   
• Reverse exercises: This category of workouts workout your core and are ideal if you’re looking to carve out perfect abs or workout your rear delts. A compact weight bench is ideal for reverse exercises like dumbbell flys, bench crunches, and incline bench crunches.
• Squats: From Bulgarian split squats, pistol squats to single-leg squats, there are many kinds of squat exercises that you can do on a compact weight bench.
• Lying triceps extensions: Also known as skull crushers, lying triceps extensions are easy to do on a compact weight bench because it offers a solid, flat base to lie, and train on. Other triceps workouts you can do on a portable weight bench include triceps dips and kickbacks.
• Arm workouts: Since it’s solid and flat, a folding weight bench allows you to efficiently lock your arm into place, conversely facilitating better arm workouts than any other surfaces. You can do arm exercises on a folding weight bench, including concentration curls, seated curls, flat, incline, and decline triceps extensions.

That’s A Wrap!

A folding weight bench is a perfect piece of gear if you’re short on space. It facilitates a diverse array of exercises and can be stored away.

The Escape Fitness Multi-purpose fitness station is our best pick. It is lightweight, durable, and impressively versatile. It can serve as a weight bench, stepping deck, plyometric box, and even resistance training.

If you’re looking for the lightest, the Flybird adjustable is your best portable weight bench, while the Reebok professional deck is an excellent pick if you want to get the most value from a weight bench.