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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 industry for over ten years, designing fitness equipment for companies such as Parabody® and Cybex®, these guys decided to start a company based on a technology that provided the fitness enthusiasts with the performance advantages of dumbbells without the space and cost 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®.

PowerBlock Design

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 workout at his apartment. 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
  
• 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.

PowerBlock Safety

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.

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 will give anybody the physique they are striving for.

How Heavy Can PowerBlocks Get?

That depends on the set that you purchase. They have multiple sets that offer varying levels of resistance:

• 3-24 lbs
  
• 5-50 lbs (this is the one that I evaluated)
  
• 2.5-55 lbs
  
• 2.5-90 lbs
  
• 2.5-130 lbs
  

What is the cost?

As far as the cost, that depends on what set you choose to purchase. A set that goes from 3-24 lbs will cost less than the one that goes from 2.5-130 lbs so as a result I have seen PowerBlocks for as low as $169 and for as much as almost $1000. My brother purchased his set (the one that goes from 5-50 pounds in 5lb increments) for only $200.00! Regardless of which PowerBlock set you get, I guarantee you that it will be much cheaper than most multi-station units out there. Besides, they certainly provide you with the most bang for your buck.