Bowflex SelectTech 560 Dumbbell (Pair)

Having used the Bowflex SelectTech 552 Adjustable Dumbbells (Pair) for the last 7 years, I finally replaced/upgraded them with the SelectTech 560s. For anyone looking for a set of dumbbells, the SelectTech line is great. Just like the 552s, these replace an entire set of dumbbells, take up very little space, and offer you a lot more customization than you will get from a standard dumbbell set. I have continued using these with the P90X and other Beachbody programs, which call for a lot of different weights and frequent weight changes. I work out in my den so I don't want to keep a dumbbell rack there, and I don't want to have to carry a bunch of different weights into that room whenever I work out. The 560s are perfect because I can keep them in that room all the time and they take up little space. This review will focus a lot on differences between the 560s and the previous generation 552s, which came out almost 8 years ago.CONSTRUCTION/DESIGN- the weights come in a pair and include a base plate, which is necessary to change the weight plates. Unlike the 552s, this model is more squared off instead of being rounded. From using them, that doesn't seem to offer much of an advantage, but I think they look a little better, and they also seem to slide into the base plate more easily than the rounded model. Everything is hard plastic except the handles, which are metal. At first glance, the dumbbells do not really appear to be very sturdy for their price, however neither did the 552s and they held up extremely well. Despite hundreds of hours of use, when I sold them the buyer remarked that they looked brand new. I have been using the 560s for a month now and they still look new and are very sturdy, even after "dropping" the weights into the plate many times. I have no fear that any parts of the 560s will get damaged even with heavy use, and the moving parts are protected within the handle. Even though they are sturdy, you cannot drop these on the ground after a set, like you can with regular dumbbells. The handle is ergonomic to fit the palm of your hand and the grip feels good and natural during lifting. The handle is thicker than a dumbbell and I prefer it to the thinner dumbbell handles. The main advantage between the 552s and the 560s is that the 560s have been redesigned to feature the weight change mechanism adjustment through the handle. The 552s had a dial on the end of the plates and you had to turn the dial on each end to adjust the weight size. Sometimes you would miss a click and one end of the dumbbell would have a different weight plate set than the other side, which threw off your lift. The 560s solves this problem, as you adjust the weight by turning the handle left or right, which adjusts both plates at once. The weight has to be in the base plate, but you grab the handle and twist and you are set. If it's too light or heavy, you can put the weights down, adjust your wrist a few turns and then lift it right up without ever having to take your hand off the handle. If you are doing any workouts where you are frequently adjusting the weights (like P90x), you will really come to appreciate this feature. It is the easiest weight adjustment system I have seen from a weight set like this. A display on the top shows you the weight amount in pounds and kilograms (another new feature), so you can immediately see the new weight instead of having to bend over and look at the side of the weights like the previous model. My only complaint about this is that the display needs to be a bit bigger or the numbers need to have a white font instead of red, so they would be easier to see. One of the advantages of this model over the previous, is that the weights no longer "catch," where you would have a problem with the weights not locking into place when you set them back down. You would then have to lift them back up and put them down again until the lock caught. This seems to be fixed with this model and it catches every time. A great benefit over the 552s is that these go all the way up to 60 lbs, and down to 5 pounds. That gives you 8 more lbs than the 5672, which can make a big difference if you are deciding between another weight setup.Here are the 16 weight options you can use:5 lbs7.51012.51517.52022.52530354045505560PRICE - In my review of the 552s, I did not think they were worth the full MSRP. I think the 560s are priced high as well, but if you can get them for $400, I think it is a great deal. Otherwise they might be worth it if you use them a few times a week like I do. Considering I used my 552s for hundreds of hours, they definitely ended up being worth it for me. You will pay a premium for the ability to adjust the weights easily and not have dumbbells cluttering your house. Save the box and packing material, and I think these would be easy to sell if you ever wanted to get rid of them. I sold my previous set for 50% of their original price.USE WITH P90X AND OTHER PROGRAMS - I originally did P90X with dumbbells. I had three different dumbbells, which just isn't enough for the variety of exercises used in that program. If money and space is no object, I would recommend a full dumbbell set over these, as dumbbells are better for the exercises. But for most people that just isn't practical. I hate pulling out and storing even three sets of dumbbells every other day to workout. The SelectTechs look so good that I just leave them in my den year round.The main advantages the SelectTechs have with P90X is the ability to select smaller weight increment, and being able to make weight changes quickly. Before these I owned a set of 10s, 15s, and 25s, which isn't enough variety. Going up from 15 to 25 on bicep curls is a very big jump for me was too light, 25 was too heavy, and my form was terrible because I was struggling with the weight. With the SelectTechs, I could go to 17.5, then 20, then 22.5, then finally to 25. being able to go from 10lbs to 12.5 on tricep exercises, rather than 10lbs to 15 helps significantly. The other advantage is to quickly change weight increments. With P90X, you have about 15-30 seconds to set up for the next exercise. 5-10 seconds is all the time I needed to change the four dials on the SelectTechs and get a new weight.3DT (THREE DIMENSIONAL TRAINER) - this is another new option with the 560s, and gives you a rep counter and tracker which measures weight lifted and rep speed. It also includes sound cues for rest time between sets. I didn't see much use to the rep speed measurement, but I love the rep counter. This way I don't have to write down all of my sets and can just check it out after my workout by syncing it to Bluetooth on my phone. Since I don't do my own workouts, I didn't use the rest timer, but it has an option to turn off the sound which is great. It also tracks calorie burn, but I didn't find it to be as accurate as m Fitbit so I don't use that option either.CONS - Like the previous model, one of the problems with these weights is the size and length. They are larger than any other dumbbell set, as they have to accommodate the weight selection mechanism. This might prevent you from being able to do a few workouts routines that you could previously do with regular dumbbells. However the dumbbells are 12" long, which is 4" shorter than the previous 552s. That is a huge advantage to the previous model. As I also mentioned, the display is a bit hard to read. My only other real con, is that you really need to use these with the SelectTech Stand to take full advantage of them. Otherwise, you are going to have to lift the weights off the floor all the time.

