Looking for a wide bench for your home or garage gym?
You might want to take a look at the FB-5000 Wide Pad Competition Bench from Rep Fitness.
This beefy, robust bench is a remarkable piece of equipment for the price you pay.
In this article, we’re going to highlight the features of this competition class gym bench:
FB-5000 Wide Pad Bench – YouTube Video Overview
Rather watch than read? Check out this video on YouTube.
Let’s take a look, courtesy of Rep Fitness:
FB-5000 Wide Pad Bench – Why a Wide Pad?
A serious competition and training bench needs a wide pad option – and Rep has it.
A wide pad gives you better scapular positioning – and the extra width is especially helpful for bigger guys.
How wide is it?
With the FB-5000 Wide Pad, you get an extra 2" of width in the pad, compared to the normal 12″ wide pad.
Other than that, the specs are the same.
Same length, same height, and overall the same pad thickness.
Like it’s normal width sibling, it is 17″ high (at the top of the pad) and 48.5″ long.
It weighs 62 lbs, and the pad is 4" thick.
All the other great features of the FB-5000 are still there, the convenient handle, wheels for easy re-positioning, and of course it is IPF rated.
FB-5000 Wide Bench Versus Thompson Fat Pad
If you are looking at wide (and thick) bench pad options, you’ve seen the Thompson Fat Pad.
What’s the difference between that and the wide pad on this bench?
The FB-5000’s wide pad is 1/2″ thinner and narrower than the Thompson Fat Pad.
But, consider this – the Thompson Fat Pad alone costs nearly as much as the entire FB-5000 Wide Pad Bench!
(Not to mention if you buy the Thompson Fat Pad, you still need to find a bench that will fit it.
Lastly, the Wide Pad on this bench is firmer than the Thompson Fat Pad.
You’ll sink into it less – and that includes while you are benching, or doing other things like single arm dumbbell rows, etc.
FB-5000 Wide Bench – Overview
OK, so it is a flat bench with an extra wide pad.
What else can we describe about it?
It meets the IPF specs for height, width, and length.
That 17″ height from floor to top of pad is important. This lets lifters use proper positioning of the feet, and arch the back to push up serious weight with proper form.
(Many find they can use this bench for box squats as well – the height is perfect, and the single post design up front ensures your feet can go where they need to.)
The Heavy-duty 3×3″ 11 gauge steel means this bench is rated to support up to 1,000 lbs.
(Translation: More than enough for you!)
The pad is made with affordable, yet durable vinyl upholstery. The 4″ thick pad uses a plywood base.
The pad material is both tough and grippy – you won’t be slipping or sliding as you bench.
This vinyl is a new formulation – it’s has more grip than what Rep used in the past – and it is just as good when wet and slick with sweat too.
That’s especially important for garage gym workouts – which tend not to have the benefit of air conditioning.
This is a 3 post design. There’s two “feet” in the back and one up front – which means the front post does not get in the way of your foot positioning.
It’s easy to move, because it has wheels, and a convenient handle on the front end.
Easy assembly, 15 minutes with a wrench.
Want to customize for your home gym?
As with many of the Rep products, it is available in multiple colors.
Colors currently available are: Matte Black, Metallic Black, Metallic Silver, Hammertone Blue, Hammertone Red
Here’s some more details on the colors.
FB-5000 Wide Pad Bench – Assembly
Assembly is quick and easy.
There’s just 10 bolts to be put in place – and you are off to the lifting.
There’s not tools needed other than a wrench – and it shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes.
Where to buy the FB-5000 Bench?
Where do you buy the FB-5000 competition bench (whether standard or wide?)
It’s not on Amazon – get it right from the source – Rep Fitness.
Rep Fitness is a great company, that makes excellent gear – and the users on reddit agree too.
You won’t have much luck finding this on ebay or facebook marketplace either – it’s a relatively new product and these just aren’t resold that much.
Rep FB-5000 Comp Bench Versus Rogue Monster Utility Bench
Let’s line up this Rep gear with some of the competition – from Rogue Fitness.
How does the FB-5000 compare to the Rogue Monster Utility Bench?
Rogue recently made a version 2.0 of the Monster Utility Bench.
The competition in the bench market has done wonders!
This bench is also tri-post design and it’s very high quality and beefy.
The Rogue unit is equally beefy – it weighs 68 lbs versus 62 for the Rep.
The Rogue bench is made in the USA. We like that.
But, it is significantly more expensive.
There is also a “shorty” and regular option – and a variety of pad options too.
This would be a good way to get that Thompson Fat Pad…
But just remember if you check off all the option boxes, this bench ends up being more than double the price of the FB-5000.
The killer feature of this bench is being able to store it upright (vertical). I don’t have a lot of space in my garage gym – so I love being able to get stuff out of the way – and to make sure it uses a minimum of floor footprint when stored.
FB-5000 Wide Pad Bench – In Summary
The Rep Fitness FB-5000 Bench is our choice for the best bang for your buck wide flat bench.
The build quality is great, and this equipment is very affordable.
Looking for more bench options from Rep Fitness? – They’ve got a bench to fit every home or garage gym – whether adjustable of flat.
Photo Credits
Some product photos on this page are property of Rep Fitness or Rogue.
This website is not affiliated or associated with CrossFit, Inc. CrossFit is a registered trademark of CrossFit, Inc.
Affiliate Disclaimer
We are an affiliate of Rep Fitness. If you buy a flat bench after clicking the links in this article, we receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps us to bring you in-depth information and content on this great training equipment.
Tim is the founder of FitAtMidlife.com – an avid gym rat for 30+ years, he’s a reviewer of many, many shoes – and founder of the Speed Bag Gathering – the world’s only gathering of speed bag punching enthusiasts. See more gym reviews at Tim’s YouTube channel.