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PowerBlocks Review
by Hugo Rivera
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Those who know me are aware of the fact that I am not a big fan of home gym units. The reason for that is because, first of all, they do not provide you with the fast results that free weights can provide you with. Why? Because the body was designed to operate on a three-dimensional universe not a two-dimensional one. By restricting your body to a two-dimensional universe when you use a machine, you do not provide enough neuromuscular stimulation to elicit growth (see my article on Which Exercises are the Best for Fast Results?
) and also stabilizer muscles and other auxiliary muscles do not get activated. Therefore while you may be able to bench press 200lbs on a machine, you may only be able to do half of that in a free weight environment. Second of all, home gym units are usually expensive and take a lot of space.
As many of you already know, one of my favorite training tools are dumbbells. If you want to set up a home gym, my recommendation will always be, start up with a good and safe set of adjustable dumbbells. If you have the money and space for it, then my second recommendation would be a nice sturdy adjustable bench. With these limited pieces of equipment you can exercise all of the muscles in the body (refer to my article on Home Gym Equipment and Home Gym Equipment Training Routines). As a matter of fact, the routines found on The Body Sculpting Bible for Men and The Body Sculpting Bible for Women are routines that can be done with either a set of dumbbells alone or a set of dumbbells and a bench.
However, one problem that I find with conventional adjustable dumbbells is the fact that it takes a long time to change the weight in them. In addition to that, you also need a place to keep the plates that you are not using stored away. Because of that, in my home gym I ended up purchasing four sets of adjustable dumbbells. In that manner, I already have them preset and require no time to change the weights. But then again, I have the space available to have all of these dumbbells around. For a person with a limited amount of space, such a solution is unacceptable.
In the early 90's a concept was introduced into the fitness industry by Greg Olson and Carl Towley, founders of Intellbell Inc. After working in the institutional fitness industry for over ten years, designing fitness equipment for companies such as Parabody®, and designing the entire strength line for Cybex®, these guys decided to start a company based on a unique technology. Their technology provided the fitness enthusiasts with the performance advantages of hand weights without the space and cost penalty inherent in the old fashioned hex head dumbbells and racks. It also eliminated the time delay involved in changing the weights of adjustable dumbbells. The name of the concept is PowerBlocks ®.
As an engineer, from the beginning I was extremely curious as to how some people were able to create a device that provides such awesome benefits. However, since I already had my home gym set up and had never seen such dumbbells in any stores, I never tried them. That was until just a week ago when my brother actually purchased a pair of them in order to follow the routines from the Body Sculpting Bibles.
As soon as I laid my eyes on the dumbbells, I started by disassembling them in order to reverse engineer the design and ascertain their safety. Basically, PowerBlocks® are composed of three pieces: the core, the weights and the selector pin. The core, which is the PowerBlock® handle, fits inside the first weight. The first weight fits inside the second weight, the second weight fits inside the third weight and so on. The weight selector pin slides into the sides of the PowerBlock® just like the pin on a weight stack in the gym. When you lift the weight, all the weights above the selector pin are lifted at the same time. When you are done with the exercise, you place the block back in the middle of the unused weights.
At first glance the core may seem like it will not be able to handle the amount of weights that the PowerBlocks handle but on closer examination it is obvious that the material is some kind of industrial composite that gives it the properties of being extremely strong while light at the same time. As a matter of fact, the weight of the core for this particular set is only 5 lbs.
As far as safety, which was one of my major concerns, the weight selector pin is well secured once you place it in. In addition, it has magnets for added security and to prevent slipping. The core easily handles all the weight that comes with it, so there are no safety problems there. In addition, these blocks provide wrist support, something that typical dumbbells do not provide.
I used the blocks and had a nice shoulders and arms workout with them. I most say that after examining and using them, I am most impressed by them. From now on this will be my #1 choice for home gym equipment. They are compact, fast to change and above all safe. In addition, I found them to be most useful as a handle to do pushups and dips on the floor.
How heavy can they go?
That depends on the set that you purchase. They have five different sets:
- 3-21
- 5-45 (this is the one that I evaluated)
- 20-60
- 5-85
- 5-125
In addition, all sets have the capability to be upgraded up to 125 pounds.
Who should buy PowerBlocks?
Any person that is serious about getting in shape who does not have time to go to the gym and would like to get a full workout from the comfort of their own home. PowerBlocks coupled with a good workout routine such as the ones found on my dumbbell routines article or the ones in the Body Sculpting Bibles will give anybody the physique they are striving for.
Where can I get them and what is the cost?
You can get them through PowerBlock dealers (please see the dealer's list at the PowerBlock's website: www.powerblocks.com). As far as the cost, that depends on whether the dealer is running a special or not. For example, my brother purchased his set (the one that goes from 5-45 pounds in 5lb increments) for only $200.00! Again, if you want to get an idea of the regular pricing of these dumbbells, visit the PowerBlocks website. However, I guarantee you that they are much cheaper than most multi-station units out there. Besides, they certainly provide you with the most bang for your buck.
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