Adjustable Dumbells

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.