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The Sorinex Bulldog Pad is a compact and versatile chest supported row that attaches to a squat rack upright. Although turned off initially by the price, after using the Bulldog Pad, I’ve come to absolutely love it and use it nearly every training session. If you can afford it and have a squat rack it would work with, I highly recommend it. However, for most home gym owners, it’s a luxury.
Sorinex Chest Row
Sorinex Bulldog Pad
Product Highlights
Pros & Cons
Bottom Line
Sorinex is known for making innovative gym equipment primarily designed for University weight rooms. Fortunately, much of the equipment that works well in fast-paced, high-intensity college weight rooms also works in the home gym. The Sorinex Bulldog Pad is a great example. Utilizing a simple design with great materials, the Bulldog Pad is definitely pricey, but the person wanting a highly useful, yet compact bench platform will fall in love after their first training session. At least I did.
What is the Sorinex Bulldog Pad?
The Sorinex Bulldog Pad is one of Sorinex’s most simple, yet useful pieces of gym equipment they’ve created to date.
Which, is saying something.
Sorinex created, in some part, the landmine, 4-way hole post that is now standard on nearly every quality squat racks, the Glute Ham Roller, the CrossFit Rig (this is muddy waters,) and now the Bulldog Pad.
It acts as the back part of an adjustable bench, giving you space to do tons of incline and chest supported exercises. In terms of space efficiency, this simple piece of equipment gives you the ability to do almost any kind of movement in a small space, making it quite valuable for those working with limited square footage.
Although most people would be best spending their money on an adjustable bench, those who are limited on space or have the money to spend, the Bulldog Pad is an excellent addition to any home gym.
With high-quality construction, you get what you pay for with this highly versatile piece of equipment.
Video Review
What We Like About the Bulldog Pad from Sorinex
Although a small, simple piece of equipment, the Sorinex Bulldog Pad has a lot of features and qualities we really like. First off, when you take this product out of the packaging, you notice that there are very few pieces and no moving parts, which makes it quite easy to set up.
In the box is, literally, the welded piece of steel with the pad on top as well as two hitch pins. It was packaged really well (took 5 minutes to separate the protective foam from the piece) and is self-explanatory on how to set it up.
When ready to use the Bulldog Pad, all you have to do is set it to the desired position on any 3”x3” squat rack upright with 1” holes and put the two hitch pins in, locking it into place. When locked in, there is some slight upward movement, but since the pressure of your body is taking place from above the pad, it’s easy to work with. There is very little side to side movement.
The easy setup allowed by the hitch pins makes it extremely versatile because you adjust it and secure it very quickly. This makes it ultra-fast to go from folded down (there’s a rubber bumper on the back to prevent metal-to-metal contact) to out and ready to use in seconds.
You can go from incline dumbbell press to chest supported rows in a matter of seconds. This versatility is essentially infinite, as this piece can be used for a multitude of exercises.
Want to do incline bench press? Set it at an angle and you have an incline bench.
Want to do lat pulldowns? Set it flat and use it as a space-saving seat.
One of my favorite movements to do on the Bulldog Pad is dumbbell chest flyes. The stretch allowed by the pad is fantastic. In addition to that, rather than use an adjustable bench that often gets in the way, the Bulldog Pad makes seal rows and incline dumbbell rows a breeze to accomplish.
Although minimal, this is a typical Sorinex level of quality piece. Double-stitched Naugahyde leather meets quality welds to give you a tremendously well-constructed piece of gym art. The padding is supportive, yet comfortable and the powder coat ensures that this attachment will last a lifetime. In fact, the padding used is the same as what’s seen on their premiere Sorinex 0-90 NP3 Adjustable bench that I’m such a fan of, I have two.
As to be expected with many of Sorinex’s attachments, this bulldog pad fits onto any brand’s 3×3 rack (1-IN hole). So if you are someone with a Rogue Monster setup or REP PR-5000 V2you can also benefit from this highly versatile piece of equipment.
For anyone who can stomach the Sorinex price point, I would highly recommend the Bulldog Pad. Versatility and space efficiency are some of the most important requirements for any home gym. Small increases to your home gym efficiency will make working out less troublesome and overall more enjoyable. Yes, believe it or not, the little things add up.
