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Review of Bowflex SelectTech dumbbells

admin — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 03:31:19 +0000

I bought a set of Bowflex SelectTech dumbbells in 2004 from a local exercise equipment specialty shop that is no longer in business. I can’t remember exactly what I paid, somewhere around $350-$400. I’ve used them off and on ever since, and now that I’m married, my wife uses them as well. Here’s our review.

When building a home gym, a set of dumbbells in a variety of weights is a must. I wanted a bench and some dumbbells, but the idea of having to buy an entire typical dumbbell weight set was very unappealing to me. I only have so much space in my house, and if I wanted to move furniture around, it’s that much more work.

So when I finally came across the Bowflex SelectTech dumbbells, I knew I found the answer.

The Bowflex SelectTech dumbbell weight settings in pounds are as follows: 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, 15, 17.5, 20, 22.5, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, and 52.5 pounds. That’s the equivalent of having 15 different sets of dumbbells.

Not only do they provide a 15-dumbbells-in-1 solution, but the change mechanism from one weight to the next is intuitive and fast. Need 10 pounts? Turn the dial to “10″. Need 20 pounds? Set the dumbbells down, and rotate the dial to “20″. It takes seconds. The dial clicks into place, and you just lift up your dumbbells and the new weight is locked on.

Here’s a video (absolutely horrible quality, I know – I don’t have a real video camera!) of me changing the SelectTechs from 25 pounds to 5 pounds.

Note that the length of the dumbbell is just as long at 5 pounds as it is at 25 pounds. This can be a little strange at first. One would think that a standard 5 pound dumbbell would probably not be any longer than 8 inches or so, but with the SelectTechs, you get the same length no matter what the weight. That means that you probably won’t be power-walking with these things, as their size doesn’t really lend itself well to same maneuverability as smaller standard weights would allow. (For me, power walking wasn’t an issue). On the plus side, the dumbbells feel extemely well balanced in the hand – there is no teetering to my surprise. You can tell there was careful craftsmanship put into this product.

Similar all-in-one dumbbells

Once I found out about SelectTech dumbbells, I learned that they weren’t the only (nor were they the first) set of all-in-one quick-change dumbbells. The Powerblock seems to be its main competitor.

If you look for people who prefer one versus the other, it’s almost like Coke and Pepsi. The swapping mechanism for the Powerblock is a u-shaped pin that slides between plates (as opposed to the dial system for the SelectTechs). Also, some folks state the Powerblocks are more durable should you drop or knock your dumbbells around. (Note: Both Powerblock and SelectTech dumbbells are not to be tossed or dropped to the ground.) I haven’t used Powerblocks. Had I been aware of them before I bought the SelectTechs, I made have done more comparison shopping. I think Powerblocks would be a great alternative to the SelectTechs. As a matter of personal preference, I like the style of the SelectTechs.

The optional stand

It’s good to have something besides the floor to set weights on, especially if you work your arms to exhaustion. Bowflex offers an optional stand that is about two feet high for the SelectTech dumbbells.

When I first bought my dumbbells, I opted not to buy the stand. I currently use a sturdy table that is about 2 and half feet high, and it’s worked just fine (and it saves me $130). I may get a stand soon, as we would like to keep the dumbbells out of site when not in use, and since the stand comes with wheels, that would work well for us. Otherwise I’m lifting each dumbbell set separately to haul from one room to another (over 50 pounds each dumbbell set).

Bottom line

A full range of weights in one
Swapping weights is fast and takes little effort
Stylish and sturdy
Visitors can’t help but pick them up when they see them

Bowflex SelectTech dumbbells are a solid product, and a great space-saving alternative to a standard dumbbell rack. The variations of weights (from 5 to 25 pounds in 2.5 pound increments, then 5 pound increments after that up to 52.5) make it helpful to pick the right weight per exercise, and the dial for selecting weight is easy and convenient. It’s functional and stylish. It can be pricey, but there is a lot of value here.

Our family likes Bowflex SelectTech dumbbells.

View Bowflex SelectTech dumbbells at amazon.com

Review of Iron Gym Extreme aka Iron Gym Total Upper Body Workout Bar

admin — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 23:47:28 +0000

I paid $39.99 for this product on Amazon.com in January of 2009. It took about 2 weeks before it arrived. Here’s my review of the Iron Gym Xtreme. (Update: I guess they finally got around to adding the ‘e’ to ‘xtreme’ so it’s now Iron Gym Extreme.)

This is not to be confused with the regular iron gym, which had some limitations in movement compared to other pull-up bars (like the P90X pull up bar, the one I was encouraged to get for the P90X program but it costs a lot more ($100).! (Update: Since this review was initially written, it looks like the P90X bar has come down in price better to match the competition from Iron Gym Extreme).

The Decision

I wanted a pull-up bar I could use with the P90X exercise program. There was no way I was going to pay $100 for a chin-up bar, as nice as it may look:

Check out all those ways to grip on that bar. You can do more than just close-grip pull-ups, you can also do wide grip, which is great for the back and shoulders. Since P90x is the program I’m going to use this with, I needed a good substitute to that bar that has all the same features.

