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Dumbbells are one of the main go to pieces of equipment if you are setting up a home gym. There is lots of choice on the market and it can be easy to just jump in and buy the cheapest hoping for the best. I once made such a mistake.
I was looking for a set of basic dumbbells so I could try out the well known P90x training regime. This particular workout scheme has a lot of dumbbell work involved. I just went for the cheapest set I could buy that would not take up to much room. What a mistake! Within a few workouts I knew I had blown it. Problem was the dumbbell workouts feature up to ten different exercises per workout. Some of those exercises use lighter loads for smaller muscles but interspersed with heavier exercises for bigger muscles. Instead of doing a 45 minute workout, I ended up doing an hour and a half – most of which was changing the weights on my cheap dumbbell handles. Lesson learned – think carefully before committing to buying. ( I could have bought extra handles to get round the changes or some classy dial adjustable’s)
Before deciding to buy it is always good to evaluate what is available – then you should know which dumbbells you should buy!
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Fixed Weight Dumbbell Set
We are talking about racks of individual dumbbells here. The type you see in the local gym. A big set of these would be the pinnacle of dumbbell ownership. No need to adjust weights between exercises just select the next set off the rack. Hard wearing – essentially unbreakable, and durable enough to last a lifetime. Problem is these sets are expensive and take up a load of space.
A decent set will set you back north of $500 and you can pay $000’s. Say budget is no object, space is not an issue, you want a set of these…..what increments are you going to go up in? 2Lb increments would mean a lot of dumbbells to get to 90lbs. Perhaps you just want the first 50lbs in 2lb increments and then from 50 to 90 you will take 5lb jumps. At least with these dumbbells you can collect them as you go and your strength increases. You don’t have to get the whole set in one go…you can add and develop a set.
Adjustable Dumbbells
Adjustable’s are for the man with space issues and potentially a smaller budget (but not always). You got several choices with adjustable s, you can get separate handles and weight plates or specially constructed selecta dial or pin operated adjustable. Lets check out the benefits and drawbacks of these options :
Loose Handle/weight plates
Cheap, hard wearing, robust, flexible, expandable, easy to store, and easy to replace parts – there is a lot to be said for wheel lock nut dumbbells. But we can see from my experience they are not suited to everyone’s workout. Your main problem is change over times between sets. With one set of handles you seem to spend half your workout changing plates. My big tip – you can get wheel lock dumbbells so cheap why not go for several sets or at least additional handles so you can set up all your working weight’s and not have to hang around between sets! That tip is brought to you by a man who learnt the hard way.
Selecta Dial/Pin Select
We are talking Bow flex, Power block, and various other brands out there. These are some of the best adjustable dumbbells that you just turn a dial to set the weight or slide a pin out and re-position and the weight is altered. These things are great – small, convenient to store, quick on changeover….what is not to like? Price mainly. These dumbbells are at the top end of the budget, and that would be fine but they have slowly developed a reputation for a lack of robustness. Lets be honest, dropping or even landing dumbbells heavy is something that just happens – this is not a good thing with these dumbbells – to many plastic components. You can turn a $500 pair into paperweights if you are not to careful. Which brings me on to spare parts – there aren’t any…..buyer beware.
The other thing to look out for with these are the weight increase increments. You might fancy a pair of 90lb dumbbells that you can grow into over time but with increments of 5lbs you might have trouble making the jumps. The lighter sets often have increments of 2 – 2.5lbs, but watch out, as you get out of the 20lbs range you might have to go up to 5lb increments. Any sets you are interested in check out the increments and consider how it will work with your exercises.
On the whole these dial or pin selecta dumbbells can’t easily be upgraded – in fact I think it is only Powerblock that offer add-on weights so select your set carefully if these are your poison.
To wrap it up here is what you should buy :
Space and Budget – Full set of dumbbells, weight increments to suit.
Space, no budget – Loose handles/plates – build that set slow.
Budget, no space – adjustable pin/dial but watch out for weight increase increments.
No space, no budget – handles with weight plates are the best option.
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