How to turn some heavy duty flat-to-incline weight benches — into being vertically storable

© 2026 Peter Free

 

19 June 2026

 

 

Saving space with heavy duty weight benches . . .

 

. . . may be less challenging than it seems, despite the lack of affordable vertically storable benches of that type.

 

Whether you can accomplish the following workaround depends upon the design of your bench.

 

 

I used a trigger clamp . . .

 

. . . with my Barbarian Line incline bench.

 

The trigger clamp secures the incline support column to the main bench rail, even when the bench is stored in vertical position.

 

A large C-clamp would achieve the same result.

 

 

How you attach the clamp . . .

 

. . . is determined by the design of your bench.

 

The feet of the clamp need to prevent the inclinable bench surface from moving, when the bench is tilted onto the bench's headward end.

 

You may be able to physically modify you bench to allow a clamp to do what I did with mine.

 

 

Pictures

 

You can see that the yellow clamp in the photos below photos.

 

The clamp prevents the incline selection rail from moving.

 

The clamp secures the cross prong on the incline rail— which engages the notched steps on the main bench rail — from slipping out of the main rail's notches.

 

When the bench is stored vertically, this clamp prevents gravity from sucking the incline rail out the main rail notches and collapsing the bench.

 

Trigger clamp used to store heavy duty weight bench vertically. Picture one.

 

Photograph of incline rail prong on heavy duty weight bench that, if clamped, will allow bench to be stored vertically. Picture two.

 

Picture of heavy duty weight bench trigger clamped for vertical bench storage. Picture three.

 

Heavy duty flat to incline Barbarian Line weight bench trigger clamped for vertical storage. Picture four.

 

Photo of Barbarian Line heavy duty weight bench with trigger clamp foot resting on bottom rail to secure the bench for vertical storage. Picture five.

 

 

Notice that

 

This Barbarian Line bench uses rectangular walled steel tubes in its construction.

 

In my case, I needed the trigger clamp's top foot to squeeze the incline's step-engaging prong against the top wall of the bench's main rail. The camp's bottom foot squeezes against the bottom wall of the main rail.

 

In this position, the incline prong is trapped between the top and bottom feet of the clamp.

 

Trapped that way, the incline rail cannot move. Unless someone strikes the clamp in a way that moves the clamp's feet off the incline step-selection prong — and/or off the bottom of the rectangular bench tube.

 

 

Safety

 

If you have children around, it might be wise to keep your bench in its horizontal position on the floor, when they are in the room.

 

My grandkids have a disturbing talent for adventurously experimenting with their lives.

 

I doubt that this clamp arrangement would reliably hold, if one of them decided to climb up to the bench peak, when the bench is in my (redneck-created) vertical storage position.

 

 

The moral? — What is the benefit to this space-saving workaround?

 

Most of the affordable vertically storable weight benches on the market are comparatively wobbly. Read experienced lifters' negative reviews of them.

 

In view of those criticisms, if you can find a quality non-vertically storable bench with clamp-friendly characteristics, you may want to buy it.