Bowflex 5.1s Stowable Bench Review: Everything you need to know

All the Bowflex gym gear is high quality. I’ve reviewed most of their equipment over the years, and it all has that premium feel to it; it doesn’t feel cheap.

And the Bowflex 5.1S Stowable Bench is no exception. This is a heavy bench weighing 70 lb. That extra weight gives it that sturdy, well-made feel that so many users have mentioned. This is a bench that gets praised for its stability.

It’s not a cheaply made, lightweight, wobbly bench like so many of the benches that flood the market right now.

What sells this bench for me is the quality, the solid build, and how easy it is to stow after a workout. The stowable design is a feature I know many users love, and if you’re tight on space, you’ll love it too.

I first reviewed this bench back in 2021 when it was released, and I admit I loved it. It’s a well-made, good-looking weight bench and a great size even for taller users. Yeah, a few drawbacks, but the positives do outweigh them.

Stood The Test of Time

Today, 5 years later, I’m reviewing it again and updating this review.

What I’m glad to see is that since its release, it has sold well, and people are still praising it 5 years after owning it. This is a great sign for any piece of gym equipment, as it proves it has stood the test of time and it’s going to last you many years of use.

So in today’s review, we’ll take a close look at everything the Bowflex 5.1s Stowable Bench has to offer, including those drawbacks.

Also, at the end of the review, I’ll compare the 5.1s to its little brother, the 3.1s, another high-quality bench from Bowflex but with a much lighter price tag.

First, a quick look at the Bowflex 5.1s Stowable Weight Bench, pros, cons, and specs!

Specs

Why Do We Like The Bowflex 5.1S Stowable Bench?

As I mentioned in the intro, it’s the solid build that sells the Bowflex 5.1s, weighing 70lb, it’s a heavy bench, not quite commercial grade, but close enough.

That extra weight is a telling sign that the bench is made from high-quality materials, the heavier the better when it comes to weight benches.

You want your bench to feel like you’re training on a tank, and it’s the weight of a bench that gives you that heavy-duty premium feel, and that’s why so many love this bench. It has a premium feel and really doesn’t feel much different from what you’d use at your local gym. It’s an impressive piece of equipment.

And I Love The Padding

The padding for the seat and backrest is just right. Bowflex has used high-density foam, which is the gold standard for weight benches. It’s not so soft that it causes stability issues, nor so hard that it’s off-putting and uncomfortable. Always look for high-density foam padding when choosing a weight bench.

Read More: 7 Best Weight Benches For Home Gyms 

Click here to check price of the Bowflex 5.1s Stowable Bench on Amazon

Full FID Bench – work all areas of your pecs

Most heavy-duty benches don’t include a decline angle for the back pad, so they’re not really full FID benches, even though many of them claim to be. With the Bowflex 5.1s, it truly is a full FID bench (flat, incline, decline)

Owning a full FID bench is always a good thing, especially if you want to develop all areas of the pecs, low, middle, and upper.

You can do that with a full FID bench because you can press in decline, flat, and incline, so a big thumbs up for Bowflex for including a proper decline angle.

Still, decline bench pressing is a little overrated. If you really want to add some mass to your lower pecs fast, get hold of some dip bars and include some weighted dips in your chest workout. Combine them with some decline dumbbell bench presses, and you’ll max out those lower pecs!

Only 6 Backpad Angles

Although it’s great to have a full FID bench in your home gym, I was still disappointed that the 5.1s only has 6 adjustable backpad angles. And just 90 degrees for seated shoulder presses.

The problem with a full 90-degree seated shoulder press is that it doesn’t allow you to arch your back just a little.

Arching your back just a little when shoulder pressing creates a more stable base and more power. With a full 90 degrees, you almost feel like you’re falling forward.

Everyone is different, and many guys like to shoulder press with a full 90. Still, it would have been nice to have been given a choice; ideally, you want a near-90-degree angle, like 80 degrees, for seated shoulder presses as well.

Again, not so much of a deal killer, but at this price point, I expect a couple of angles for seated shoulder presses.

3 Way Adjustable Seat

The Bowflex 5.1s has a 3-way adjustable seat. This is what you want. Having an adjustable seat is so important for incline bench pressing.

An adjustable seat will stop your butt from slipping down the seat when incline pressing, giving you that all-important stable base to press from. Without that stable base, your form will be affected, and so too will your power.

An adjustable seat is a must when choosing an adjustable weight bench, and I like this one because it offers 3 angles and is easy to adjust.

Can the Bowflex 5.1s Stowable Bench handle its 600lb Capacity?

