Freak Athlete ABX Review

The Freak Athlete ABX is an adjustable weight bench with an ecosystem of attachments that add lots of versatility.

Freak Athlete markets the bench as “The World’s Best Weight Bench” because of it’s 10-in-1 functionality.

Seems like they modeled the success of their Hyper Pro and brought it to the weight bench category.

So in this Freak Athlete ABX review, I’m giving you all the details… let’s check it out!

Unboxing

ABX Bench

I got the bench and all four attachments so I’ll break down what’s inside each box one at a time.

First box is the bench and the packaging is solid.

Every part is either covered in plastic, bubble wrapped, and the edges are protected with styrofoam and hard cardboard.

Out of the box, I only had to attach 4 pieces to the frame: the hind leg and 3 pads.

This is one of the easiest weight benches I’ve ever assembled.

And the best part is that the hardware already came attached to the parts so it made it super easy.

Most companies have all the hardware in one packet and I have go back and forth between the manual and hardware packet to assemble everything.

Having the hardware on the parts makes so much sense and sped up the assembly process.

And here’s the bench once I put everything together.

Straight forward assembly that took me about 15 minutes (if that).

My first impression of the bench is that it’s well made, feels solid, stable, and comfortable.

I think this will be good competition for other adjustable benches in the market.

Dip & Ab Attachment

Next up, is the box for the ab and dip attachment.

Once again, packaging is on point and everything came well protected.

These are all the parts from that box.

If you’ve ever put an ab attachment together, you know it’s super easy to set up.

All I did was insert two bars through the frame, then add the rollers on each end of the bars.

As far as the dip attachment goes, I just had to add the chrome base to the handles.

In case you’re wondering, it is 20″ on center from handle to handle.

Those two are super easy to assemble.

Leg Developer

Next is the leg developer and just like the other boxes, every single part is bubble wrapped.

They wrap these up so well that sometimes it takes me longer to unwrap then to assemble 😀

But I’d rather they over protect parts than to have to ask for replacements.

Here’s everything that comes with the leg developer.

A little more complicated than the other attachments but it’s not bad.

Here’s the leg developer once I put it all together.

I got the cable attachment so that’s what you see at the bottom.

The cable allows me to connect the leg developer to my Voltra cable machine (or any cable machine) for constant tension.

Bicep Attachment

And the final attachment is the bicep attachment.

It’s packaged well with no damages to report.

This one is three parts.

The frame is M-shaped and comes pre-built.

I attached a pad to each side and it took me less than 5 minutes to put together.

This is what it looks like after I put the pads on.

It’s another one that very easy to assemble.

This is all the attachments (including the cable attachment).

They’re all easy to assemble and add a lot more functionality to my ABX.

Keep reading cause I’m gonna break down each item and give you specific details about them…

Specs

• Dimensions: 51.4″ L x 25.2″ W x 17″ H

• Weight: 96.3 lbs

• Weight capacity: 900 lbs

• Back pad angles: 0, 15, 22, 30, 37, 45, 52, 60, 67, 75, 85

• Seat pad angles: 0, 10, 20, 30, 40

• Pad gap: Auto adjusting zero gap

• Vinyl: TruGrip leather

• Frame: 12 gauge steel

• Finish: Starlight black powder coat

• Attachments: Leg developer, dip attachment, arm attachment, ab attachment (sold separately)

What Is The Freak Athlete ABX Bench?

Freak Athlete made a big dent in the home gym space when they introduced their 9-in-1 Hyper Pro…

And now they’ve followed that up with another versatile product, the 10-in-1 ABX weight bench.

It’s an adjustable bench, with automatic zero gap adjusting, 11 back pad angles, 5 seat angles, and vertical storage.

Plus I have the option to add 4 attachments to it.

This ecosystem gives me the ability to get more out of the bench without sacrificing floor space.

Top Benefits Of The Freak Athlete ABX Weight Bench

FID Bench

One thing about the ABX is that it has a lot of angle options.

Do I really need that many for a weight bench?

Probably not, but it makes sense that they have extra angles made specifically for those attachments.

Compared to my Rep Nighthawk bench, the ABX has 4 more angles with a total of 11 back pad adjustments.

Here’s what I mean when I say they have angles specific for the attachments.

The 60 degree slot is specifically for the dip attachment.

They’ve made it easy by laser cutting the word DIP on there.