What We Don’t Like
Our dislike list for this product is pretty short. What it generally comes down to with Sorinex pieces is often the price. You will undoubtedly get a phenomenal product from Sorinex, but it won’t be cheap.
Originally priced at $350 plus shipping and now adjusted to $299 plus shipping, $300+ for what is essentially a padded back support is pretty steep. Sorinex is making their equipment in the USA unlike some of their competitors, however, they don’t have the scale that other competitors like Rogue Fitness have. Rogue focused on the home gym owner first so they’re built to serve that customer and therefore their shipping and equipment costs are less.
I’m sure that another company will make a variant that does much better on the wider market due to its more affordable price. Overall, although very versatile, you aren’t getting that much that you cannot get from an adjustable bench. At around the same price point as many adjustable benches, it’s hard to justify getting this on top of your traditional FID bench.
Also, I don’t know why Sorinex wouldn’t laser-cut their logo in the side. Instead, they’re using a cheap sticker that just doesn’t have the same effect. This is very minor, but is worth mentioning in a review.
I am positive that the creativity of most home gym-goers will allow them to configure their own version of this tool for a fraction of the cost.
Why We Wouldn’t Recommend the Bulldog Pad For Most People
Most people shouldn’t buy this product. Period. For what it is, it is far too expensive and
you are better served putting your money elsewhere. Prioritize getting a premium adjustable bench instead of this ‘pocket-sized’ version at full price.
This is the equivalent of a designer handbag or backpack. It looks cool and it’s cool to say you have that designer item, but in reality you could get by just fine without it.
You can replicate almost all of the functions of this Bulldog Pad with a solid adjustable bench. If you’re looking for an adjustable bench recommendations, you can see all of the best weight benches that I have reviewed here. You will be able to do all of the same things and then some since you will be able to decline and do actual bench exercises.
I hope more companies take a page out of Sorinex’s book and make an adjustable ‘rack-mounted bench pad’ like this Bulldog Pad. I do feel like this piece of equipment would serve almost everyone but I just don’t feel it’s worth the Sorinex price tag for the general population. I can see a Titan Fitness or a Rogue Fitness making a far more budget-friendly option in the $100-$200 price range.
Why We Still Love the Bulldog Pad
On the other end of the spectrum, if you’re not ‘most people’ and your multiple benches bore you, you cannot go wrong by purchasing this product.
You get a bit more efficiency with this product than a normal bench because it only weighs a few dozen pounds and it’s super easy to move around. This makes super-setting workouts really easy so you can do multiple exercises without having to reset everything up which can be a pain. This pad is also tiny compared to your normal bench so you don’t have to move a heavy bench across your gym if you want to switch from dumbbell exercises to cable movements.
I, Coop, find myself using this device almost every day in the gym for the reasons listed above. I can mount it on my storage system or off of my rack and easily setup for exercises that would normally be a hassle to do. Convenience is key in a home gym and this valuable time saved makes workouts feel much less congested and I feel a lot more productive.
Full Rating
Sorinex Bulldog Pad
The Sorinex Bulldog Pad is a compact and versatile chest supported row that attaches to a squat rack upright. Although turned off initially by the price, after using the Bulldog Pad, I've come to absolutely love it and use it nearly every training session. If you can afford it and have a squat rack it would work with, I highly recommend it. However, for most home gym owners, it's a luxury.
Product Brand: Sorinex
Product Currency: $
Product Price: 299
Product In-Stock: InStock
4.5
Sorinex Bulldog Pad FAQs
What is the Sorinex Bulldog Pad?
The Sorinex Bulldog Pad is a small, adaptable chest-supported row that mounts to the upright of a squat rack. I was first put off by the price, but after using the Bulldog Pad, I’ve grown to adore it and use it practically every training session. I definitely suggest it if you can afford it and have a squat rack that would function with it. It is, however, a luxury for most home gym owners.
Is the Sorinex Bulldog pad worth it?
The Sorinex Bulldog Pad offers a lot of features and traits that we enjoy, despite being a little, simple piece of equipment. First and first, when you take this product out of the box, you will see that there are very few components and no moving parts, making it very simple to assemble.
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