IF I had to have just one piece of home workout equipment to help my stop-start pursuit of becoming stronger and hunkier then a pair of dumbbells might just be it.
Few bits of kit are as versatile and offer so many benefits for all body parts regardless of strength and ability.
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The weights fit neatly on the purpose-built stand
The issue I’ve always had, in my limited experience, is you either need lots of dumbbells of different weights for all the different exercises you do.
And that takes up a lot of precious space in your home.
Or, if you don’t have different dumbbells, you need a set where you can change the plates or disks on them to make them heavier, or lighter.
This can take ages and eats up a considerable amount of very precious time from your home workout routine.
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Fortunately, there is a solution – adjustable dumbbells.
I was very keen to see just how well they work and if they could solve my problems so have tried out the beastly Primal Personal Series 25kg Adjustable Dumbbells, from Primal Strength.
Would they solve my space and time issues… and would they make me stronger and hunkier?
For £299 just for the dumbbells, and £499 with the stand, I certainly hoped so.
Let’s find out…
Pros
Save you loads of space
Save you loads of time
You can vary gradually between 15 different weights from 4.5kg to 25kg
Cons
Can be confusing at first
Slightly tricky to get in and out until you used to it a lot, some of the smaller ones get trapped
They are big and perhaps not suitable if you arent going to maximise the full 25kg weight
They are not cheap
First impressions:
The postman had a good workout before I did, delivering the giant dumbbell contraptions in two separate, heavy boxes.
There was a third too for the stand that you can purchase separately if you want. I broke out in a bit of a sweat just taking them up the stairs.
Upon opening them I saw an instruction manual – how hard can it be to lift two dumbbells I thought?
At first I was relieved the manual turned out to be just one sheet of paper with five sentences and a small diagram on. After a brief read I, like a fool, had a fiddle and pulled the weights out, sending plates crashing to floor.
It took ten minutes of comparing my now half dumbbell with the other one to see why some plates had fallen out and then managed to put it back together.
The video on the site only showed buff users pumping iron with them on a loop so it didn’t help me much, inspirational as it was, and I was about to call the customer helpline (a rare thing) when I worked out how to use the sliders to change the weight.
Once I’d realised this, and assembled the optional accompanying stand, I was ready to give them a try.
It’s so easy to change the weights just by moving the sliders and lifting them off the trays, which have the weights listed on them
Do they deliver?
For what I wanted, most definitely.
Primal Strength’s description on the website says users can “seamlessly switch between weight levels using easy adjustment sliders while the moulded storage tray visually displays weight increments for quick selection”. And they pretty much can.
If you are after compact, organised efficiency, then these could be for you.
If you don’t want to splash the extra on the stand then they can be neatly tucked into a corner of the room, although it is much easier lifting them from the stand, rather than the floor.
My workouts include using dumbbells for arm curls, standing rows, Romanian deadlifts and Lu Raises – all at different weights.
That would mean a lot of changing plates – or having lots of different dumbbells.
There are 15 different weight options on these, starting at 4.5kg per dumbbell, so they can be good for those at pretty much both ends of the lifting spectrum, although they may not be suitable for some lighweight exercises.
These really make changing weights easy, and at 25kg max per dumbbell, they should keep me going for quite a while, probably forever, for the vast majority of exercises that I perform.
They do take a bit of getting used to as some of the smaller weights can get trapped as you lift them up, so you have to make sure you pull them up cleanly.
And just make sure you balance the weights evenly when you adjust the sliders, you could get a nasty jolt if not.
The verdict:
At £299 a pair, plus another £200 for the stand if you want it, these are not a budget buy.
Before buying I would consider what type of workouts you are likely to do not just now, but how far do you intend to take them.
If you are going to perform a lot of dumbbell exercises, and looking to build up your weight threshold, I would seriously consider them.
They have shaved nearly ten precious minutes of messing around with plates off my workouts, and they do not take up too much room.
Personally they make an excellent addition to my home gym and could easily be a permanent fixture.
Whether they make me hunkier… watch this space.
QUICKFIRE Q&A
How much are they?: £299 for just the dumbbells, or £499 with the stand, from Primal Strength. But you can get 12 per cent off with the discount code MAY 12 on the site.
Who is it best for?: People looking to save space and time with home workouts and will be lifting heavier weights either now, or in the future.
What we loved about it: It really shaves a good amount of time off workouts when doing a range of dumbbell exercises.
What we didn’t love: They can be a bit fiddly to start with but OK once you get the hang of it.
How we tested? I first carried out my normal workout using my old dumbbells and a barbell to see how long it took.
I then switched to Primal Strangth’s beasts and cut on average nine minutes off.
I tested them doing the various exercises above over a few weeks and was very impressed.
Where to buy: Buy the dumbbells alone for £299 from Primal Strength’s website.
Or you can buy them with the stand too for £499
Web users can currently get 12 per cent off orders over £300 with the code MAY 12.
