A New Weight Set

We had this 110 lb box dropped off in our driveway this past weekend:

Two dumbbells (strapped to their bases) taken out on the right.




Adjustable weight, from 5 to 52.5 lbs.


Sitting by our front door near our other workout gear.

My wife has gotten back into lifting weights over the last month or so since before COVID. And she wanted to be able to do more than what she could with our 2 sets of (borrowed) dumbbells. So she ordered these. I was pleasantly surpised with how easily they switched between weights, and then how secure the weights feel once they are "locked" on (the plates jingle a little, but aren't all that loose). It's adjustable every 2.5 lbs up through 25 lbs, and then every 5 lbs above that (and technically adjustable by 1.25 and 2.5 lbs if you make each side slightly different weight).

The only real "cons" are that you need to be deliberate and make sure you're setting down the dumbbells straight down into their base because of the other weight plates. And even though it's quick to change the weight, it's still slightly annoying to be doing it a LOT. So when I first tried them on my "circuit-like" workout last Saturday, I didn't waste time constantly adjusting the weight. But when I did a more "traditional" weight routine by muscle group Tuesday and Thursday, I didn't mind dialing in the right weight for one group of exercises, and then changing it 15 minutes later when I moved on to the next group. That worked well and didn't feel like it was slowing me down.

Now that I've used them a few times, the only other "issue" that I've noticed (which isn't really a big deal) is how big the grips are. They are bigger than my other 2 pairs of dumbbells. Here they are lined up side-by-side-by-side:

Noticeable in person, but not as noticeable in the photo.


I used this piece of paper to measure the circumference of each of those dumbbells:
the all silver set is 3.25", the 40 lbs set is under 3.75", but the new Bowflex ones are 4.5".

I love the flexibility, and I'm happy if it helps get my wife lifting weights more often again!