Dumbbells for Women
Posted on May 19, 2009 by Miss Britt in Health
I want to get dumbbells for my home so that I can have Michelle Obama arms.
What? That is a completely acceptable reason to start thinking about fitness and exercising and stuff. The first lady has fantastic arms.
My husband has some of those adjustable dumbbells with the plates you have to put on and take off to adjust the weight, and they intimidate the hell out of me. I am fully aware of how pathetic that sounds, but it’s true.
What I’m looking for is a dumbbell set with multiple weights (so I can increase the weight as I get stronger) or adjustable dumbbells that are easy to use. I don’t want a huge rack that will take up a lot of space in my house because I just don’t have the room for a full gym in my home.
PowerBlock Classic Adjustable 5 to 45-Pounds per Dumbbell Set
The PowerBlock adjustable dumbbell set is probably exactly what I need. It’s compact and covers a wide range of weights. All of the reviews I’ve read on major fitness sites rave about these things.
Unfortunately, it’s $338 and looks confusing as hell. I am such a fitness novice and prone to boredom that I cannot justify the cost of this dumbbell set – especially since odds are good I wouldn’t be able to figure out how to use them.
Apex Neoprene Dumbbell Set (3-Pair) with Case
This dumbbell set comes in 2, 3 and 5 lb pairs. Meh. That’s not a huge amount of variation in the weight, but it’s a decent start. The carrying case would certainly help with my storage issues. However, this is dumbbell set is $50 – which is more than I’m willing to spend on “meh”.
Reebok Speed Pac 25 Adjustable Dumbbell Pair
This is one pair of dumbbells – but they are adjustable dumbbells. I don’t know how, but you turn a knob to the weight you want and voila! Different weight! Each dumbbell can be set from 2.5 to 12.5 lbs in increments of 2.5 lbs. That definitely gives me a wider range than the carrying case set – but still looks like a dumbbell I’m used to.
This set is about $75.
Holy crap, dumbbell sets are expensive.
After looking around extensively at different merchants and manufacturers, it looks like I need to plan to spend at least $50 on a set of dumbbells. If I’m going to invest in an adjustable dumbbell set, the Reebok Speed Pac seems like the best option for me. It’s going to give me the widest range of weights in a style I’m comfortable with and take up the least amount of room in my house.
I’m still not sure if I’m ready to take the plunge on a full dumbbell set.
Valeo HW3 3-Pound Neoprene Hand Weights
Maybe I can start off small with a set of 3 lb hand weights for $10.
Or do push ups for free.
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Posted on May 19, 2009 by Miss Britt in Health
I’ve had the “Sport Blocks” from PowerBlock for years and I just love them.
I have 2,3,5 lbs ones in the storage case somewhere in my closet.
But I use the 8 lbs and a 10 lb medicine ball for my arms. Or the fancy machines at the gym when I, yanno, GO to the gym.
But do you know what is awesome? These: http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/188-8055360-8983126?ASIN=B000XLZOGQ&AFID=Froogle&LNM=B000XLZOGQ|GoFit_Kettlebell_with_Core_DVD_Yellow_10_lb.&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=B000XLZOGQ&ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001
They are called Kettlebells. (I know, stupid name) They are insane and will tone you in no time flat. At least that’s how my arms felt after I used them.
You could also lower yourself backwards onto a chair or table over and over – for free.
Or maybe I should send you mine, just like that, that I bought two years ago and NEVER use!
I agree with Sarah, I love the kettlebells….
I vote for pushups. It’s cheap, VERY effective and there are many variations you can use. Plus it tones your back, chest and core and the same time. A multi-tasking exercise.
Play It Again Sports. You can get free weights for pretty cheap there.
Also, doing dips and push ups and pull ups and a variety of other upper-body activities probably couldn’t hurt. Fitsugar.com is a great reference!
I hate having a big rack that takes up a lot of space, too, but I just buy bigger bras. *snicker*
I love my sports blocks because they take up zero space and they can grow as your strength grows. I’ve never desired to curl or overhead press more than 25 pounds, so that’s a big enough set for me.
The other thing I’ve loved, especially when I was a freak doing P90X, were the Bodylastics Terrell Owens Sports Bands.
http://www.tobands.com/
Each band can hook or unhook onto a handle, and you can vary the resistance level (“equal” to certain weights) by adding or removing different bands. If you do curls and overhead extensions with these, put an eye hook in your ceiling to run the bands through to do pull downs, and do pushups, lunges and crunches with bodyweight, you don’t need anything else.
I got seriously buff last summer using that system. Then I quit. Now I’m fat again
. But there’s always hope!
Lynn
I use to lift with dumbbells and it really gets you toned. The arms go the quickest.
I like the adjustable dumbbells.