Adjustable dumbbell sets are a great way to move your gym around your home, which can mean more comfort, no training elsewhere, and the ability to do it all in your foyer’s privacy. However, not all adjustable dumbbells are worth it, as not all of them are made with good quality materials, while others can be so expensive that you could easily afford a good gym membership. So how do you find a good set of dumbbells? Besides reading the comparison list above, follow these tips to be able to buy your ideal set.
Weight
When choosing your dumbbell set, the first thing you should find out is the weight that suits you to get the most out of your exercise routine. Always try to find out, the best way is to try them. If they are too heavy, you will not be able to continue the routine in minutes. You should also not choose very light weights, because you will not achieve the desired result. If you are a beginner, it is recommended that you buy dumbbells that are between 2 and 5 kg. You should also know that there are dumbbells specially designed for men or women.
Good grip
This factor is very important when choosing your gym weights. A bar that does not provide a good grip can prevent you from performing your routine correctly and can also be dangerous due to the risk of your dumbbells falling out. At this point, dumbbells that come with thicker handles and rough surfaces are always recommended. Better still if they bring some rubber cover since you can feel safe and comfortable when lifting the weight and without risk of hurting your hands or wrists.
Materials
There are two types of materials on the market: the cast iron dumbbells, or the plastic ones. In the end, it is a matter of taste which one you decide. The important thing is that once the choice is made, you verify the quality of the material. Remember that dumbbells are equipment that is usually exposed to constant blows and roses; therefore, the finishes must be adequate. At this point, weights lacquered and coated with antioxidant material are highly recommended. Likewise, in the case of plastic ones, you must verify that there are no empty air spaces in the discs.
Easy-to-change plates
By their nature, these dumbbells do not allow you to make quick and sudden changes, but you must take the time to adjust and modify the weights to suit your needs. Look for a good set whose plates are easy to change, provided you do not spend 15 minutes trying to go from 20 kg to 30 kg because the locking mechanism is too complicated or simply not of good quality, and it takes time to adjust it.
The point of all of this is to try to maintain the momentum your muscles gain with each repetition and not allow them too much time to cool down between exercises, which can take a lot of your work back. But it is also good to make sure that your weight is held by the bars so that it does not wear out too quickly. So look for sets that maintain a good balance and whose bases where the weights go are solid.
Versatility
If you have already decided to start a dumbbell routine, the idea is that you acquire a set that allows you to adjust the weight as you progress in your workouts. Therefore, the games that bring several discs of different weights are perfect for maintaining varied routines where you can combine them to your liking. Likewise, we highly recommend the dumbbells that allow you to use the bar alone as a lighter dumbbell since you can get the most out of the set.
Size
One aspect to consider when buying a set of weights is the size since you can risk buying a set that takes up a lot of space and even ends up cluttering your room. So, before choosing your dumbbells, make sure you have the space to train. If it is small, the dumbbells that come in a case are very useful, since you can take them apart and store them without taking up so much space. Also, they will allow you to maintain order. If, on the other hand, you have a large space, you can choose more robust dumbbells.
Price-quality ratio
It is important to keep in mind that, to buy a good set of dumbbells, it is not always necessary to spend a lot of money. There is a wide variety of products of optimal quality and very affordable in the market, which will allow you to start in the world of weights with ease. Once you gain experience, you can think about investing a little more in a complete set. So this is a product that you can take advantage of for the price-quality ratio.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the benefits of training with Adjustable Dumbbells?
Those who train with these weights can assure how good they can feel after working with them for a certain time, achieving the proposed goals, but they also offer other benefits:
- Muscle growth: this is due to two types of overload, which are; metabolic and metallic. The first is when the muscle is worked until it reaches fatigue, causing an adaptation of the muscle cells to take place, managing to store a large amount of glycogen, causing the muscles to increase in size. Mechanical overload occurs after damage caused by muscle contractions, stimulating the repair process, causing an increase in muscle size.
- They improve inter and intramuscular coordination: making muscle activation levels higher. With intramuscular coordination, different muscles can be worked together; in this way, joint movement can be produced and stimulated. Intramuscular coordination refers to the number of motor units and muscle fibers capable of activating within a particular muscle.
- It benefits the elastic component of muscle tissue and the contractile element: the latter refers to actin-myosin proteins responsible for everything related to the actions of concentric shortening and that eccentric control lengthening. The elastic component is what is called fascia; this connects each muscle fiber individually with the fiber groups to each other. The movement patterns, basically what they do are improved both the elasticity and the strength of the elastic component.
- Work a wide variety of exercises: through the repetition of specific movement patterns, placing the weight on a single muscle or an entire group of muscles.
- Concentration on one arm or one leg: in this way, the person who trains can achieve increased strength specifically on one or more muscles.
What are the types of Adjustable Dumbbells?
Traditional
These models have a bar, the plates with the weights, and a sort of collar or gripping system which is used to adjust the weights at the bar. In this type of dumbbell, you have to follow three steps to change the load. The first is to unscrew the necklaces, remove them, and put them back in place as needed and, once you have the desired weight combination, you put the necklace back in place.
As you can see, this is the system that you have probably handled all your life since gymnasiums generally put them in their facilities because they are quite durable, affordable, and safe.
Innovative
It is a single piece to which several plates are connected and which saves you from having to remove each plate manually to obtain the desired configuration. This is why they are so practical, and it only takes a few seconds to change the weights.
At the same time, these are ideal systems for those who have little storage space. Because they have so few parts, they are less bulky and even a little more minimalist; so to speak, there is no need for a lot of space to store them.