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Adjustable dumbells?
mellestad
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Has anyone used these? Any brands that stand out? The blowflex ones look fine, but spendy!
mellestad on
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CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
The powerblock ones are just plates with a holder, they're sturdier and hold up better (the people say).
But seriously, $300 for two dumbbells? Get yourself some nice fixed weight ones or ones with adjustable plates and save your money.
Thanks.
These will at their most expensive cost you approximately forty dollars.
Satans..... hints.....
I had a pair of these but make sure the centre doesn't have like a rubber coating. I had a pair and from changing the weight and from just use the rubber tore on one and that was a annoying as fuck. I glued it back and it worked but its spins a bit.
I ended up picking some fixed weight dumbells and they just feel better to work with.
Care to elaborate?
1) Bring the plates you use to Home Depot
2) Find some galvanized steel pipe that fits your plates. I like to get the longest I can find since I like to use them for farmer walks, as well.
3) Buy as many galvanized steel pipes as you like.
3)Buy some epoxy and several hose clamps.
Making them
1)put two hose clamps around the middle of the pipe. This is where your hand will grip. Space it out to your liking. Put some epoxy on top of the hose clamps. This allows for security and comfort.
2)Put the plates in.
3)secure the plates with hose clamps.
The dumbells will hold 100 pounds easy, and will last you forever. They are also completely safe and, more importantly, mega cheap.
Fixed weight dumbbells are the second least cost effective thing ever, next only to the adjustable dumbbells.
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
a 5-50 pound set of powerblocks costs 360 dollars. 410 if you mail order them. The expanders to take it 5-90 bring the cost to 600 bucks MSRP. Unshipped. The floor weight of the set is the same, the approximate space is only slightly more compact - the ONLY thing they do provide a speedy weight change for you, and if you buy decently machined barbells in the first place that's not a big issue, since you have different sizes of plates, and you're at home not a gym and never have to totally unrack if you don't want to, you shouldn't have to ever shuttle more then 4 plates and they'll be your lighter plates most of the time.
Powerblocks are good for three people: Japanese apartment dwellers, Gym owners who can put in a couple more stations if they replace 40 feet of wall-racked hex dumbells with 2-3 sets of powerblocks, and the kind of person who sees no irony in spending 10 minutes circling the gym parking lot for a closer space.
IRT munarca...good on ya, dude, for the dyi but shit man empty barbells only cost, like, 15 bucks to begin with. maybe you might spend 30 dollars on something like a ripple bar or a long bar for a compound rack but I think you can get a set of a curl bar and two hand bars with 6 collars for <30 at your neighborhood sporting goods store.
I host a podcast about movies.
Big waste of money. Find some way to make space or to make the eye-sore not so bad. Adjustable dumbells are convenient to throw in the closet but that's really the only thing they're good for.
real men build their own gyms!
1) I didn't mind spending the money because I was committed to working out regularly, and for something I'll be doing 4-5 hours a week, I wanted the best/easiest option.
2) I live in an apartment and space was limited. I wanted something with a small footprint that looked nice in my neat livingroom. The 2nd room was already crowded with the workout bench, so I had to put the weights in the corner of the livingroom. This also allows me to watch my big TV in the livingroom while working out, which saves time and makes it that much easier (for me, it mostly comes down to making the process as easy and pleasant as possible so I enjoy it more, which is why I spent hundreds on dumbbells to work out at home instead of getting a gym membership in the first place)
3) I do a ton of different free weight exercises and I switch the plates in and out constantly. Each day I will focus on one or two muscle groups. 3-5 exercises in each group, 3-4 sets that include warmup and cooldown sets using different weights. That's a lot of weight switching if you do the math. Adjustable weights make it so much easier and faster. If I had to manually screw/unscrew plates all the time, I would go eventually get lazy and start skipping sets. That's when it starts to fall apart. It doesn't seem like a big deal, but they add up.
I couldn't be happier with the SelectTech dumbbells. They allowed me to do a fast and efficient workout in the comfort of my livingroom without taking up a lot of space. I've had them for a while and they seem pretty durable to me (you should never drop your weights anyway - releasing all that muscle tension at once by dropping weights is not good for you, and it often leads to bad form or injuries). I liked them so much that I sold my 52.5lbs SelectTechs to a friend and bought the 90lbs ones when they came out. I like the heavier ones, but I think most people would be fine with the 52.5lbs originals. They're smaller and easier to work with for many exercises, and they have a rubberized grip so you do not need workout gloves (the new ones have studded metal grips and are significantly bulkier).
So get them if you have the money, are limited on space, and want to eliminate every little inconvenience or obstacle from your workout. The last one was a huge factor for me. Let's face it. A lot of us are lazy and we need all the motivation we can get to work out. I've tried the gym, and there was no way in hell I'd waste the time to drive over to a gym and possibly waste more time waiting for equipment to work out. At home, I'm done in less than an hour and I do it while I'm watching my favorite shows in the comfort of my own livingroom. The results of a proper free weight workout are amazing - I'm sure you know that from the various workout threads in this forum. It's all about making that process easier for me, and it's worked so far. I hope that helps.
Satans..... hints.....
The part about convenience is a big deal too. If I wasn't such a lazy bastard I wouldn't be out of shape in the first place. Thanks.
I wouldn't have bought them at the retail price though, I like them, but don't think they are worth the near $500 they try and charge for them. nearly $200 is charged for the stand they come with. I spoke with the manager at Dick's sporting goods and somehow convinced him to sell me the weights without the stand which took that price down (worth a try if you have no interest in the stand). Got mine during an after Christmas sale so that brought the price down to like $200. And on top of that I had a Dick's gift card given to me for x-mas which made the Bowflex into what I thought were an acceptable price range. So for the discount I got them at I am very pleased with them, but for $500 they really aren't worth it.
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