I can't afford Bowflex

December 31, 2022 5:12 PM

Looking for cost and space efficient dumbbells for women

I am an overweight middle-aged woman. My lower body is pretty toned despite my weight due to lifestyle reasons but I have flabby bat wings that I would like to tone up. I am not looking to become a women's weightlifting champion.

I am looking for dumbbells for stuff like bicep curls. ATM 1.5 kg (3.3 pounds) weights are way too light, 3 kg (6.6 pounds) ones are fine but 5 kg (11 pounds) ones are definitely pushing it (I live in metric land and these are common weights).

I live in a small apartment and have no room for a tower of weights but I can't afford pricey adjustable weights like Bowflex. If I can only afford one set of fixed weights (might get them secondhand because I'm really broke), what weights should I get?

Can I get the 5kg ones and work up to it? What do I do when I eventually outgrow them too? Do I have to buy another new set?

posted by whitelotus to Health & Fitness (22 answers total)

There’s no such thing as spot reduction or toning, pop some muscles in those wings! Get three kettlebells, 5, 8 and 12 kilos. You’ll two-hand the five kilo for the week or two it feels heavy, then you can do one-arm exercises on it. The compound movements you do with kettlebells will help your whole body.
posted by Iteki at 6:04 PM on December 31, 2022

What about something like this? https://www.big5sportinggoods.com/store/details/proform-12.5-lb.-select-a-weight/2320143112514
posted by CleverClover at 6:06 PM on December 31, 2022

Lightweight dumbbells are pretty inexpensive, and come in all sorts of weight increments at the lighter ender, so you could just go a to Canadian equivalent of Target (Canadian Tire? Walmart?) and pick up a few of those.

This might be beyond your budget, but if the shaft size is standard, you could eventually buy heavier plates for it.

Also, if you have an Aldi (yes, Aldi) near you, keep a look out for the dumbbells that they occasionally sell. I've seen something similar to the Bowflex system for super cheap.

Finally, you can get a lot of mileage (or kilometreage, in your case) of of resistance bands. You can buy a package of four or five different resistance values for super cheap and step on them and do curls or tricep extensions.
posted by jonathanhughes at 6:07 PM on December 31, 2022

Also another option is workout bands. One band is relatively inexpensive, versatile and you can create varying levels of resistance by by shortening the band (for example standing on it).
posted by CleverClover at 6:14 PM on December 31, 2022

I own a medium weight resistance band. I've tried upper body workouts with it but I feel pulling it is not as comfortable as dumbbells because it cuts into my hands/body and I have a phobia of it snapping.

However, they are definitely a lot cheaper and take up less space than dumbbells.
posted by whitelotus at 6:21 PM on December 31, 2022

Selectable weight dumbbells are really great for versatility and small spaces. I have an older version of the Powerblock dumbbells, and I really love them! Newer ones are even better, and some of them you can even hook up to a barbell if you want.

Bowflex makes a selectable weight product as well, but I've heard of mechanical issues with them.
posted by rachaelfaith at 7:50 PM on December 31, 2022

Can I get the 5kg ones and work up to it?

Yes. Just in case this is new to you: the basic idea is to do as many repetitions as you can. Rest and repeat. If 3 kg is too light, you will be able to lift the 5 kg, but not do as many reps. But very quickly (a few sessions) you will be increasing reps.

What do I do when I eventually outgrow them too?

You can always do more reps. But when it's getting too easy, get the next size up.
posted by zompist at 8:14 PM on December 31, 2022

Bodylastics makes bands that have a cord running through the center that apparently makes them basically snap-proof. I also share your fear. If it's truly a phobia, than other comments re: light barbells and kettlebells are obviously better answers. I have a set and like them ok, but I also built my own anchor system. They have some neat door attachments though.

This guy (YT) tests them out and tries to break them.
posted by Jack Karaoke at 8:15 PM on December 31, 2022

If you happen to live near a Play It Again Sports, I have found that they tend to have a good selection of only lightly used weights at reasonable prices. I am a competitive powerlifter, and even sometimes find things I need there, but their selection of recreational dumbbells is even better.
posted by Ardnamurchan at 8:30 PM on December 31, 2022

I am somewhat concerned that buying new dumbbells will lead to them gathering dust as I am something of a newbie when it comes to weight training. How do I prevent buyer's remorse?
posted by whitelotus at 11:28 PM on December 31, 2022

I started doing weights at home in 2020 and bought some small dumbells with some extra plates second-hand. There were lots available and they were very cheap so no remorse if you don't stick with it. I found I did stick with it and the advice above is really true even if you can't imagine it now - if you can do the 3kg weights even for a couple of weeks, then you'll be able to move up to 5kg sooner than you think!

Good luck!
posted by sedimentary_deer at 1:18 AM on January 1, 2023

Just a note on adjustable dumbbells, although I know you said they are not in the budget anyway: My partner has the Bowflex ones and although he likes them a lot I hate them because they are HUGE and difficult to maneuver through certain movements. I'm a small woman and have a hard time doing, say, an overhead press without clocking myself on the side of the head with them. The overall length of them doesn't change when you have less weight on them, they just have fewer plates inside.