There’s also have a spot for sit ups and the leg developer.

The support arm has two knurled handles and these definitely help when adjusting from high to low angles.

This is something the Exponent Edge Infinity Bench is missing but I hope they add it to future versions.

In this close up, I’m showing you that there’s no metal on metal contact between the ladder and support arm.

Freak Athlete added black bushings that protect the parts and all also make the bench extremely quiet.

The quietness is something worth mentioning about this bench that I haven’t seen in others.

Other step ladder benches I’ve reviewed are loud when I climb my way up the ladder.

This one uses a unique system where the horizontal pin doesn’t slam down on the way up.

And the seat pad has 5 adjustment angles ranging from flat to 50 degrees.

The lack of a decline seat angle doesn’t affect me personally (I’m 5’7″).

But it may play a role with head position with taller people.

Attachment Port

The attachment port is where I clamp down all the attachments.

It has a pop pin on the right side and a knurled tension knob on the left.

Here’s a close up view of the pop pin to show you a detail that makes connecting attachments much easier.

Freak Athlete added a metal pin (red arrows) in the shaft of the pop pin.

This lets me insert and take out attachments without having to hold the pin.

I pull the pop pin out of the groove (blue arrow), twist it to the side, then it’s hands off.

After I insert an attachment into the port, I twist the pop pin so that the pin falls into the groove.

From there I twist the tension knob all the way to remove any wiggle.

Little details like this make a difference in making the user experience better.

Stability

With this bench being the foundation for several attachments, it has to be heavy and cover enough footprint so that it doesn’t topple over.

The ABX bench weighs 96 lbs so that should be heavy enough to handle anything and anyone hanging off of it.

As far as the footprint goes, it’s 51.4″ long and has a front leg that’s 11 3/4″ wide.

So that prevents any side to side tilting at the front and lined with rubber.

The hind leg has rubber pads on each end and is 25.5″ wide.

I feel the base is very stable when used as a weight bench but I do feel a little bit of wobble when using the dip attachment (more on that when I get to the dip bar attachment section).

Best Features Of The Freak Athlete ABX

Half Bench

Ever since I started using the Exponent Edge Infinity Bench’s half bench feature, I’ve used this more than I thought I needed to.

And Freak Athlete borrowed this same feature but added more to it with the addition of the biceps attachment (more of that in a bit.

This half bench feature is such a simple addition that more benches are now including it as well.

All it is, is a horizontal cut through the back pad and a sundial in the back that lets me flip down the top 1/3 of the back pad.

This way I can use it as a half bench and as an Infinity Arm for a multitude of exercises.

I’ll give examples of a few exercises where I like to use the half bench feature.

First one is dumbbell overhead tricep extensions.

I wouldn’t be able to do this with a regular weight bench because the back pad gets in the way.

And I can set my dumbbell on the flip down pad to start and end the exercise.

Another exercise I like to do with the flip down set up is seated shoulder presses.

This set up allows me to recline back slightly when I bring the bar under my chin so my upper back has some clearance.

I also use the flip down as a seal row bench.

Although I prefer using dumbbells since they require less setup than barbell rows, seal rows are doable…

Here’s my setup for barbell bent over rows.

I have to set the bench higher (at 75 degrees) so that the plates don’t touch my floor and I have full range of motion at the bottom.

Using the different angles on the sundial and playing around with angles on the back pad, I can use the flip down pad for other exercises like single arm preacher curls and hip thrusts.

Auto Adjusting Zero Gap

This is one of the coolest features of the bench and the first bench I’ve ever seen that does this.

The gap between the seat pad and back pad automatically adjusts when I adjust the back pad.

When it’s flat, it automatically turns into a zero gap bench which is a feature that’s popular among home gym enthusiasts.

Bicep Attachment

The bicep attachment is something Freak Athlete improved on since the original flip down pad was introduced by Exponent Edge.

This attachment connects to the back of the bench with a built-in pin and magnetic pin and supports my arms while doing incline dumbbell curls, I can use the flip down to convert it into a preacher curl bench, and use it for floor presses (without lying on the floor).

I’ve never justified buying a preacher curl bench because they take up so much space for an isolation exercise and that’s why I went with the AbMat preacher pad instead. But this attachment is much more stable and versatile than the preacher pad.

Now I’ll show you how to connect this attachment to the ABX.

