Everything You Should Know About The Marcy Olympic Weight Bench MD-857 (Review)

If you’re going to go low-cost with your Olympic weight bench, then Marcy is the company to go to. I’ve been reviewing their weight benches for many years, and while their equipment isn’t heavy-duty high-end gear, you get a lot of bench for your money.

Still the best one-piece unit under $300?

There really isn’t anyone else out there right now that can build a well-made Olympic weight bench for around $300. You have companies like Yoleo, Flybird Fitness, and even Ancheer Fitness, but none of their Olympic benches come close to the quality of the Marcy Bench, even though they share similar price tags.

The Marcy Olympic Weight Bench MD-857 is Marcy’s flagship one-piece Olympic bench. It’s been around for many years.

I first reviewed it nearly a decade ago, and it was just as popular back then as it is now. People are still praising this bench years after owning it. Which is exactly what you want to hear.

It’s a bench that’s stood the test of time. And there aren’t many low-cost Olympic benches that can boast that.

The Marcy MD-857 Olympic Weight Bench is certainly a bench worth taking seriously. It’s been many years since I last reviewed this bench, so today I want to take a really close look at it, all the pros, cons, and any drawbacks. Plus, there’s been a few updates.

Also, at the end of the review, I thought it might be interesting to compare the Marcy MD-857 with Marcy’s best-selling two-price Olympic Weight bench, the MD-879, to see how these two impressive Olympic benches match up.

First, let’s take a quick look at the specs, pros, and cons of the Marcy MD-857 Olympic Weight Bench!

Specs

Read More: Top 3 Marcy Olympic Weight Benches

Why Do We Like The Marcy MD-857 Olympic Weight Bench?

What I like most about the Marcy Bench is that it’s a one-piece unit. The one-piece Olympic benches feel sturdier than the two-piece designs because with the one-piece, the bench is attached to the barbell rack, creating a much more solid unit.

With the one-piece Olympic Benches, you dont have to worry so much about rack wobble, which can be a big problem with the low-cost two-piece sets.

Heavy For the Price Point

Also, as I mentioned in the intro, what I love about the Marcy MD-857 is that it’s pretty heavy for a $300 olympic bench, it weighs over 100lb, which gives it a much more sturdy feel than the other Olympic benches in this price range, with many only weighing around 60lb.

Weight Plate Holders

Also, I was impressed to see that Marcy has built in two Storage pegs for the weight plates. This is a really important feature, because not only do the plate holders keep your plates off the floor and closer to the barbell on the rack, but when they’re loaded with your weight plates, they’re going to add a ton of weight to your Olympic bench.

That extra weight will make the Marcy MD-857 feel rock-solid. You have the sturdier one-piece design, an almost heavy-duty 100lb frame, and you can load the plate holder to add even more stability. For $300, you’ll have a rock-solid Olympic bench. Nice.

One tip, though: make sure you load the storage pegs evenly on each side with your plates.

Click here to check price of the Marcy MD-857 on Amazon

Only 4 Backpad Positions

One of the drawbacks you’ll find with many of the one-piece Olympic weight benches is the lack of  adjustment angles for the backpad, and this doesn’t just affect the low-cost Olympic benches, even semi-commercial and commercial grade one-piece Olympic benches lack enough angles.

With the Marcy MD-857, you only have 4 a couple in incline, flat, and one in decline. So you’re fine for bench pressing in decline, flat, and incline, you can work all areas of the pecs, it’s just there’s no incline angles for seated shoulder presses

So if you were thinking of using your dumbbells for seated shoulder presses on this bench, sadly, you can’t.

Still, it’s not a deal killer, as you can use the barbell rack for standing barbell presses using the squat catches.

5 Position Sliding Seat

A feature that really impresses me about the Marcy MD-857 is the adjustable seat, it’s rare to find an adjustable seat on a low-cost Olympic Weight Bench. I think Marcy is the only company right now that includes an adjustable seat in this price range. And what I like abouty this seat is that it inlcuides two incline positions and five slding positions.

Having a bench with a sliding seat allows you to get the perfetc alignmnet for your lifts, its a rerally handy feature you dont find on many benches.

But whats most usefull are the two incline angles of the seat, adjustaing the seat to an incline position is goi ng to give you the a much more stable base to press from when incline bench pressing, without it, your butt is going to slide down ths seat, which is going to effect your form abnd the amount of power you can produce.

Sp a big thumbs up to mMarcy for not only including a sliding seat but also one that includes the essnetail incline posotions for supoort when incline benching.

Includes Adjustable Spotter Arms

Adjustable Spotter arms are something you just don’t normally find on the low cost Olympic benches, I was so impressed when I fits saw that Marcy includes these.

