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Bowflex SelectTech or PowerBlock Dumbbells
Bowflex SelectTech dumbbells or PowerBlock selectorized dumbbells-- a great choice for home fitness!
I find adjustable dumbbells to be a little inconvenient because it interrupts your workout if you constantly have to load and unload plates each time you perform a different exercise. To solve this dilemma you could buy fixed dumbbells-- only you would need to have the space to stock pairs of 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 lb dumbbells and so on up to 75, 100 lbs or more. If you have the space for a room full of weights, then fixed dumbbells may be for you. They certainly are less awkward to work with. I won't reiterate here why I think selectorized dumbbells are the ultimate choice for anyone who likes to workout from home except perhaps to say that you probably will not find a more economical option anywhere in terms of space. If you don't want an inventory of wall-to-wall dumbbells or if you only have space for just one pair of weights, then selectorized dumbbells are definitely for you. I like the Bowflex SelectTech dumbbells. I've had my pair for years. I train my private clients with them and I use them myself. As an in-home trainer, I travel a lot from home to home and they pack neatly in the back of my car. When they're not traveling across town with me, they sit comfortably in their stand-- which I also recommend buying unless you have a sturdy level surface about waist-high for them to rest upon. I don't like to have my clients pick up their dumbbells from the floor, especially when they start using heavy weights. One moment of fatigue or a simple distraction and you risk a potential injury. Picking up a barbell with two hands, even when it's heavier is not nearly as tricky as dumbbells since your limbs won't move independently of each other. So get yourself the stand too. The Bowflex SelectTech stand is ergonomically designed. It's actually very cleverly conceived. Unlike many others, it stands a little lower than waist-high-- just the right length when your arms hang by your sides. And the dumbbells rest at an angle so you can just walk up to it and comfortably lift them out of their casing. Bowflex offers several different selectorized dumbbells. The two products I recommend most are as the SelectTech 552 and the SelectTech 1090. The Bowflex SelectTech 552 provides 5 to 52.5 lbs of weight in each hand-- essentially replacing some fifteen pairs of fixed dumbbells. They adjust in 2.5 lb increments up to the first 25 lbs making them ideal for beginners who might otherwise not tolerate 5 lb increases or for some single-joint exercises in which a 5 lb increase in intensity may be too much. For most people, this is my best-choice recommendation. If fifty-two and a half pounds in each hand is simply not enough weight for you, the Bowflex SelectTech 1090 provides 10 to 90 lbs of weight in 5 lb increments. Some people prefer PowerBlock selectorized dumbbells. I've used those too and they're both very good products. I think you can't go wrong either way. PowerBlock also proposes several different dumbbell sets, some of which can be expandable to a whopping 130 lbs per hand using their add-on kits. The kits are charged separately and require a tiny bit of assembly. If you need that much weight, PowerBlock is for you. The two PowerBlock products I recommend most are the Personal PowerBlock set and the Personal Trainer set. The Personal PowerBlock set provides 5 to 45 lbs of weight in 5 lb increments replacing 9 pairs of fixed dumbbells and can be expanded up to an additional 60 lbs using an add-on kit. The Personal Trainer set is adjustable from 2.5 to 50 lbs in 2.5 lb increments all the way to 50 pounds. Unlike the Personal PowerBlock set, the Personal Trainer set cannot be expanded with add-on kits. There are other makes of selectorized dumbbells on the market but I like Bowflex and PowerBlock. I only recommend products I like and I do have a penchant for the Bowflex SelectTech dumbbells. Personally, I like to keep things simple and the choice selection with Bowflex seems to be simpler to me. They have fewer similar products to choose from making things less complicated and if you purchase the 552 set or the 1090 set, you don't have to match the stand to the set. It's the same stand-- at least, it was when I got my set. There's also less assembly and no add-on kits to worry about. Perhaps the most important advantage is that the Bowflex selectorized dumbbells use a unique dial system to change the amount of weight you need which is simple, secure, and speedy. You simply turn the knob the way you would turn a knob to run a bath. The PowerBlock system uses a selector pin much like you find on weight stack machines which requires some careful insertion right-side up to make sure the system engages properly. They are however, very sturdy. From a purely aesthetic standpoint, I prefer the look of the Bowflex dumbbells over the 'block' appearance of the PowerBlock dumbbells, and their stand is more ergonomically designed to spare the lower back region when manipulating them from their casing. When I first used them, both of these makes seemed bulky to me. I don't even notice it anymore. It won't take you long to get used to handling them. I love my selectorized dumbbells and I couldn't imagine working out without them. Whether you have a personal preference for Bowflex SelectTech or PowerBlock dumbbells, you should know that both of these products are excellent. Your choice for one or the other is not nearly as time-sparing and space-saving as the decision to opt for selectorized dumbbells over the adjustable or fixed kind for your home fitness training. I highly recommend them.
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