Right above the sundial there’s two holes where the bicep attachment anchors down.

Top hole is for the built-in pin and the bottom one is where the magpin goes.

Here’s a close up of what that looks like when it’s on the bench.

And here I zoomed out so you can see the full picture.

Notice there’s a pop pin right below the pads. Those are there to adjust the height of the pads to what fits my height.

From here I can use this in three ways: (1) arm support for incline curls, (2) preacher curl bench, and (3) arm support for floor presses.

First one I’ll show you is the arm support for incline curls and here’s what it looks like from the front.

I like to set the incline at 52 degree and slide the bicep attachment pads all the way.

This way my arms are supported but they’re still hanging fully vertical. If I bring the pads down lower, then my arms start angling forward some.

Having arm support eliminates cheating and definitely makes me work with better form so I feel the attachment does a good job.

When I wanna convert it to a preacher curl bench, I use the sundial in the back.

I gotta pull out the pin from the sundial and select the angle I want.

With the upside down V-frame being so close to the pin, it’s a bit crowded but not difficult to pull out.

Once I flip it down, I insert the pin back in the sundial and I’m all set.

If I need to adjust the angle on the preacher pads, I can reach in that open space right above the flip down pad, change the angle on the bench, or both.

Here’s what dumbbell preacher curls look like with this setup.

I’ve also used this same set up with a rackable EZ curl bar.

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You can see that preacher curl bench set up in the video above.

I like using the barbell set up better than dumbbells but both ways work.

And finally, I can set the bench to the flat position and use it for floor presses.

I like this set up much better when I use dumbbells than doing floor presses on the floor.

If you experience shoulder pain when benching or just wanna improve the lock out portion of your bench press, the floor press is a good exercise for that.

Here’s what it looks like when doing floor presses with dumbbells.

The pads limit my range of motion so it protects my shoulders from going to far back.

For training purposes, I can overload my triceps and focus on the top portion of the bench press (lock out).

Leg Developer

Leg developers are popular so this one is a must have addition for isolation of the quads and hamstrings.

It’s plate loaded but Freak Athlete also has a cable attachment add-on for people who want to connect it to a functional trainer, cable machine, or pulley system.

I’ll start with the leg extension set up and tell you what I think about it…

First off is the pre-stretch position which feels good.

I have the bench set at 15 degrees and my legs are pushed back so the slight bench incline and shin position give me tension from the beginning of the rep which is exactly what I want.

Tension feels constant for the most part.

I didn’t bust out a crane scale cause I don’t think the slight tension change is gonna make a huge difference in my training.

Body builders have been using leg extension machines for over a century and it’s worked out well for them (but for those who want constant tension, the cable attachment is available).

And yes, both the leg extension and lying leg curl set ups have adjustable leg rollers.

Both set ups use pop pins and have multiple holes to fit people of different heights.

I don’t know the exact height range since it’s not mentioned in the Freak Athlete website but I’m sure they’ve done their homework to cover the majority of people.

Here’s what the lying leg curl looks like…

Both sides of the bench have handles so it makes easy to stabilize myself while I’m exercising.

Tension feels good throughout the rep. Next I’ll show you the cable attachment in case you wanna hook this up to a cable machine.

The cable attachment comes with three parts: (1) the pulley the connects to the frame of the bench, (2) the bracket that connects to the bottom of the leg developer, and a bolt that connects the leg developer to the frame at the bottom.

It’s a very install that only uses 5 bolts and a pin.

Here’s what it looks like at the bottom.

The bracket at the top is going through the leg developer’s vertical moving arm.

And you see there’s a pin connected to it. I insert the pin through a loop at the end of the cable, then thread the cable through the pulley.

Before I hook up the cable to my cable machine, I make sure the bench frame and leg developer are connected at the bottom with a bolt.

If I’m just using weight plates this step is not needed but because a cable machine is pulling horizontally, I wanna make sure the bottom of the leg developer is not being pulled forward so that’s where this bolt comes into play.

Here’s what the set up looks like with my PRx functional trainer.

Since the cable attachment is about 5 feet long, it does require a bit of space between the leg developer and the cable machine.

So that’s something to consider if you have a small workout area.

And of course, I had to try it out with my Voltra. Tension feels good through for both leg extensions and leg curls.

I personally like using weight plates because it’s a much easier set up, but I do like that they have the cable attachment option for those who prefer cable set ups.