Picked these up as a "first home set" of dumbbells after deciding that my mostly lower-body cardio regimen needed an upper body strength component. After getting a few workouts under my belt, I have to say that I'm very pleased with them. I had strongly considered purchasing the Selecttech 552 dumbbells as they've been out for quite some time with rarely anything other than exceptionally positive reviews, and they were less expensive to pick up. I opted for the 560 as this is a long-term purchase for me and it offered 55 and 60 pound options which were beyond that of the 552s. I also didn't have any reservations about quality when I purchased, because of Bowflex's long and successful history with adjustable dumbbells - my expectations were that Bowflex would put the experience and knowledge that it had gained over the years of tweaking the 552s and 1090s to bring a solid product to market.I received them on time, and the most difficult part of unboxing them was getting them off of the front porch and into the house - it's a big box containing two 60-pound dumbbells, so I guess I shouldn't have expected any different. The packaging was exceptional, a primary cardboard case containing two internal cardboard cases, each machine strapped and containing an individual dumbbell "kit". The dumbbells were surrounded by several inches of quality styrofoam and each dumbbell and each base was wrapped in plastic. I excitedly unboxed the dumbbells and "assembled" them, if you could call it that - Literally placing each dumbbell on its plastic base before taking 30 seconds to install the included AA batteries into the 3DT sensor and attaching it to a dumbbell with the included mini screwdriver. (The screwdriver is tiny so that you big muscular folk don't over-tighten it) ;-)Use is actually quite a joy for me; I haven't put too much effort into using the 3DT sensor or Bluetooth connection, but it seemed pretty effortless when I did try it. For the most part, the 3DT just stays "off" so far. Selecting weight takes a firm turn of the handle resulting in a very tactile "click" at each weight stop, and if you stop between weight selections, the dumbbell won't detach from the base. I agree with other posters that the weight indicator can be difficult to see unless it is well lit, but after inspecting the mechanism, any increase in size of the weight indicator dial would have to result in an increase in the total size of the dumbbell - there is room there though for Bowflex to replace the weight indicator viewing window with a magnifying lens raised off of the indicator dial by 3/8" or so which would both make the perceived display larger as well as decrease how far recessed the indicator appears. Additionally, using black and white dials as opposed to the trademark black and red color scheme would improve user experience at minimal aesthetic cost. Overall though, I haven't found the smallness of the indicator dial to detract from my total experience; I still have good vision.The dumbbells feel large when you pick them up; I didn't get the chance to compare them side-by-side with the 552s on display that I saw at my local retail establishment, but the "squareness" is very apparent. The largeness has not yet interfered with my workouts. I do appreciate that they'll never roll away, and when doing exercises where I hold the dumbbell by one end with two hands, the squareness makes it quite easy to get solid hand placement. During a workout, the grip feels excellent and comfortable. There is some minor movement to the weight plates, but not so much to be distracting or concerning. The one issue with the grips is that if the hand is too far "thumbward" on the grip, my thumb knuckle rasps on a plastic joint that is just barely not flush. This isn't a major issue but something to be aware of; if I move my hand slightly away from the joint, it easily clears.The instructions indicate the possibility of an "upgrade kit" for the 560 to upgrade which adds 40 lb to each dumbbell for a total of 100 lbs each. A search online reveals a separate manual is available for the upgrade kit, but the upgrade kit itself isn't on the market. My suspicions suggest that Bowflex is trying to sell out its current stock of 1090 dumbbells before beginning to replace both its 552s and 1090s with the 560 + upgrade option. It's probably just blind hope, but an upgrade kit would significantly increase the value of the dumbbells. The dumbells are indeed designed to accept the upgrade kit if and when it becomes available.Overall, I very much enjoy these dumbbells, and I'm extremely pleased with them, but some minor improvements in design would really make these shine.

I’m really happy with these. Easy to use and maintain. They are pricey, but great quality and built to last. Switching between different weights is a breeze.

A lot of gimmick but the app is rubbish

These work as advertised. Somehow, my set arrived without one of the tiny weights. Support replaced it without hesitation. Great support! There are nagging issues with seating on of the dumbbells but eventually we get them in place. I've smashed my finger a couple times. The app is simple but works as advertised. I usually don't use it, but my wife likes the workouts it features. The electronics work as advertised.Changed to 2 stars because adjustable weight controls become stuck more often than not. My wife has grown to hate this product because of its difficulty to change weights lately.

If you have poor eyesight then the numbers will be hard to read.

Love Love LOVE these Dumbbells and with the added value of free workout programs and app, it turned out to be an amazing purchase.The app workouts are PERFECT for getting started and or working out long term.Its only been a little over a month and I am already bulking up so much. I am so so happy with this purchase.The ease of changing the weight is a huge step up and plus for me, I needed the space-saving design.I would totally recommend these to everyone wanting to workout and get in shape.The app alone is worth the money over paying a trainer.I want to add a note about working out. Please learn the proper form and function when using weights. People tend to just start working out without learning proper form. It is very important to reduce the risk of injury.Good Luck with your Fitness Goals.