While the market is flooded with low-cost, poorly built benches boasting huge, unrealistic weight capacities to sell them, Bowflex has kept its weight capacity realistic.

600lb is about right for a well-made, solid bench. As I mentioned earlier, it’s not commercial-grade, so I wouldn’t expect to see 1000lb from a Bowflex weight bench.

So, yes, it’s still not a bench for the most serious of lifters, but for beginners and intermediates, 600lb is more than enough. Remember, 600lb includes your body weight. So if you’re a 200-lb guy, you still have 400lb of lifting weight left to play with.

18″ in Flat

The height of a bench when the backpad is in its flat position is so important and something a lot of weight benches get wrong.

If you buy a bench and it’s too high when in a flat, you’re going to struggle to get your feet flat on the floor when bench pressing, which is going to affect how much power you can produce.

When you buy an adjustable weight bench, you want it to be just as impressive in flat as it is in incline.

Competition and commercial flat benches have a height of around 17.5″, so we want our adjustable bench to get as close to this as possible when we put the backrest in a flat position.

Thankfully, Bowflex has done well here. The height of the 5.1s stowable bench is 18″ from the floor to the top of the padding, which is great for an adjustable weight bench.

The Bowflex 5.1s Drawbacks

Overall, the Bowflex 5.1s is an impressive weight bench, that’s hard to fault. I’d happily own this bench myself; it’s a weight bench that has got most of the essentials right.

If I were being picky, the backpad is slow to adjust because it uses a pull pin system rather than the more desirable ladder adjustment system. Which is strange, as this is Bowflex’s top-of-the-line stowable weight bench, and yet the cheaper 3.1s and 4.1s stowable benches use the ladder adjustment system for the backpad. Which seems very odd to me.

Also, the gap between the backpad and the seat is quite large, which might be a little uncomfortable for some. Lastly, I would have liked to see a couple more angles for the backpad, especially for seated shoulder presses.

Not huge drawbacks, but maybe some things there they could address if they ever decide to update the bench

45-Minute Assembly

Sadly this is not a weight bench that arrives at your doorstep fully asmebled, so yeah, there is some assembly to do when you unbox. It’s not tricky, and the instructions are clear, still it’s always best to take your time and make sure you get it right the first time.

Rather than me explaining it all to you, here’s a handy assembly video from Bowflex, just in case you hit any problems.

Comapre

Bowflex 3.1s Stowable Bench

You wouldn’t call the Bowflex 3.1s a heavy-duty weight bench like its bigger brother, the 5.1s.

It doesn’t have the commercial-grade steel frame like the 5.1s, but it’s a weight bench from the guys at Bowflex, so you can be assured the quality is still there. It just doesn’t quite have the same premium rock-solid feel of its bigger brother.

Which is to be expected, because the Bowflex 3.1s weight bench costs much less than the 5.1s. It’s a bench geared more towards the beginner looking to take their dumbbell workouts to the next level, rather than for lifting heavy in a power rack.

It’s basically a very well-made bench for beiggerns, it has a lot going for it, the wide front and rear stabilizing feet are nice and wide, which really helps keep this lighter bench stable.

Also, it has the built-in adjustable levelers which you can adjust to keep the bench stable on uneven surfaces a very handy feature to have.

And Bowflex has used the ladder adjustment system for the backpad on their 3.1s bench, which is much faster to adjust than the pull-pin system they use on their 5.1s bench, so it’s going to feel sturdier under heavy loads, too.

The padding is great, the 3.1s uses the same high-density foam padding as the 5.1s, which is exactly what you want.

Overall, it’s an impressive dumbbell bench. A good option for beginners who dont need an expensive, heavy-duty option like the 5.1s, but still want a high-quality Bowflex beginners bench that will last for years.

What lets it down is that there are only 4 adjustment angles for the backpad, which is a shame, and for a bench costing upwards of $300 its not enough.

To Sum Up

I think Bowflex has done really well with its line of Stowable Weight Benches; they’re all high-quality, sturdy, and well-built.

The 5.1s Stowable bench is particularly impressive because of that heavy-duty frame. It has the weight. 70lb is an excellent weight for an adjustable bench. It’s heavy enough to aid stability, but not so heavy, that you can move the bench easily if you need to use it with a power rack.

As I said in the review, there’s a few minor drawbacks, but nothing I’d call a deal killer. Overall, Bowflex has got most of the essentials right with the 5.1s Stowable Bench. If you can get hold of it on offer for under $400, then yes, it’s worth it.

Bowflex 5.1s Sowable Weight Bench FAQs