Newpower Fitness 36kg Adjustable Dumbbells Review: Heavy Range, Modest Price

The Newpower Fitness 36kg set is one of the cheapest ways on Amazon UK to get heavy twist-handle dumbbells: £269.99 for a pair that, according to the listing, adjusts from 2kg to 36kg per hand in 18 steps of 2kg. If that per-hand figure holds, it's a lot of iron for the money and goes well past what Bowflex and NordicTrack offer at the same budget. We rate it 4.0 out of 5. The weight range, the even 2kg increments and the double-locking selector are all on the right side of the ledger; the lesser-known brand, plastic parts and a listing that contradicts itself on weight are the reasons it doesn't score higher.

Who it's for

This set suits someone who has outgrown a 20kg or 24kg pair, or who knows they will. Lifters doing heavy dumbbell rows, Romanian deadlifts, goblet squats and pressing will use the top half of the range; a 24kg ceiling is easy to hit within a year of steady training, and buying twice costs more than buying once. It also fits a home gym where floor space is tight and a full rack of fixed hex dumbbells isn't an option.

It's a weaker fit if you mostly do light, high-rep work. If your heaviest set is a 12kg shoulder press, you're paying for range you won't use and putting up with a long, bulky dumbbell for curls and raises. In that case the cheaper EnterSports 20kg pair makes more sense. If you're still deciding whether dial dumbbells are worth it at all, our guide on whether adjustable dumbbells are worth it covers the trade-offs against fixed weights.

Check the Newpower Fitness 36kg price on Amazon

What "36kg pair" actually means

This is the first thing to settle, because the listing sends mixed signals. The title says "36kg Pair". The bullet points go further and spell it out: "this dumbbell goes from 2kg to 36kg", then list all 18 settings "in one dumbbell". The variant selector reads "2 x 36KG". Taken together, the seller's own text says you get two dumbbells, each adjustable to 36kg, for 72kg of plates across the pair.

The data Amazon holds tells a different story. The recorded item weight is roughly 79lb, which is 36kg, and the listed dimensions (about 45 x 23 x 23cm) look like one dumbbell in one tray rather than two. A full pair at 36kg each would weigh more than 72kg before you count the trays and handles. So either the weight field describes a single dumbbell, or the pair totals 36kg and the bullets are wrong.

Our reading is that it's 36kg per dumbbell, because the bullets are specific (they list every setting for "one dumbbell") and £269.99 is in line with what other budget 30kg-plus dial pairs sell for. The recorded weight is more likely to be a per-unit entry. We'd still ask the seller through Amazon before ordering if you specifically need 36kg in each hand, and check the delivery weight when it arrives. We saw the same kind of confusion with the BRAINGAIN 40kg set, where the evidence pointed the other way.

Weight range and increments

Eighteen settings in 2kg steps is a clean, useful spread: 2, 4, 6, 8 and so on up to 36kg, with no gaps. That's better than several cheaper dial sets that jump in 2.5kg or 3kg steps, including the EnterSports 27kg, where the uneven jumps make small upper-body lifts harder to progress.

At the light end, 2kg steps are still big in percentage terms. Going from 4kg to 6kg on lateral raises is a 50% jump, and most people won't manage it in one go. That isn't a flaw unique to Newpower, and there's a simple workaround: add reps before you add weight. A 2022 randomised trial in trained lifters found that progressing reps at a fixed load produced similar muscle growth and strength gains to progressing the load itself over eight weeks (Plotkin et al., PeerJ). So if 8kg raises feel too heavy, take 6kg from 10 reps to 15 and then move up.

Once you reach about 12kg, 2kg is a comfortable increment for rows, presses and lunges. At 30kg and above it's fine-grained.

The selector and locking system

Newpower describes a double-locking mechanism: you unlock a safety catch, rotate the handle to the weight you want, then push the ends back in to lock. The selection only happens with the dumbbell sitting in its tray, which is standard for twist-handle designs and is what stops you changing weight by accident mid-set.

We can't vouch for how this particular mechanism wears over time. The general pattern with budget twist-handle dumbbells is that the locking parts and tray guides are plastic, and that's where problems show up: a dumbbell dropped from bench height can crack a selector or knock the plate alignment out, after which it may not seat in the tray cleanly. The rule is the same as with the Bowflex SelectTech 552: always set them down, never drop them. If you train to failure on heavy pressing and like to dump the weights at the end of a set, a dial dumbbell of any brand is the wrong tool.

The handle has anti-slip textured grips. Newpower doesn't give a handle diameter or length, so we can't say how it compares to a standard 25 to 30mm dumbbell handle.

Bulk at low weights

This is the trade-off with any heavy adjustable dumbbell, and it's worth taking seriously at 36kg. The frame has to be long enough to hold every plate, so when you select 6kg for curls, you're still holding something roughly the length of a full 36kg dumbbell with empty space either side of your hand. On curls, hammer curls and lateral raises, the ends can catch your thighs or brush your shoulders, and on some floor exercises the length gets in the way.

If around half of your training uses light weights, consider pairing a heavy dial set with a couple of cheap fixed pairs for isolation work, or buy a smaller adjustable set instead. If you're mostly pressing, rowing and squatting, the bulk barely matters.

Value against rivals

On weight per pound, the Newpower set does well. The Strongway 32kg pair costs about £340 for nine settings and a lower top weight, though it has silicone-coated steel plates and a more established seller behind it. The Bowflex SelectTech 552 stops at 24kg and is sold per dumbbell on Amazon UK, so a pair costs considerably more. The NordicTrack Select-A-Weight tops out at 25kg.

What you give up is reputation. Newpower Fitness isn't a brand with a long UK history, the listing doesn't state a warranty term, and there's no published spec sheet beyond the bullets. With Bowflex you know what you're getting and who to complain to. With Newpower you're relying on Amazon's returns window and the seller's goodwill, which is a reasonable bet but a bet all the same.

See today's Newpower Fitness dumbbell price

Why heavier dumbbells earn their space

The NHS recommends that adults do strengthening activities working all the major muscle groups on at least two days a week (NHS physical activity guidelines). Dumbbells cover every one of those groups, but legs and back need much more load than arms do. That's where a 36kg ceiling pays off: a 20kg dumbbell is a heavy curl but a light Romanian deadlift for most people after a few months of training.

A pair this heavy lets the same kit carry you from beginner goblet squats to serious single-arm rows without buying again. For a programme that uses the whole range, our full-body dumbbell workout is a good place to start.

Alternatives

• Bowflex SelectTech 552: the established choice, with finer increments at the light end and a better-known brand, but only 24kg per hand and a higher price for a pair.
• Strongway 32kg pair: fewer settings and a lower ceiling, but silicone-coated plates and a clearer listing.
• EnterSports 20kg pair: around £200, and the better buy if you'll never lift above 20kg.
• Best adjustable dumbbells UK: our full roundup if none of these fit.

Recommended reads

• Are adjustable dumbbells worth it?
• Bowflex SelectTech 552 review
• Strongway adjustable dumbbells review
• Full-body dumbbell workout
• Home gym equipment