A US-based equipment company is bidding to banish the fear of being crushed – either by weights or the embarrassment of being rescued – when bench-pressing without a spotter, by launching a Kickstarter campaign for its innovative Maxx Bench.

Billed as the “first safe free weight exercise bench in the world that does not compromise the integrity of the exercise,” the Maxx Bench is designed to enable gymgoers to push their limits without having to worry about the potentially dangerous consequences of an overambitious bench press.

The product is an attachable bench which uses hydraulics controlled by a foot pedal to drop its height, allowing the weight to be taken by safety bars when a lifter reaches their maximum. In terms of catching the bar, it offers a similar function to using a Smith Machine or benching in a power rack, but works with a free weight bench press which is typically cheaper to buy.

Maxx Bench company ‘leader’ Dave Vorozilchak says the invention provides the perfect solution for safety and legal challenges in an age when the emergence of low-cost 24 hour gyms is leading to more and more people working out alone and unsupervised.

The concept has certainly found initial support from backers. The Maxx Bench Kickstarter is 95 per cent of the way towards raising its US$50,000 (€46,000, £32,000) target, with more than 21 days to go. the company is targeting both the home and commercial markets with the product, which it hopes to begin shipping in February 2016.