The reason they’re so important is that it means you can train safely at home on your own; you won’t need to have a friend there to spot you on heavy lifting days. 

The Spotter bars are fully adjustable and simply there to prevent you from getting pinned under the barbell if you fail on that last killer rep. An excellent safety feature and great toi find on a bench in this price range.

Padding Just Right

The Marcy Olympic Bench MD-857 includes 2″ high-density foam padding for both the seat and the backpad. High-density foam padding is the gold standard for weight benches, and the reason this stuff is so good is that it’s not too hard to be uncomfortable and off-putting, nor too soft to cause stability issues; it’s just right, and what you should always look for when choosing any weight bench.

Standard and Olympic Size Barbells

Another nice feature of the Marcy MD-857 bench is that it can be used with both standard and weight plates, which also means the attachments, like the leg extension and preacher curl, can be used with standard 1″ plates and the Olympic plates.

Max Out Your Biceps With Preacher Curls

There are a few attachments that come with the Marcy bench, not everybody will use them, but the one I particularly like is the preacher curl attachment. Ptreachewr curls are one of the best exercises for isolating the biceps. You can really max them out using a preacher curl,

I love using an EZ bar for preacher curls because it’s excellent for developing the peaks of your biceps, and you can pick one up pretty cheaply.

Can The Marcy MD-857 Handle Its 600lb Capacity?

This is one of those rare occasions where I#d p[robably agree with the manufacturer that this bench could handle its 600lb max capacity, it’s a well-built sturdy weight bench, and Marc y have been around for decades, these guys know what they’re doing, and they’ve always done it well, better than anyone in the low-cost Olympic bench market. 

600lb isn’t unrealistic for a well-made low-cost Olympic weight bench. So many companies that produce low-cost weight benches love to slap unrealistic, huge weight capacities on their benches to help sell them. I like that Marcy has kept things real with their max capacity. Yes, it’s not huge for the price point, and the bench’s build is about right.

Drawbacks of The Marcy MD-857 Olympic Weight Bench

There really isnt much I could find to fault about the Marcy MD-857, its an Olympic bench that offers so much for the money. Still If i had to be picky:

• There’s only 4 backpad angles
• Holes are quite far apart on the barbell rack, would have been nice to have seen more
• Not suitable for serious lifters lifting heavy

So yeah, no major drawbacks, just a few minor ones. 

Final Verdict

You won’t find a better one-piece Olympic Weight for $300 better than the Marcy MD-857, is about as close to heavy duty as you’ll find ion this price bracket.

Marcy really is the go to company when it comes to low-cost Olympic weight benches, and they have been for many years. What really sells the MD-857 is the sturdy design and smaller features like the spotter bars and the 2-way adjustable seat. These features are normally reserved for much higher-priced Olympic benches, and it’s great to see them on an Olympic bench in the lower price brackets.

Yes, it’s not perfect, there are a few minor drawbacks like the lack of positions for the barbell rack and bench backpad, but nothing I’d call a deal stopper. The pros far outweigh the cons with this bench. It’s an excellent choice for both beginner and intermediate lifters.

How Does The Marcy MD-857 Compare to the Marcy MD-879?

Marcy MD-879 Olympic Bench (two peice)

The Marcy MD-879 is another budget to mid-level Olympic weight bench; it’s one of Marcy’s best sellers. In fact, I think it outsells all the other two-piece Olympic benches in this price bracket.

And there’s a reason it sells so well, and that’s because, like the MD-857, it’s well made. People have even mentioned it has a premium feel to it, which is really good to hear and surprising for a 2-piece Olympic Bench costing under $300.

What I like about this two-piece set is that Marcy has included the built-in weight plate holders on the barbell rack, which is important because, as I mentioned with the MD-857, you can load the plate holders with your weight plates, and it’s going to add some much-needed weight and stability to the barbell rack.

The main problem with lower-cost two-piece Olympic benches is the stability of the rack. A lot of two-piece ones I’ve reviewed in this price range didn’t include plate holders, so you can add extra weight for stability, and many of the racks are wobbly. But that’s something you dont need to worry too much about with Marcy’s MD-879 two-piece Olympic bench.

And what is also impressive about this two-piece Olympic bench is the quality of the actual bench. This is where Mracy shines, their benches are also sturdy and well-made, and include the impressive high-density foam padding too.

So yeah the main advante of a two price set is that you can use the weight bench indepebntly from the barbell, and i know a lot useres prefer this set up. Still, you lose a little bit of stability because the bench isn’t attached to the rack. Overall, one-piece Olympic benches will always trump the two-piece when it comes to stability.

Which ever bench suits your training best out of these two, the MD-879 or the one-piece MD-857, you won’t be disappointed, both offer excellent value for money and are made by a company you can trust.

Marcy Olympic Weight Bench MD-857 FAQs