When I looked online, I saw the regular iron gym bar, that had tons of favorable reviews, was the one that was ‘as seen on tv’, and only costs 29.99. Then there was the iron gym xtreme, which looked exactly like the p90x bar, only costs 39.99, but was so new it had no reviews.

The Concern

I weigh 245 pounds. This thing says it can hold 300 pounds. I believe that. My real concern was can my house handle my weight? Is the door frame strong enough to handle me, or am I going to come tumbling down with trim and nails?

I have full faith that this thing will stay put over the door frame as long as my door frame holds. Maybe I didn’t have a lot of faith in my house. As of this writing, I really still don’t (more on that later).

Still, I read almost all of the 128 reviews of the original iron gym when the original was still on amazon (for some reason, I don’t see it there anymore). There were a couple of people who were in my weight range who voiced the same concern, but then said, “yes, it holds.” Not once have I seen anyone state, “Well, my house came crashing down.”

I figured the xtreme version would hold up just as well, so I bought it.

2 weeks later, it arrives.

I got the box and put it on my coffee table:

After assembling it (about 15 minutes), I put it on the floor:

But there was this one piece that I had no idea what it went to. I thought I had left something out during assembly:

It turns out that piece slides between your trim and the wall, and helps keep the iron gym in place. Don’t worry – it’s not screwed or hammered in – easily removable.

Please note that the iron gym is meant to fit in door frames of a certain width. My doorway thickness is about six inches. If yours is greatly different, beware. Also, if your trim isn’t like the trim shown in my photos, just be aware that it might not fit. Your doorway must have trim for the iron gym to stay in place. Try to find a door in your house that looks like this.

The iron gym support bar should look like this once in place.

and here it is from the front (the side I will be exercising from):

The doorway I’m using it in is very close to the next wall, so the iron gym barely fits. It’s best to have a bit of space on either side of the door so that the iron gym handles aren’t scraping up against a wall. The picture doesn’t do a good job of showing the position of that far wall. So rule of thumb, if your door trip buts right up next to the wall, that’s not a good door way to use this in.

I’ve had some more questions about placement of the iron gym. If you are putting it in a doorway that has a swinging door, you will be doing your workouts on the other side of the frame than where the door hinges are.

Using it

Let me be frank – I’m still scared to use this thing with my full weight (245 pounds). Not because I don’t trust the iron gym, but because I don’t trust my own house.

I grabbed the handles and slowly lifted my feet off the ground. I heard my house give a tiny bump of stress, but it held very firm. I did one pull up and let myself back down. I lifted the iron gym off the trim and there were no black marks left on the wall (Update – oh yes, there are scuff marks, but they didn’t appear until after a few uses. I thought I read somewhere on how to prevent them, but I can’t find it. As soon as I know I’ll post it here. Maybe it was something about wrapping the two bulbs that go against the trim in some kind of covering like cellophane. And the bar that locks above the trim leaves scuff marks, too. Maybe painters tape on the wall could prevent that. I haven’t tried these techniques – let me know if you have any tips on this).

For now in my workouts, I put a chair in the door and leave one leg on the chair while I use the iron gym. This helps me for two reasons:

I’m weak and can’t do more than a couple of reps with my full body weight anyway.
I have peace of mind in that I’m not putting great stress on my house.

Luckily, in the P90X program, the one-leg-on-the-chair method is actually a recommended approach for beginners (like me).

Bottom line – this thing does what it says and supports people as heavy as me. It’s a great substitute for more expensive chin-up bars. I like it alot – I feel it in my workouts. I’m still cautious about my house but that issue is inside my head, not any problem with the product at all. I would buy this thing again no question.

If you do buy it…

If you do decide to buy the iron gym xtreme from amazon, please consider doing it by clicking the puchase link from this page. It counts as a referral for me – it doesn’t cost you a penny extra that way.

Update (March 23, 2009) : Thanks for all the great questions that have come my way. I thought I’d address what I get asked. It’s been several weeks, and yes, I feel much more comfortable using the iron gym in my house – no more worrying about whether or not my house will fall. There are still no damage marks on my wall. I’m not the best poster child for before/after photos, as since my son was born, my ability to exercise consistently went to zero pretty quickly. Your head can potentially extend above your door frame a couple of inches, so if you have a really low ceiling, this may not be for you. Also, the ab straps did not come with the iron gym – there is a mail-in slip that came with it but I threw that out. I think the conditions were you had to pay shipping. If there are any more questions, feel free to let me know!

Update (March 26, 2009) : I’ve also received more emails about the dimensions, so I’m including a photo to demonstrate that. For people who have wider doors than 32″, I see on amazon.com that there are some extension bars that can be attached to the Iron Gym, but they get unfavorable reviews, so buyer beward for that kind of thing.

View the iron gym at amazon.com