The SS Bench is 10 inches wide. If you want to use a 14-inch pad to help your rebound against your triceps out of the bottom, fine with me, but that's not doing the program.
I know the SS Bench dimension is very specifically 12 inches wide. Is there anything wrong with one of the 14 inch width pads on the market? Do they potentially cause any issue?
Someone bought me the REP FB-5000 with the wide pad.
**I did try to search the forums on this - forgive me if I missed it.
The SS Bench is 10 inches wide. If you want to use a 14-inch pad to help your rebound against your triceps out of the bottom, fine with me, but that's not doing the program.
It's not uncommon for someone who prefers using a wide pad in training to also use a competition width pad near meet time. Pure speculation, but if this was a gift, someone probably put some thought into what would be a great bench for you. Rep sells a 12" pad for the FB-5000 for $45.99 plus tax with free shipping which would allow you to keep the bench while still using a narrower pad. Obviously, if you want a 10" wide pad, Rep isn't your company.
If the Rep FB-5000 had been available when I was putting together a home gym, I would have bought it with both the 12" and 14' pads.
I have the Rep FB-5000 with the stock (12") pad. You have to order the 14" pad. So clearly somebody ordered it intentionally. The reviews of the bench, in general, are good, but I have mixed feelings about it. the pad is thick. I sink a full 2" further into the pad with a loaded barbell than an empty barbell. I question whether that interferes with my foot drive but have no way to know for sure. If somebody already has the FB-5000, I don't know that i would trade it but I have no idea why anybody would buy it over the SS bench.
Two reasons someone might pick the Rep bench instead of the Starting Strength are cost and width. The Rep bench with the 12" pad is $210 shipped and the Starting Strength one is $290 plus shipping or $402 shipped to my address. Although I have spent a lot of years training on a 10" bench as a 6'2" lifter with a wide chest, a 12" competition width one work better for me. Although I prefer a 12" bench for dumbbell work, the 14" one is quite popular and I have enjoyed using one when my shoulders were giving me problems.