With the workout trend refusing to roll over and die, you are left with three options:

1) to jump on the trend and sign up to a gym that you can’t afford that is full of beautiful people that make you hate yourself.

2) sign up to a gym you can afford where stray dogs sleep on the equipment or

3) work out in the comfort of your own home, in your pants surrounded by last night’s beer cans and take away boxes, free of judgment.

The Bowflex SelectTech 552i Dumbbells are good place to start building your home gym. These dumbbells have an adjustable weight system which theoretically means they have condensed a set of 15 weights into one product. Adjustable from 5 to 52.5lbs (2 to 24 kg) in increments 2.5lb from 5-20lb, and then in increments of 5lb up to 52.5lb, the weight is easy to change with the use of a large adjustable dial. The dumbbell sits in a strong plastic cradle where it needs to be before adjusting the weight, there is a dial at either end of the of the dumbbell that allows you to select your preferred weight, and offset the weight at either end if you want, then simply pick up the dumbbell and the excess weights will remain behind locked into the cradle. To change again, you just need to return them to the cradle and spin the dial again.

Due to the amount of weights you can fit on one bar, they are slightly longer than the more conventional dumbbells, which means they will feel a little different on some exercises, but you can still do all the usual exercises with them. Their compact design (15.75" L x 8" W x 9" H) means they are much easier to store in the corner of a room than a 15 set dumbbell rack, the durable moulding around metal plates provides quieter workouts, without the sound of metal plates clanging together, however any grunting and swearing won’t be effected. The dumbbells are suitable for beginners as they come with a bonus Bowflex SelectTech workout DVD to walk you through a safe and efficient work out with over 30 exercises and over 80 variations. We found the Bowflex SelectTech 552i Dumbbells  versatile, compact, well-built and most importantly so quick to change the weight, meaning you can simply get on with your workout hassle free. RRP £399 (Pair)

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4.8 out of 5

Pros

Compact

Easy weight adjustment (5-52.5lb)

Can offset the weight at either end

Quick to change weights

Good build quality

Cons

More delicate than regular dumbbells