Adjustable Dumbells

As most of you know, my main complaint for adjustble dumbells has been the weight limitations.  Typically 50 lbs has been the heaviest that I’ve seen, with some folks “customizing” their weights to get a few more pounds on each side.  The only reason I haven’t delved into adding weight to your adjustable dumbells is because I think it’s inherently dangerous, and frankly I don’t want to be held responsible for anyone getting hurt because of my advice.

However, there’s a new dog in the pound that smashed through all the previous weight limitations that have irked me so.  The new best-in-breed goes to Ironmaster adjustable dumbells, with a BASE weight of 75 lbs on each arm.  Called Quick Lock, they’re the heaviest adjustable dumbells on the market right now, and they don’t stop there.

Want to really trash your pecs and triceps?  Order Ironmaster’s 120 lb upgrade kit which allows you to add 45 lbs to each side.  That puts you at a whopping - yup - 120 lbs per arm.  That type of weight will keep most people busy for a long time.

They don’t stop there, though.  On request, they will build you a CUSTOM set of plates that brings each arm up to 165lbs.  I can’t say that I’ve seen this addition since it’s custom and they’re not giving it away, but I will say that if it’s built to the excellent specifications and finish that the rest of the equipment is built to, you won’t have any problems with it.

So what does all this cost?  Surprisingly, the base set is not that much more (and in some cases less) than the other brands on the market.  Add on 45 lbs to each side will set you back about $200.

If you can’t tell, I’m impressed with this equipment.  It’s commercial quality, in my opinion.  You won’t find a piece of plastic anywhere on them, and once they’re locked up, you can’t tell the difference between them and traditional hex dumbells.  They’re that good.  The locking system is such that you can grip and turn them any way you like without fear of a plate falling off, and they’re adjustable in 2.5lb increments.  It’s slick.  Real slick.

For your trouble (i.e. the $489 + $75 in shipping), you get a stand that holds the dumbells and any add-on kits that you might get later on as well.  The stand is built solid, just like the actual quick lock adjustable dumbells themselves.  I could not be more impressed.

The range of weight that this system offers can take the home gym enthusiest to a whole new level.  Space saving considerations aside, the cost to benefit ratio of these are amazing, considering to get individual 5-75 lb dumbells would easily top $1300.  Even if you took 10 lb incriments you’d still be $750+.  My bang-for-the-buck meter is off the charts.

Take into account the space savings and the high quality of this equipment and you’ve got a slam dunk.  If you’re in the market for a system, do not hesitate to buy Ironmaster adjustable dumbells.  You will not be disapointed.

Let’s take a look at the new kid on the block, Bayou adjustable dumbells.  This is a company that is well-known for its wide range of quality home gym products ranging from free weights to mini trampolines to saunas.  It seems only natural that they would take a little trip into the world of adjustable dumbells, and from a consumer standpoint more is better!  The more companies that offer products in this market, the more competition there will be for the mighty dollar, the lower the prices will go.  That’s capitalism at its best.

Like I said, Bayou Fitness has a great reputation, so I had high expectations that their dumbells would not dissapoint.  And, the first impression of the Stamina 50lb Versa-Bell II once the set was delivered was certainly positive.  They have solid metal plates that are well-machined, and the pro-style grip is a nice touch as well.

There are 4 plates on each side that weigh 5 lbs each, and the bar tips the scales at 10lbs.  It stands to reason that the lowest weight you can get is 10lbs (the bar with no plates), and via 10lb increments you can get up to 50lbs.  Pretty straight forward.

I found the dial mechanism that selects which plates get picked up to have a solid feel.  You generally don’t want your weight equipment to feel cheap or rickity, so it was nice to “click” it around a few times and feel like I was dealing with a high quality mechanism.

One potential drawback to this design is that you can’t increase the weight in increments of 5lbs.  You’re forced to jump from 20lbs to 30lbs, or 30lbs to 40lbs, and so on.  While this might bother some people, I didn’t find it to be a major obstacle.  When I’m taking a client through their training session, I usually find that weight selection is as much mentally driven as it is physically.  If someone is convinced that they can only increase by a given weight increment, that’s a limit they’ve placed on themselves.  Think about the old trick of telling your training partner that they’re only benching 390lbs, and when they’re not looking slipping an extra 12.5lbs on.  More often than not, I’ve found people that believe they have hit a plateau at a major weight level to discover it’s all in their heads.

All in all, Bayou adjustable dumbells are a quality product and with Bayou Fitness’ reputation, I would have no problem recommending these weights to one of my clients.

Bowflex adjustable dumbells, called SelectTech, by their manufacturer, come in three different weight ranges.  The smallest of the group is called the SelectTech 220 and can be adjusted from 2.5 to 20 pounds.  The middle weight is the 552 and can go from 5 to 52.5 pounds, and the top end goes from 10 to 90 pounds and goes by the name 1090.  There’s a definite pattern to their naming convention, and I suppose it makes for a catchy label as well.

The first benefit of these adjustable dumbells is that you won’t need to take of an entire wall with dumbell racks to hold a pair of weights for every 5 pound increment.  You get 90 pounds total, 45 pounds on each side.  They essentially take up the space that two standard 45 lb dumbells would fit in.  Not a bad deal.

And speaking of stands, I find that the dumbells themselves are much easier to adjust when they are sitting on the racks that you can buy from BowFlex.  They have small spaces that each plate fits into when you set them down, and it seems that the proper spacing and relief of tension makes the adjustment mechanism work better.  That’s not to say it won’t work while they’re sitting on the floor, but it is a bit of a chore to keep the weights spaced correctly so that the bars can fit back in them properly.  My recommendation, though, would be to buy the racks.  They look good and work very well.  They are well worth the money.

The BowFlex adjustable dumbells themselves are very attractive, just like the other products that BowFlex designs.  They are aesthetically appealing and well made.  They feel good in your hands, and come standard with professional style grips.  That being said, there are a few shortcomings that I would like to see changed in future models.

The biggest problem is the weight limit of 90 lbs.  That’s plenty for the casual weight lifter, but if you’ve ever gotten serious out lifting you know that you’ll quickly move past 45 lbs on each arm.  Don’t get me wrong, it certainly accounts for a wide range of the lower level weights, but you can probably count on buying sets of 60 lbs dumbells through probably 90 or 100 lbs, depending on your workout routine and fitness level.

The other thing I noticed was that I was very hesitant to drop them on the floor from any height.  I have nothing concrete to make me think they’re fragile, but they are adjustable and thus have a mechanism to hold the plates in place that I’m sure can break with enough repeated shock.

All in all, I think these weights would be a valuable addition to anyone’s home gym, and a real space saver.