I know you said you don't have a lot of room for a dumbbell tower but something like this in the 3-tier size wouldn't take up any more of a floor footprint than two of those Bowflex adjustable ones or even three pairs of regular ones lined up on the floor. We have the five-tier stand like that and it's 100% worth it to keep things contained.
posted by misskaz at 6:46 AM on January 1, 2023

I use an older, out of production, version of these powerblock adjustable dumbbells. They don’t take up much room and they’re dead simple to use. You may be able to find a used set near you for cheaper.
posted by notyou at 9:48 AM on January 1, 2023

You could also consider a suspension trainer. TRX is the most common brand, but there are less expensive options.
posted by Comet Bug at 11:08 AM on January 1, 2023

Also, if you get 5kg weights now, and eventually outgrow them and get some heavier ones, that doesn't mean the 5kg ones will be useless. There will be some exercises (perhaps straight-arm raises, or standing flies) that you'll only be able to do with lighter weights than whatever you're curling. Conversely, you might find heavier weights for bent-over rows necessary.
posted by fabius at 11:42 AM on January 1, 2023

I work in my bedroom on my computer. Every morning after I make my bed I put a pair of dumbbells on the foot of my bed and whenever I come back into the room I make a point of doing a set of lifts. This means 10 or 20 reps every time I get up to make a cup of tea, or go to the bathroom and come back, or wander out of my room to go talk to someone, or take a break for meals, or come back from taking a walk.

I have found this a good way to get decent use from my weights. Start with just doing two or three lifts every time you come back into the room and have to walk past them on the bed. It will seem absurdly little but will get you into the pattern so you will be using them regularly and fitting it multiple sessions a day. Put them somewhere you have to go past them multiple times a day if the foot of your bed doesn't work.
posted by Jane the Brown at 2:07 PM on January 1, 2023

Jane the Brown, what sort of lifts do you do? I don't think I am that disciplined. If I can stick to doing two to three sessions per week, I'll describe my new dumbbells as a success.

I think I'm too much of a noob for kettlebells (which are also expensive and not as common secondhand) or a suspension trainer. I don't own the apartment so I can't do anything to the walls or doors etc.

I've been surveying the secondhand market and it's been interesting. The lighter weights (5kg and below) are in abundance but the heavier ones (7.5 kg onwards i.e. 16.5 pounds and above) are less common suggesting that most people never get around to reaching the heavier weights. I suspect a lot of people never stick to their routines. I hope that won't be me. The heavier ones are also more expensive of course.

My morning commute used to take me past a no-frills 24 hr gym. I can't afford the gym fees but I would look through the glass out of curiosity. Most of the patrons were men, a few young women (twenty-somethings) went in but they only used the treadmills.
posted by whitelotus at 7:45 PM on January 1, 2023

I mainly do bicep curls, overhead extensions and shoulder presses and sometimes bent over rows. I also use squeeze balls for hand strength sometimes. Because I have arthritis I have to be careful not to strain my joints which means lower weights and fewer reps, but more often. This is why several times a day but not for very long is good for me. It is also less challenging to put in one minute than to schedule twenty minutes. I'm not as likely to put it off if I know it's only for a few moments. I'm very much a fan of doing baby steps.


Form is really important. The mistakes I know to watch for are not fully controlling the descents and using my body to support my elbows during the bicep curls. From what I have read on the subject, it seems that raising is not as important as lowering the weights with good control. Apparently tensing muscles under a load is less likely to build muscle than relaxing them gradually under a load. This means that if one person loads things onto the tailgate of a truck and the other person takes things off the tail gate and puts them on the ground, the one unloading the truck will gain strength faster than the one raising things but not lowering them.

Another mistake I know to watch for is jerking and using momentum - that's the kind of motion that can damage my joints. I work to gain enough control that when I am lowering the weights there is no bounce at the end of the descent.

I find chanting "And one, and two, and three..." with the word and on the lift and the number on the descent keeps me from getting distracted and losing track of how many lifts I really have done, and keeps me focused on using good form lowering. If you have a mirror it can be useful to lift in front of it a few times to check how your form looks compared to the trainer in the videos.

My local dollar store sells the lightest weights, but I think I bought my first ones at Walmart and my heaviest ones were a hand me down from a friend. I sometimes see weights at the second hand stores.
posted by Jane the Brown at 8:34 PM on January 1, 2023

Thank you for the detailed answer, Jane the Brown. I will keep your advice in mind when I get my dumbbells.
posted by whitelotus at 8:40 PM on January 1, 2023

Suspension trainers are definitely noob-friendly! They are used in rehab sometimes. I secure mine inside a door frame (it needs to pull in the direction the door closes), so no modifications to walls are necessary. I wrap a little cloth around the part that touches the door to prevent damage. But you should go with whatever appeals to you more.
posted by Comet Bug at 11:25 PM on January 1, 2023

I just bought some secondhand dumbbells. I asked for a discount since there are some dings and cosmetic damage which will hopefully not affect functionality. They should arrive soon and hopefully they would be just right for me weight-wise.
posted by whitelotus at 6:20 AM on January 2, 2023

Update: I have had my dinged 5 kg dumbbells for some time and have been using them. They are indeed a bit much for me right now but it gets a little easier with every session.

I'm hoping that these would be too light some day and I can move up to 7.5 kg dumbbells. Dumbbells start getting expensive at that weight so I hope I can afford them by the time I'm ready.
posted by whitelotus at 11:53 PM on February 4, 2023