A Bench and Some Dumbells. The story of losing my Covid Weight thanks to REP Fitness.

Covid hit everyone differently, but one of the common things we all had was weight gain. Yes the rare few lost weight, but majority of us binge ate our journey.

For me it was 100% the eating. And I was coming from being in the best shape of my life, 165lbs 10-12% body fat. I was in a happy place. I was strong. But, I let go. Twizzlers and Pandemics just go to well together.

So for about a year or two I did some P90x crap here and there and just couldn’t motivate. So I fluctuated between 175 and 185. Not terrible, until I stopped fluctuating by 2021 Christmas and went all in on the food. 206 lbs was the highest I weighed in on a scale. I might have hit higher at one point but I would rather not even think about it.

Fitness for me is a way to clear my mind, balance my anxieties, and stay in a good happy mental space. So losing it and losing it so badly was not good. I wasn’t going out, walking, moving, wanting to leave the house. It was spiraling.

LONG STORY SHORT:

I got in touch with my old personal trainer to see if he was doing remote work and low and behold he was. I had some Powerblock 10-50lb weights already so I was like what else do I need? He was like.. a bench.

And so my dumb ass went straight to Amazon! “Cheap Benches”

100’s of benches came up. My first bench was made of plywood and felt like there was enough padding on it just to make it so you didn’t get as splinter when it would inevitably break in half. It also had terrible marketing for a name…

My cat liked it though…

Anyway, I ended up returning that and getting a slightly “Bigger one”. Turns out BIGGER IS NOT BETTER. This thing was even more plywood and less padding and had mold everywhere!

Sigh… It was not pleasant. I had started to work with my trainer at this point and these things just felt like they were disposable. And I dislike buying items that are disposable. I want stuff that lasts, especially for my future home gym that I always wanted to build (even before Covid).

So I started digging really deep and seeing what else was out there but wouldn’t absolutely WREAK HAVOK on my wallet. That is when I stumbled upon REP Fitness.

Welll shoot, if I invested more than 50$ and actually put a little money in I could afford the AB-3100 Adjustable bench for 249$ at the time. And for the extra 100$ versus the 125$ last piece of sh*t amazon bench.. well this seemed like the perfect first “Investment” into my future health.

So I ordered it eyeing their return policy as I was nervous it would be just as bad as the others I had gotten just inflated price. But when it arrived and I basically could skip my workout that day after bringing this up two flights, I knew it was different than the particle board I had been used to.

I began to build it and this thing was so solid. Great welding, great metal, amazing cushion. The whole thing just made me happy and being happy when working out with your trainer (against your will LOL) is important!

Not only that it wasn’t huge and with some ingenuity I could mount it upright to take up less space(the 4100 wasn’t out yet, sadly as I woulda loved the blue or purple color as with the AB-3100 it only had red and black, BOOOOO)

But colors aside, they were still pretty and matched my spin bike. So other than it being a complete clash against my living room teals, blues, and blacks, it was THE BEST, HANDS DOWN, THE BEST purchase of 2022.

God it was beautiful. But more than beautiful it was STRONG. It has a little wiggle to it, but nothing that isn’t just normal movement. Also there wasn’t a giant gap between the seat and back like all the cheap benches. THIS MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE AND I LOVE THIS BENCH. So armed with this bench and 4 Power Block weights, I started my journey to reclaim my health!

January to today… we are doing damn well!

Hey Covid Pandemic Weight.. WE ARE WINNING!!!

I cannot be more grateful for this affordable entry into “Non disposable” gym equipment. It was exactly what I needed. Had I not gotten this I don’t think this would have worked so well. Being able to roll it around with the handle and back wheels was and is a pleasure. Not a lot of space here so being able to maximize it was awesome!!!

So fast forward to today, I am 5lbs away from my goal weight and my bench is still as strong as it was the first day I got it. And now I am upgrading my home gym even more with cage systems, pullys, etc. You name it. I am going all in, and REP is here to support everything I need. Just ordered their Sabre Bar as well. Can’t wait to get it.

But here is what I had for the last 6 months:

Kitty Approved!

I will update when all the rest of my equipment gets here, but it just goes to show, with a REP bench, some dumbbells, and hard work, you can achieve some amazing things for very little space and money while not having to feel you have to repurchase it all in a month or two.

I can highly recommend this bench. If I were to do it all again, I wish the blue AB-3100 or AB-4100 was available as my room being half living room/half gym wouldn’t contrast so much and I could have gotten the blue or purple colors. Plus the AB-4100 having the “upright” feature built right into it would have been amazing for my small space. But hey… maybe I will just need to buy another to match my decor! Yeah… god I need the blue. Hey REP, HELP!!! Exchange? 🙂

Pros: 

• Small Footprint
• Heavy Duty Consruction
• Wheels on back for easy movement
• Replaceable pad
• Nice finish(even if we wish blue was available to us)
• Not too heavy
• Great adjustable heights
• Good warranty
• Small space between seat and back

Cons:

• Price has gone up since we purchased for 249 to 269.
• No way to vertical mount unless you upgrade to 4100 or are crafty and have a few extra benjies.
• A little more movement between the seat and back then we would like.

Conclusion:

100% BUY IT! You won’t regret it.

Just make sure to get the right color and if you want to stand it up the 4100 is the going to suit you better but remember it comes with a pretty hefty markup. So a yoga block may do the trick for your 3100! ;D

Can purchase here: https://amzn.to/3at7rOz or directly at REP!