No home gym is complete without dumbbells, and the best adjustable dumbbells will allow you to build out your dream gym even if you’re working with minimal space. Able to replace a whole rack, adjustable dumbbells are a great way to save space while ensuring you have every weight you need for whatever exercises you may be setting out to do. With weight capacities up to 90 pounds, the best adjustable dumbbells should be strong and durable, able to quickly and easily toggle between the various weights.
So which adjustable dumbbells should you get? We did an excessive amount of curls, rows, and more to find out.
The Best Adjustable Dumbbells, According to GQ
No matter where you are in your fitness journey, we’ve got a set of adjustable dumbbells just for you. Any of these picks are worth the investment.
NordicTrack is most well known for its cardio equipment—bikes and treadmills—but we found that its adjustable dumbbells can hold their own. These can vary in weight between 10 and 55 pounds, all of which is housed neatly in the included storage tray. The ridged handle makes it easy and comfortable to grip, while toggling between weights is a cinch. The weight can be changed in 2.5-pound increments, which is great for making fine adjustments to see just how far you can push yourself.
Easy to adjust with a twist of the handle, Core Fitness’s adjustable dumbbells range between five and 50 pounds. You can adjust the weight in five-pound increments, and an audible click lets you know that you’re ready to start lifting. The handle is a little on the thicker side, but it’s not unbearable or unwieldy to hold. The design of these adjustable dumbbells is as simple as it gets, so beginners can spend more time training and less time fiddling with weight plates. The dumbbells start at just five pounds, and to dial up or tone down the weight—which can reach up to 50 pounds in 5-pound increments—just give the handle a quick twist.
If you’re trying to do drop sets, you’ll want adjustable dumbbells that make it easy to change the weight so that you don’t give your muscles any time to recover. Flybird makes great quick-to-adjust dumbbells though the lightest weight that these can go is 15 pounds (going all the way up to 55 pounds). We wish that you could adjust the weights in smaller increments than the pre-set 10 pounds, but these are still a great overall set.
Bowflex is famous for its home gym equipment, and we really like its 552 dumbbells, which actually denote its weight range: between five and 52.5 pounds. Adjustments are made in 2.5-pound increments, and it’s easy to change just by twisting the dial on either side of the dumbbells. You have to adjust the weight by spinning the dial on both sides of the dumbbell, which can be slightly time-consuming if you’re just trying to breeze through your set, but overall these are still an excellent set to include in your home gym.
What does “drop-proof” mean when it comes to these dumbbells? No, they can still fall, but its design means that if you drop them, they won’t get damaged (as long as they’re not falling from anything above 32 inches). These sleek dumbbells are adjustable through the dial around the handle, and it ranges between 10 to 80 pounds. The weight increases in 10-pound increments, which isn’t ideal, but we do like how heavy these are.
These super-durable dumbbells are great, and sure to outlast you and your home gym thanks to their lifetime warranty. Their flat bottoms prevent rolling and with weights ranging between five and 60 pounds. You can make micro adjusts, with the weight changing in increments of 2.5 pounds. They’re also resilient, and able to withstand a few drops without worrying about damaging the dumbbells.
Beautifully designed, these adjustable dumbbells range in weight from 5 to 50 pounds (or 80 pounds if you want to buy the heavier set). They increase in five-pound increments, and their ridged handle make them grippy and easy to hold. Unlike other adjustable dumbbells, the weight plates are sturdy and don’t rattle when you lift them. The only annoying thing about these dumbbells is that racking requires pinpoint precision to get the plates back in their cradle.
These steel dumbbells have a unique square design, but that doesn’t stop them from letting you get a good workout in (the design also means they won’t roll away). Capping at 90 pounds, and going down to a light five pounds, these dumbbells are easy to adjust though the caged design doesn’t make them great for any move that requires two hands like goblet squats.
Like mini barbells, these chrome dumbbells have removable plates, which can make the dumbbells as heavy as around 16 pounds. The handle weighs a little under three pounds, so just like putting plates on a barbell, you’ll need to do some quick maths to know what weight you’re pulling.
