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The Best Adjustable Dumbbells

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This article was written by Staying Alive Crew Published at 07:19 pm
Adjustable Dumbbells

If you’re setting up a gym at home, it's natural to be pondering the purchase of adjustable dumbbells as opposed to the more fixed standard dumbbells. It can be overwhelming to know what the right home gym plan should be for you. 

The weight range of dumbbells you opt for comes down to how much you are willing to pay, how much space you have at home, and your fitness goals along with any other needs you might have. 

Adjustable dumbbells are a single pair of dumbbells that allow you to adjust the weight range to make the dumbbells heavier or lighter. How easily adjusted the weight is you adjust the weight varies for different models and brands. 

An adjustable set of dumbbells are more expensive than fixed standard dumbbells, but you get lots of weight options from 15 to 18 different weight sets in one pair of dumbbells, saving you money and immense room.

So it's worth digging deeper and doing your homework on why so many fitness fans are buying an adjustable set of dumbbells to furnish their gym at home. 

We’ve done the heavy lifting for you to bring you the shortlist of the best adjustable dumbbells. Take your home workouts for strength and resistance training to the next level.  

Table of Contents

9 Best Adjustable Dumbbells in 2024

Adjustable Dumbbells Buying Guide

Working out at home can be economical and easier for you to fit into your daily schedule, cutting out travel time, to and from a fitness center. 

For those of you who are not big fans of working out at a gym, there is no better place to work out than in the privacy of your home.

Of course, you need to have the right compact equipment that allows you to achieve your fitness goals, whilst being economical. 

Owning a set of adjustable dumbbells allows you to work towards your fitness goals, with multiple weights at your disposal, on par with a gym.  

It can be daunting to know which adjustable dumbbells to go for as opposed to traditional dumbbells. We’ve broken down the key features you may want to consider before making your final purchase.

Adjustable Dumbbells

Adjustable dumbbells are a singular dumbbell set that allows you to adjust the weight of the dumbbells to make them lighter or heavier. 

Adjustable dumbbells have multiple sets of fixed dumbbell weights rolled into one set, saving you space and money and enabling you to have a full set of gym weights in one compact dumbbell set.

Benefits of Adjustable Dumbbells

To ensure a well-rounded workout regime, incorporating effective strength workouts into your fitness with dumbbells is extremely effective. 

If you are working out at home, it's not practical to buy and store numerous different dumbbells that you would have access to at a gym.

Adjustable dumbbells allow you access to multiple dumbbell weights in one set of dumbbells and they are portable and compact to store and less expensive than buying a full set of fixed dumbbells.

You can exercise anywhere with adjustable dumbbells. If you are a fitness trainer and you travel to your clients, adjustable dumbbells are easy to travel with.

You can start your strength workouts with a set of light weights and gradually increase the weights as you get fitter and stronger.

Features of Best Adjustable Dumbbells

Total Weight Sets

With the purchase of an adjustable dumbbell set, you are replacing multiple sets of weights. Saving you money and space. 

Lighter adjustable dumbbells can replace around 15-16 sets, which is a respectable number of weights. 

Adjustable dumbbells that are on the heavier end of the spectrum can replace around 18 sets, giving you a whole gym’s worth of weights in two dumbbells.

Weight Increments

You get multiple weights through the possibility of increasing weight incrementally. Weight can be incrementally increased via a dial or weight plate system. 

Depending on the brand, weight can be increased in 5-pound increments, 2.5 or 1-pound increments. If you are a beginner, it might be too ambitious to opt for increments of 5 pounds.

Depending on the brand, and the weight increments, you can increase your resistance from 25 pounds to a ceiling of 100 pounds. The more trailblazing adjustable dumbbells can permit a weight of up to 200 pounds. 

Whether you are a novice weight and resistance trainer or a pro, the adjustable dumbbell weight increments allow you to tailor the weight to suit your fitness goals and constantly test you as you get fitter.

Maximum Weight

Think about the level you are at now vs what your fitness goals are and how strong you would like to become. This can then guide you on how much weight the max weight of the adjustable dumbbells should be. 

It doesn’t matter what weight you ultimately select, as long as the weights are not too light for you, constantly challenge you and you can slowly increase the weight to push yourself outside your comfort zone and get stronger. 