NOTE: The Freak Athlete Hyper Pro leg developer is NOT compatible with the ABX bench

Dip Attachment

The dip attachment is straight forward.

I set the bench to 60 degrees and insert the attachment into the port and tighten it down.

Once it’s locked in place I can do bodyweight dips or even throw on a weight vest. The bench can handle any weight I throw at it.

I do feel a slight wobble with this attachment but it’s not enough to throw me off balance.

Ab Attachment

And the last attachment I have to show you is the ab attachment and this is another one that’s straight forward.

Freak Athlete has a slot for this set up at 30 degrees but I can really use this at multiple angles depending on how steep I wanna go.

Here’s what decline sit ups look like at 30 degrees.

To me this feels good, but the lack of a decline seat option may be an issue for real tall people.

There is a way to extend the leg catch out a few inches away from the seat just in case that becomes an issue.

I do like to extend the ab attachment out as far as possible if I’m doing decline bench press.

This way I can rest my fully rest my head on the back pad.

It’s a little tricky to get my legs secured when I’m using dumbbells but it’s doable and I there’s the option to use my rack and a barbell for an easier set up.

The Freak Athlete ABX Pros & Cons

Pros

• Build: Made out of 11, 12, and 14 gauge steel and TrueGrip leather vinyl

• FID bench: It has 11 back pad adjustments and 5 seat adjustments. I have plenty of angles to do just about anything.

• Attachments: Add-ons give it more versatility so I can replicate what 10 machines do in 1 small footprint

• Automatic zero gap: For those who like zero gaps, this one adjusts the gap automatically

• Stable: Feels very stable, does not wobble for the majority of exercises I tried

• Quiet: There is no clanking when I move the back pad up the ladder

Cons

• No decline seat: Lack of seat decline could be an issue with taller people when doing decline bench press or sit ups

• Dip station: There is a little bit of wobble with the dip set up but not enough that it throws me off balance

• Bicep attachment: Tolerance on this attachment could be better. Some wobble but with weight on top, it decreases

Freak Athlete ABX Price

The price of the Freak Athlete ABX is currently $599.99 which I think is right around the price range for a bench of this quality and functionality.

When compared to the Exponent Edge Infinity Bench which is $549, the ABX is only $50 but it’s built better and I can do more with it.

There are other less expensive benches with a flip down pad but they don’t have the ability to add attachments.

Freak Athlete ABX Discount Code?

At the moment, there are no Freak Athlete discount codes available anywhere.

Click the red button below for the lowest available price.

Freak Athlete ABX Alternatives

Exponent Edge Infinity Bench

The Exponent Edge Infinity Bench is the originator of the adjustable bench with a flip down back pad.

It’s a solid adjustable weight bench and ever since I got it, I’ve used the half bench feature more than I knew I would.

One thing it’s missing is the ability to add attachments to it.

Freak Athlete borrowed this half bench concept from Exponent Edge, then added attachments to make it more versatile.

Mikolo Bastet 2.0 Adjustable FID Bench

The Mikolo Bastet 2.0 is very similar to the Infinity Bench in that it’s an adjustable bench and has the flip down feature.

It stores vertically but doesn’t have the ability to add attachments to it.

This is a good alternative to Exponent Edge’s bench but the lack of attachments doesn’t make it as versatile as the ABX.

RitFit Gator Bench

The RitFit Gator is also an FID bench with plenty of adjustments to choose from.

Like the ABX, it has a flip down back pad that turns it into a half bench as well.

And it has height adjustable leg rollers that attach to the frame to use as a bicep support attachment.

READ NEXT: Freak Athlete ABX vs Rep Nighthawk

My Experience Using The Freak Athlete ABX Weight Bench

I feel Freak Athlete did a great job with the ABX bench.

As an adjustable bench it is stable, comfortable, and has more angles than I’ll ever use.

And the optional attachments give me more exercise options without the need for dedicated machines that would take up additional floor space.

Final Verdict: Is The Freak Athlete ABX Worth It?

Yes, the Freak Athlete ABX is well worth it if you’re looking for an adjustable weight bench that you’ll have for life.

With a 12 gauge steel frame, 900 lbs capacity, and 4 attachments, it’ll take on anything you throw at it.

It’s comfortable, stable, and comes with a lifetime warranty.