There are hundreds of ways to start or restart a fitness journey, but whilst the goals, technique and equipment will change, every successful one begins with a firm commitment to do what you can to build the best possible version of yourself.

This commitment can take many different forms: it can involve a gym membership, incorporating a balanced routine of stretches, bodyweight exercises, and cardiovascular training, or buying equipment to set up a home gym.

The latter is increasingly popular and has been since the early 2020s, but choosing the first pieces of equipment can be difficult, especially if you are not sure how quickly you will progress and develop.

This is where adjustable dumbbell sets have become very popular. Rather than being limited to a single weight or requiring additional space to store multiple fixed-weight dumbbells, a home gym only needs one set of weights to start with whilst you establish a fitness baseline.

How do they work, and are they the best first choice for fitness?

How Are Adjustable Dumbbells Adjusted?

Rather than having a single set weight as would be found with a fixed dumbbell or a rack of them, an adjustable dumbbell allows for the weight to be adjusted, although the methods that are used to allow for this adjustment can vary significantly.

In some cases, an adjustable dumbbell is designed to work in the same way as a conventional barbell; weights are loaded on either side and are secured in place with a locking collar, allowing for the weights to be adjusted by simply swapping out the plates used.

However, an alternative and highly popular approach is to fit a dumbbell to a locking base connected to a set of dials and buttons. To adjust the dumbbell, you simply turn the dial to the desired weight and lift it out of the housing, placing it back in to change the weight later.

Why Are They So Popular?

The most obvious reason why adjustable dumbbells have proven so popular is simply that they combine an entire rack of weights into a single, versatile package.

Compared to a gym, space is far more of a premium at home, and a tree rack of dumbbells requires that a lot of space is committed to weights that some people might not end up using for very long before they go up a weight.

Similarly, an adjustable set of dumbbells is cheaper than a set of dumbbells in the long run, as you do not need to buy extra weights as your strength progresses. The right adjustable weight will serve you well for a significant part of your fitness journey.

What Can They Be Used For?

As dumbbells, adjustable sets can be used for practically any sort of exercise, from providing additional resistance to the countless numbers of lifts designed with dumbbells in mind.

What makes them different, however, is their versatility; they can be set to one weight to help with squats, loaded back into the housing and changed to another weight for clean and jerks, lunges and so on.

Whilst they are very good for progression and were designed for that purpose, they also allow for variety and versatility with workouts by ensuring you have access to a safe weight to lift to target specific muscle groups or weaknesses in form.

Should You Start With Them?

If you plan on exclusively training at home, are thinking about your long-term fitness goals and do not plan to build up your exercise equipment piecemeal then it is one of, if not the best place to start.

Dumbbells in general act as a very effective gateway from general exercise and physical activity to weight training and building up strength, and they are popular because anything you want to do in terms of aerobic exercises can be intensified using dumbbells and every barbell lift can be replicated in form using them too.

The main consideration when choosing the right adjustable set is to ensure you choose high-quality equipment with easy-to-use, clear and visible adjustment systems that make it easy to see what weight the dumbbells are currently set at.

Possibly their biggest advantage compared to a rack of fixed dumbbells is how they can be used to make progressive overload training easier, as adjustable weight sets can be incrementally adjusted without buying a whole new set, with a particularly wide range of weights.

Ultimately, the lower overall cost, smaller space requirements and sheer capability for versatile complete workouts make them a very important part of most workout routines.