Although it’s not a dealbreaker, the weight plates are wide, so they feel clunkier than your standard dumbbell. The biggest pain point in our testing was how precise you needed to be when placing the dumbbell in its cradle; we found that if you don’t perfectly line up the ridges on the top of the weight plates, the dumbbells tend to get stuck.
The PowerBlock Elite may look like a car battery, but it’s the perfect adjustable dumbbell for heavy lifters. Despite up to a 90-pound load, the PowerBlock tops out at 16 inches in length, so it’s not too clunky to use during bent-over rows or chest presses.
The Tester’s Take
Our tester has used the same pair of PowerBlocks for snatches, max-effort bench presses, CrossFit workouts, and everything in-between for more than a decade, proving these beasts of adjustable dumbbells are both versatile and durable. Thanks to their steel plates and handles and minimal plastic, they can take a beating.
Changing the weight is as easy as moving the selector pin to your desired load, making them one of the easiest-to-use adjustable dumbbells on the market, according to our tester. Plus, the dumbbells are compatible with the brand’s straight and curl bars, so you can easily transform your free weights into a barbell without blowing your budget or crowding your home gym.
Just know, the more weight you add, the thicker the adjustable dumbbell gets. And due to the square shape, this can make it difficult to hold onto the dumbbell with two hands during moves like goblet squats, our tester says.
Think of these adjustable dumbbells as mini barbells. The free weight set comes with a solid steel handle, 12 weight plates (eight 2.5-pound and four 1.25-pound plates), and four star-lock collars. Just pop your chosen weights onto each end of the handle, screw on the collars to secure them in place, and start repping it out.
The Tester’s Take
At less than $80, these adjustable dumbbells won’t break the bank, and their lighter weight plates are ideal for beginners just dipping their toes into strength training. You can gradually increase the load by 1.25 or 2.5 pounds at a time, all the way up to roughly 16 pounds per dumbbell—a useful weight for isolation exercises such as biceps curls, triceps kickbacks, and lateral raises as you progress.
Fair warning: You’ll need to do some mid-workout math to accurately adjust your load. The handle itself weighs 2.75 pounds, and the collars weigh an extra 0.55 pounds each. So if you want to lift 10 pounds, you won’t be able to just slap on four of the 2.5-pound plates and get to work.
Let’s Compare the Cost of These Adjustable Dumbbells
How We Tested Adjustable Dumbbells
To ensure the best adjustable dumbbells on the market are truly the best, we recruited a team of certified personal trainers, USA Weightlifting coaches, elite athletes, and other pros to put the gear to the test. They spent hours lifting with every piece of equipment on this list, paying special attention to how it improved—or hindered—their workouts, as well as its durability and quality, versatility, weight capacity, and size.
After each pair of dumbbells was thoroughly tested, our team also took a deeper look at factors such as warranty, materials, safety features, and price point—and how that translated to value for the money. The ones that scored high marks in those categories earned the title of “best adjustable dumbbell.”
TL;DR: You can trust that whichever weight set you invest in from this list, it’s well worth the money. For more details on how we decided which items were worthy of being on this exclusive list, check out our testing standards.
What is an Adjustable Dumbbell?
An adjustable dumbbell is exactly what it sounds like: a free weight with a load that isn’t fixed. Rather than having one pair of 10-pound dumbbells, another pair of 15s, a set of 20s, and so on, an adjustable dumbbell can easily change from one weight to another, generally by turning a dial, flipping a switch, or twisting a collar to lock in additional weight plates. It’s similar to a barbell, in that you have a single handle or “bar” that can be loaded with various weights.
Benefits of Adjustable Dumbbells
It’s no secret that resistance training can enhance muscle strength, preserve bone mass, and, depending on the exercises, improve daily functioning. But what’s more surprising is that once you hit that window between 30 and 35 years old, muscle mass and strength hit their peaks and performance begins to steadily decrease, according to the National Institute on Aging. The good news: You can pump the brakes on those declines by maintaining an active lifestyle—including strength training.
