MuscleSquad Elite Adjustable Dumbbell review: Sharp-looking home gym essential with a catch

The best adjustable dumbbells share one very useful feature: they take up far less space than the next-best alternative (a rack of fixed weights). Thanks to their clever mechanical design, they offer a weight range that covers everything from light exercises to heavy compound lifts while keeping the same footprint as a single pair of dumbbells.

Although not every brand that’s cobbled a set of adjustable dumbbells is worth your attention. Some more affordable options feel a bit rough around the edges, while premium offerings from brands like Bowflex and NordicTrack come with price tags that make your eyes water.

But stress not, as UK fitness equipment brand MuscleSquad has been carving out a niche somewhere in the middle for some time. Its last adjustable dumbbell release offered decent value but never quite felt premium enough to compete with the big names.

The Elite is the brand's attempt to change that, swapping the plasticky finish for an all-metal build and adding a few design refinements to close the gap with pricier rivals.

Available in 32kg and 40kg variants, each adjustable in 2kg increments, the Elite promises a weight range that covers pretty much any home workout you'd want to do. I've been putting a 32kg dumbbell through its paces over the past month to see whether the "Elite" moniker really lives up to its name. Here's how they stack up.

MuscleSquad Elite Adjustable Dumbbell review

Price and availability

The MuscleSquad Elite Adjustable Dumbbell is available to buy now directly from MuscleSquad for £225 for a single 32kg unit. The brand's store currently offers a discount code that brings the price down to £213.75 for a single unit, or £417.50 for a pair.

The 40kg variant is also available at a slightly higher price point of £250, or £237.50 with the discount code, bringing it to a nice rounded £475 for a pair.

That makes the Elite notably cheaper than rivals such as Bowflex, which just a few weeks ago launched the SelectTech 55 adjustable dumbbell, which carries an RRP of £270 for a single unit or £530 for a pair.

Elsewhere in the adjustable dumbbell market, there’s the Primal Personal Series 34kg, which comes in at £259.99 per dumbbell, or the BrainGain 40kg Octagon - although this product is sold in pairs priced at £700.

The Boxbell 3-in-1 sits at just £150 per unit (£300 for a pair), but it only goes up to 20kg. So either way, the MuscleSquad Elite undercuts most of the competition on price while offering a comparable or wider weight range.

Design and build

The Elite sports an all-metal construction, a real upgrade over MuscleSquad's last release. It gives the dumbbells a clean, industrial look that feels far more grown-up. The colour scheme is minimal, comprising simple silver tones with no garish accents or flashy branding.

If you've ever been put off by the bright red or orange detailing you often see on other adjustable dumbbell offerings, the Elite's understated finish will be a welcome relief.

Another big improvement is the flat ends, which make a big difference for press-based exercises. For example, setting the dumbbells on your thighs just before a chest press or shoulder press lift-off is way more comfortable and stable with this design, which isn't always the case with models that have uneven edges or dials at the ends.

So if you’re not twisting a dial on the end of the plates to adjust the weight, how do you do it? Well, the Elite uses a twist-handle mechanism. Simply turn the grip to your chosen weight, and the corresponding plates will lock into place.

What I really enjoyed about this design is that the dumbbell's physical size changes with the weight, so selecting a lighter setting gives you a more compact, less unwieldy unit. At lower weights, this makes exercises feel far more natural than on models (like older Bowflex designs, for example) where the dumbbell stays bulky regardless of what you've dialled in.

The metal storage dock keeps things tidy and is sturdier than the plastic variations you tend to get from other brands. However, I did notice that docking the dumbbell isn't always seamless. It can catch slightly as you move it in and out, which isn't a major problem but is noticeable if you're moving quickly between exercises.

Annoyingly, I found that this catching also meant that, after just a few sessions, the black paint on the dock started to chip where the dumbbell knocks against it as you slot it back in. You don’t get this with a plastic dock - contact usually just leaves a scratch that's barely visible.

But with painted metal, you get chips that expose the bare surface underneath, and I won’t lie - it makes the whole thing instantly look a bit scruffy and cheap.

Performance and features

Once you've set your weight and picked up the dumbbell, the Elite generally performs very well. The 2kg increments across 16 settings give you plenty of room for progressive overload, from light lateral raises and bicep curls at the lower end to heavy rows, goblet squats, and dumbbell presses at the top. For most home gym routines, the 32kg maximum is more than enough.

Thankfully, the plates feel comfortable during longer sessions, too. Over a month of regular training, I didn't experience any rubbing, pinching or soreness from the plate edges, which can be an issue with adjustable dumbbells that have exposed metal surfaces. Mid-set, the weight feels stable and locked in with only minimal rattling of the plates (this is kind of standard for adjustable dumbbells).

The adjustment mechanism itself feels a little less polished. The handle twist does the job, but it doesn't always turn so smoothly. When going from lighter to heavier weights especially, the dial can feel stiff and needs a firmer grip to click into the next increment.

During supersets where you want to change weight quickly and get on with the task at hand, that extra second or two of fiddling can break the flow. It's not a dealbreaker, but it is the kind of thing you’ll notice every session. Still, at this price, the Elite's mechanism is perfectly acceptable – it just lacks the buttery precision of more premium rival dumbbells.

Verdict

The MuscleSquad Elite’s all-metal build not only looks and feels considerably more premium than the brand’s last offering, but performance-wise is a level up, too.

The flat ends are a bonus for pressing movements, and the size-adjusting mechanism is a smart feature that makes lighter weights less cumbersome. What’s more, the weight range covers everything most home gym users will need, with the pricing mostly undercutting the big names in this space.

The dumbbell is not without its cons, though. The twist mechanism could be smoother, the docking catches occasionally, and the paint-chipping issue is disappointing for something marketed as "Elite”. These aren't things that totally ruin the experience of using it, but they do remind you that you're paying a little less than for top-notch rivals, and in places, that shows.

Nevertheless, for anyone who wants a clean-looking, well-priced adjustable dumbbell that covers a wide weight range without dominating the room, the MuscleSquad Elite is a smart option.