bought dumbbells and i feel guilty for buying them

i just spend £150 on 4 dumbbells (2x10kg 2x5kg)

i feel guilty bc it was so expensive but i bought them bc gyms are on lockdown for at least a month probably longer but has anyone had good success with at home dumbbell workouts?

at the gym i do both dumbbells and machines but i feel like the machines are more effective? idk
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Replies

  • trulyhealy
    trulyhealy Posts: 242 Member
    You can do a lot with a couple sets of dumbbells... The question is... Will you use them?

    You can't buy a machine for that price, so if your gym options are out, you're kind of stuck with the dumbbells... But adding them to lunges, squats, pushup /renegade rows, overhead press.. It all benefits.

    If you don't feel a burn, then either do more reps, or do much slower reps and it'll be there.

    It's a decent stop gap.

    yeah i will use them it’s apart of my routine it just won’t feel like the gym experience.

    i bought the weight level i was at before the gyms closed just as a way to maintain my strength rather than gain bc to gain i would need to progressive overload and would have to buy more weights
  • KickassAmazon76
    KickassAmazon76 Posts: 4,678 Member
    trulyhealy wrote: »
    You can do a lot with a couple sets of dumbbells... The question is... Will you use them?

    You can't buy a machine for that price, so if your gym options are out, you're kind of stuck with the dumbbells... But adding them to lunges, squats, pushup /renegade rows, overhead press.. It all benefits.

    If you don't feel a burn, then either do more reps, or do much slower reps and it'll be there.

    It's a decent stop gap.

    yeah i will use them it’s apart of my routine it just won’t feel like the gym experience.

    i bought the weight level i was at before the gyms closed just as a way to maintain my strength rather than gain bc to gain i would need to progressive overload and would have to buy more weights

    No... But even though it's different... Tis still pretty awesome. Safe. And convenient.

    Congrats!
  • AshHeartsJesus
    AshHeartsJesus Posts: 460 Member
    Really don't feel bad! It is a great investment! Check out videos on youtube! I have gotten toned and stronger doing Sydney Cummings videos, but there is all kinds out there!
  • breanamock
    breanamock Posts: 28 Member
    Agree with everything above! Also, you can still increase strength without increasing the weight you're using. Check out YouTube videos from people who know a lot more than me, but slowing down your reps or changing to more difficult variations are ways to increase the work the muscle is doing without making the weight actually heavier. So don't just see them as stopgap: they can be useful for quite a while!
  • Ddsb11
    Ddsb11 Posts: 607 Member
    You should read the success story of @TinaZ2018. She went from never working out to doing pretty much everything you can image from her living room. She would be a perfect resource for you.
  • misslizzierod
    misslizzierod Posts: 57 Member
    You can do so much with dumbbells. I learn a lot on youtube and I research different exercises and their proper form. There is so much to learn but you can definitely do a lot with dumbbells so maybe give that a try?

    Also, my dumbbells are outside and sometimes it's too cold for me to go out so I get large water gallons or jugs I keep handy in my house and use that (if I don't have dumbbells available). I just make sure they have the same amount of water so they are the same weight.

    So many videos online to learn from, just make sure you research proper form as well.

  • McBurnsalot
    McBurnsalot Posts: 14 Member
    Dumbbells are a great investment and will last the rest of your life. Don’t feel guilty about that. Power90 and P90X are great videos that utilize bumbbells.
  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,460 Member
    Investing in your health is money well spent! You deserve to be healthy and continue to be healthy during lockdown. Working out takes a lot of stress away and gives you something good to focus on. 😊

    Worth reading again. Wish I’d done something like buy and use weights years ago! Take care of yourself!
  • frankwbrown
    frankwbrown Posts: 13,194 Member
    Easiest way to ease that guilt is to use them! You'll eventually thank yourself for having made that decision.
    In any case, even if it was a mistake--and it probably wasn't--what's done is done. Don't dwell on what you can't change.

  • scott_90345
    scott_90345 Posts: 17 Member
    You should not feel guilty if you need dumbbels to maximize your potential in your training. The big challenge which many people face during lock down is to find the most useful equipment at low cost. Many of my friends have shifted there focus on body weight exercises.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    Those dumbbells will be a great investment if you use them :smile:
    I have several different ones for my home gym, have done a couple of recomps since hitting maintenance 7 years ago - I'm a cardio bunny by nature but since August have been doing strength training consistently and making great progress - makes me wonder why I stop doing strength training at times!
  • hipari
    hipari Posts: 1,367 Member
    edited January 2021
    I don't know if this is helpful for you in terms of the price, but here goes: my husband and I have a guideline that any purchased item is worth the price if it comes down to less than 1€ per hour it's used. For this purpose, let's pretend 1€ equals 1£.This applies to clothes (my wedding dress was a terrible investment in these terms), computers and gadgets, and other household items. If you use those dumbbells regularly, say, 3 times a week for two years for 30 minutes at a time, the cost will end up at under 1£ per hour used. Not to mention those dumbbells probably last in good use for longer time than that, and you can probably sell them from a decent price if you decide they weren't the right solution for you.

    On top of this, though, if you were able to afford them and they contribute to your health in a positive way, it's a worthy investment no matter what the price was.
  • happyness4me
    happyness4me Posts: 58 Member
    trulyhealy wrote: »
    i only feel gulity bc of the price they’re so expensive 😭

    You're investing into your health, totally worth the cost.
  • SnifterPug
    SnifterPug Posts: 746 Member
    All sports kit costs a bomb right now - if you can get it at all. And those weight ranges are the hardest to come by. So well done on getting hold of them and enjoy using them x
  • elmusho1989
    elmusho1989 Posts: 321 Member
    edited January 2021
    Don't feel guilty. Staying at home during a pandemic to work out is contributing to society in a big way. Dumbells are awesome. Look up Hasfit on YouTube for workouts. Coach Kozak and Claudia will murder you (in a good way!)

    Plus having your own equipment is cheaper than the gym in the long run😊
  • Go_Deskercise
    Go_Deskercise Posts: 1,630 Member
    edited January 2021
    I totally get the money thing but the way that I look at it is ....

    150 euros is around 180 us dollars

    180 / 365 days in a year = ~.50/day

    I don't know you buuuut, I think your worth it :)
  • Diatonic12
    Diatonic12 Posts: 32,344 Member
    @trulyhealy If you truly <3 have buyer's remorse and it's not been over 30 days they might take them back. You choose what your budget can afford. Happy New Year, @trulyhealy. Take care now.
  • slade51
    slade51 Posts: 188 Member
    It’s money well spent as long as you use them. I got myself 2 pair of 40lb adjustable dumbbells last March when they closed our gym, and use them almost every day. I added an incline/decline bench in September and don’t miss the machines.

    It’s an investment in yourself. It’s a bargain compared to the price of a gym.
  • netitheyeti
    netitheyeti Posts: 539 Member
    maybe it's not the cheapest thing ever but if I could choose one thing from my "home gym equipment" to keep it would be my dumbbells.. one of my pairs is 10+ years old at this point and they get a lot of use - these things (most anyway) last a very long time! also so many things you can do with them
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    edited January 2021
    SnifterPug wrote: »
    All sports kit costs a bomb right now - if you can get it at all. And those weight ranges are the hardest to come by. So well done on getting hold of them and enjoy using them x

    Yeah, you can't even get them here. I wanted heavier dumbbells, but nowhere has them. I'm jealous.