TITAN Preacher Curl Bench vs Reflex incline bench

This is a comparison between the TITAN Preacher curl bench and Reflex Incline bench including pros, cons, and alternatives. This article was originally posted in Which TITAN bench to get? Follow the links for details.

Overview and review of the Reflex Olympic incline bench

The Olympic incline bench comes in at $1905 and is a great addition to your existing gym to widen the possible exercises you can do. This article was originally published in "Which bench to get to from Rogue".

What else to consider from Rogue

Overview of the Reflex Incline bench

The reflex Olympic incline bench press is a good option to provide your athletes or yourself with a safe environment for heavy incline bench presses. Once you hit a 400-pound bench press for repetitions you might not want to do them on a bench on rolls. This incline bench press addresses this need. The reflex Olympic incline weight bench comes with the following specifications:

Combination of 3×3 11ga. & 3/16-walled fully Welded Tubular steel construction.
Powder Coated finish.
Plastic lined weight bar saddles.
Aluminum Spotter Deck.
Adjustable Saddles w/ 11 positions.
Weight storage.
7 position adjustable safeties.
1in high-density foam pad.

This is a beast of machine that will make your big guys smile.

Pros of the Reflex Incline bench

Solid, heavy incline bench with good material. In addition, you will also get a good bit of plate storage which might help with your CrossFit box. If you have a team or if you do incline benching on a regular basis with big weights, this is the station to get.

Cons of the Reflex Incline bench

The reflex incline bench is a single-purpose piece of equipment which takes up quite a bit of floor space. This makes it not ideal for group training settings with changing demands or home gyms unless you are Oprah or the rock.

Alternatives to the Reflex Incline bench

Alternatives to the reflex incline bench are

The reflex decline bench executed the same idea of a fixed bench station with a lot of weight but for a decline bench press set up. This is a good alternative to be secure when it gets very heavy.

The Reflex military bench takes the idea of a big metal station that goes nowhere for the seated military press.

The Rogue AB3 is a portable bench which can be set up as a decline, Incline or flat set up to be used with a regular rack or with dumbbells.

Summary of the Reflex Incline bench

The reflex incline bench press is a good option when you want to ensure the same setup for any incline bench or if you move a lot of weight. As long as you have space it can be an item to aspire to. Especially if you considered the ISO leg press you might want to have a look at the reflex range to make your dollars stretch.

Overview and review of the TITAN Preacher Curl Bench

This is an overview of the TITAN Preacher Curl bench including pros, cons, and alternatives. This article was originally posted in Which TITAN bench to get? Follow the links for details.

Overview of the TITAN preacher curl bench

Price: $324

A preacher curl bench is one of the few single-purpose machines that I can get on board with. There is nothing better to pump my biceps than preacher hammer curls. Everyone is different, but this is one of the few machines that sucks up space to only train one muscle group that's actually worth investing in. A preacher curl station will isolate the biceps by giving you the opportunity to sit down and not use your back when doing curls. This has big advantages for developing your biceps. You can also lean against a wall, but a preacher curl just gives the best pump. The full specifications of this TITAN product are:

High-density contour foam padding for a comfortable but firm base to lift from
Adjustable seat to fit different size athletes- UHMW lined j-hooks to protect barbell while racking
31.5-in Rack width to fit most standard barbells and EZ curl bars
Rubber feet to protect floors and provide a stable base
Overall Height: 35-in.
Footprint: 34.5-in W x 40-in L
Rack Width: 31.5-in.
Pad Dimensions: 14-in x 24-in x 2-in.
Finish: Powder-Coated Black
Material: 2-in x 2-in 11-Gauge Steel
Weight Capacity: 250 lb.
Product Weight: 73 lb.

This is a good preacher curl bench that can be easily moved around to fit your needs. There are also no metal pieces obstructing the bar path.

Pros of the TITAN preacher curl bench

Pros of the preacher curl bench are:

Price
Design
Impact

As with all TITAN products, this comes in at roughly half of the price for anything similar you can find in the market. It is also fairly heavy for a preacher curl bench. Cheaper products are usually very light. The lighter your equipment is, the less heavy you want to train on it.

For a preacher bench, the design of this model is beautifully simple. Many other preacher benches get in the way of you doing your curls, especially if you use a straight bar. You will not have this challenge with this model.

As with all preacher benches, if you want big biceps, you basically can not go without. This is the ultimate station to pump your arms up in a big way.

Cons of the TITAN preacher curl bench

Cons of the TITAN preacher curl bench are:

Can not be bolted to the ground
Space requirements
Non-versatile

Even though I am a huge fan of preacher curls in a commercial gym, I would not get one for my home gym. The space I have is very limited and putting a curling bench in just for the sake of getting bigger arms is not possible. Unless you give up an entire two-car garage for your gym or a big basement, I personally think there other machines you can get that have more impact. This can include lat pull down, GHD machine or even a yoke in addition to your existing rack. In addition, there is one design flaw as this bench can not be bolted to the ground. There are no pre-drilled holes to achieve this.

Alternatives to the preacher curl bench

Bicep/tricep curl machine
Preacher Curl station
Rogue Arm Blaster

The TITAN bicep /tricep curl machine follows the same moment pattern as a preacher curl bench. The big difference is that you will not do it with a free weight but on a defined movement path. The Bicep curl machine is plate loaded and takes up roughly the same space as the Preacher curl bench. If you prefer machines with given movement paths for muscle isolation, this is it. It is also easier to start, as getting the curl bar from the starting position is usually a bit challenging and hard on the wrists.

The preacher curl station is the little brother of the preacher curl bench on the TITAN fitness line up. It costs about a third and is less heavy. The steel pins to rest the bar on can get in the way of you exercising. In return, it is a steal at about $150.

The Rogue arm blaster is the ideal solution for someone who wants to isolate their bicep at home but does not want to get in a preacher curl bench. It is still not as good as a preacher curl station, as you will be free-standing, but at least you can isolate the biceps to a similar extent. It also only costs about $50 and makes a nice Christmas present for anyone who has a home gym.

Conclusion for the preacher curl bench

This is one of the first and maybe only machines I would get in my home gym if I had space. A well organized professional gym has to have at least one of these so that you can blast your arms.