For some, a max of 50 or 100 pounds should suffice.

Ease of Adjustment

You want to have adjustable dumbbells, where you know exactly how to adjust the weight to suit your needs, with ease and confidence and how much time it takes to adjust the dumbbells.  

If you are on a modest budget constraint, opt for an adjustable dumbbell set with a spinlock that has screws. Otherwise, you’ll be getting frustrated spending quite a lot of time adjusting weights.

Comfortable to Use

You don’t want adjustable dumbbells that slip when you have sweaty hands or are constructed from a rough material that is creating calluses on your hands.

Consider whether you will be purchasing gloves for lifting weights to train with adjustable dumbbells. 

If you don’t intend to splash out on training gloves then look for adjustable dumbbells that have thermoplastic rubber handles to provide a sturdy grip. 

Some adjustable dumbbells also have padding on the handles, which provides welcomed protection to the hands and the added benefit of protecting your wrists

Material

Adjustable dumbbells are made of plastic, steel, or cast iron. Plastic components can break easier and are less durable.

Adjustable dumbbells constructed from steel or cast iron are sturdy and durable. It’s worth paying a little more and getting durable and high-quality adjustable dumbbells.

Three Varieties of Adjustable Dumbbells

Spin Lock

Spinlock Adjustable dumbbells use weight plates that are held in place together with a lock, enabling you to add incremental weights to the dumbbells. Finally, you tightly lock the selected weights in place. 

If this sounds like a lot of work, that’s because it is, which explains why the spinlock model dumbbells are more economical. 

Dial A Weight

Dial a weight-adjustable dumbbell that enables you to select the weight you want to lift with the dumbbell. The weight you don’t want to lift is left in the holster.

Turning the dial to the desired weight is quick and convenient and easy to use. It’s no surprise these adjustable dumbbells are on the more expensive end of the spectrum.

Selector Pins

Selector pins involve removing and adding a magnetic pin. Weight is selected from a dumbbell weight stack and then you remove the handle from the weight stack leaving the unused weights behind in the dumbbell holder.

These are a good option if you want something more durable than a spinlock but don’t want to splurge on a dial a weight-adjustable dumbbell model. 

Storage Space

The benefit of adjustable dumbbells is that you’re getting multiple sets of weights, in one compact dumbbell set which does not take up a lot of storage space in your home. 

Storage is made compact as many adjustable dumbbells come equipped with storage trays or stands where you can put the dumbbells when not used.

What you opt for comes down to your personal preference.

Price

Adjustable dumbbells are a great investment to have several weights in one dumbbell set at home. They are also a great option for personal trainers who travel to clients, due to the ease of portability. 

The average price for a set of adjustable dumbbells is $350, with some being north of this price. 

How much do you intend to use your adjustable dumbbells? If you plan to use them at least twice a week or more, the price pays for itself over the year. 

Warranties and Guarantees

Whether an adjustable dumbbell set comes with a warranty or a  guarantee varies from brand to brand. 

Some brands may offer trial periods ranging from 14 to 30 days, allowing you to test the dumbbells. Check the fine print of whether you are entitled to exchange the adjustable dumbbell set if it doesn’t cut the mustard. 

On average an adjustable dumbbell set may come with a 1 to 2-year warranty. Check the fine print before you buy. 

Adjustable Dumbbells FAQ

Can men and women use adjustable dumbbells?

Yes is the short answer! There are many health benefits for both men and women of all ages, who incorporate strength training into their fitness regime. Weight lifting can promote muscle mass and bone density. 

Strength training tones your body and helps to build endurance. Many women get concerned and associate strength training with bulking up. 

Lifting lower weights and doing higher repetitions shreds you and keeps you lean and toned.

For the more experienced fitness enthusiast, higher weights are available. 

Does the weight on each dumbbell have to be equal?

Most people should focus on mastering the unilateral version of the exercise safely with the correct technique first.

Adjustable dumbbells do offer the possibility of offset weight selection, where the weights on both sides are uneven. Offset training has benefits as it makes training harder, requires more control and coordination, and confuses your muscles.

Should you choose to do offset weight training, ensure the difference in weight is not too large. A weight difference of 4kg/8.8 pounds is good, but anything more than this is too much.

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