It’s a fact: Strength training is a great way to lose weight, build muscle and improve your overall body composition. But these days you don’t have to purchase a home gym full of pricey equipment or join an expensive gym to maximize your results. Thankfully, modern technology has made it easier than ever to access top-notch training and exercise in the privacy of your own home, like Chris Hemsworth’s (aka Thor’s) fitness app Centr and accompanying Smart Stack 50 Adjustable Dumbbells.
We used the dumbbells for about a month to see if the $500 price tag was worth it, and we loved the ease of use and space-saving design, as well as the free access to the Centr app, which provided us with a wide array of coached workouts, recipes and fitness programs.
Here’s why we think the Smart Stack 50 Adjustable Dumbbells are worth the investment.
Regardless of whether you’re a novice or advanced weightlifter, Centr’s Smart Stack 50 Adjustable Dumbells can help you take your workouts to the next level.
What we liked about them
The sleek design
Storage is the most annoying thing about using lots of different free weights. Yes, you can invest in a weight rack, but this often takes up just as much floor space. Storage racks can also be an eyesore and detract from your home decor if your “home gym” is also a living room.
Enter Centr.
Unlike regular dumbbells, adjustable dumbbells barely take up any floor space. You can easily switch from 5 to 50 pounds with a simple twist of a handle. And, if you’re leveling up, increasing your load mid-workout on the Smart Stack 50 Adjustable Dumbbells is an absolute breeze. You simply click the dumbbells into place on the weight trays, turn the handles and keep turning until the desired amount of weight appears on the dial.
Voilà! It’s like magic for strength training. You can literally go from 5 to 50 in a matter of seconds.
The coached workouts
If you’ve ever watched an “Avengers” movie, you know that Chris Hemsworth’s Thor is one pumped superdude. So it should be no surprise that he takes full advantage of his Hollywood bod as he hawks his Centr app and equipment, which boasts everything from full-body HIIT workouts to power shred programs to functional fitness. And though you won’t get on-site celebrity training, Centr claims that all the coaches on the app are handpicked by Hemsworth himself — which he believes is a guarantee to, at the very least, proximity to a red carpet-worthy workout.
The free subscription
Although the Smart Stack 50 Adjustable Dumbbells are an investment compared to traditional free weights, Centr includes a free three-month subscription with every purchase. So you get access to all of the macro-friendly recipes — created by celebrity chefs — a daily planner, meal planning list, coached and self-guided workouts, meditations, a private community page and a blog filled with advice about everything from high-protein plant-based meals to tips to cut body fat and build more muscle.
You essentially have an entire team of professional trainers, personal chefs and celebrity nutritionists at your fingertips. You can even filter healthy snack and meal recipes by dietary preference, including vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, nut-free and more. After the three-month trial period ends, you need to pay $30 per month or $120 per year to access a subscription. However, we think this is a bargain considering everything that comes with the Centr app.
What we didn’t like about them
The weights are pricey
Free weight sets typically range anywhere from $50 to $200 (though high-quality sets go for $600 or more). So we get that investing $500 in these adjustable dumbbells is certainly a splurge, even if the Centr app is included.
For those interested in trying the app without the added cost or just using the dumbbells you may already have, you can still subscribe to Centr for the same subscription cost, albeit with a significantly shorter trial subscription (seven days versus three months).
The weights themselves are bulky
I tested at least a dozen classes with these adjustable dumbbells and they were great for some workouts but not so great for others. Because the weights go all the way up to 50 pounds, they end up being quite bulky and were especially tough to deal with when working on my upper body. In fact, the Centr website claims the Smart Stack dumbbells measure 7.9 inches wide by 16.5 inches long by 9.5 inches high. For comparison, a typical 10-pound free weight is 5.5 inches wide by 2 inches wide by 2 inches high. That’s a big difference if you have a small frame and are trying to stay clear of nearby walls as you do bicep curls, bent-over rows and skull crushers.
If you’re petite like me, you may want to consider swapping the adjustable weights out for smaller free weights during upper body training to feel more comfortable — which we fear may cancel out the idea of this expensive set. However, if you’ve got a larger frame or are already lifting heavy, you shouldn’t have a problem.
How they compare
There are plenty of adjustable weights on the market, but they aren’t all created equal. The Bowflex SelectTech 552 Adjustable Dumbbells have a slightly lower price point than the Centr dumbbells at $429, but are only compatible with the JRNY app. They’re also slightly bigger than the Smart Stack Dumbbells, making them even more difficult to maneuver if you have a smaller frame. That said, they do have a nifty motion-tracking feature and go a few pounds higher than the Centr dumbbells, which may make them more appealing to some people.
The Bowflex SelecTech 1090 Adjustable Dumbbells are more expensive, but they’ll go all the way up to 90 pounds if maxing out at 50 pounds just won’t cut it for your workouts. These weights also sync with the JRNY app for motion tracking and are made of steel, nylon and thermoplastic rubber, the exact same materials used for the Centr Smart Stack Dumbbells. But you’ll pay $800 for a pair.
If you’re on a tighter budget, it’s definitely worth taking a look at the ProForm Rapid Strike 50-Pound Adjustable Dumbbell Set. These adjustable weights cost just $300 and have the capacity to go from 10 to 50 pounds. They’re also compatible with the IFit app and come with a free 30-day trial subscription. The only downside is the lowest setting is 10 pounds, which might still be too heavy for some novice weightlifters.
Bottom line
I appreciated the Smart Stack 50 Adjustable Dumbbells and would definitely recommend them to anybody who wants to get more serious about incorporating strength training into their regular routine, though super-petite folks may find them too bulky.
The space-saving design and free access to the Centr app made them a no-brainer, while the convenient size was perfect for my small home office. Plus, they’re easy to store and tuck out of sight when not in use.
We may not be able to promise a Hemsworth bod, but these Smart Stack dumbbells are extremely simple to use and, if you add up the cost of buying seven separate pairs of weights ranging from 5 to 50 pounds, your initial $500 investment will most likely end up being more than worth it in the end.
