Review: Bowflex Selecttech 552i – the AI-assisted dumbbells

New Year’s resolution season is in full swing, bringing crammed gyms along with it. Working out at home instead of squeezing up to all these new gym rats sounds good on the face of it. But who’d have the space for all that equipment? Cue the Bowflex Selecttech 552i dumbbell system.

Dumbbells

EUR544,44

Bowflex Selecttech 552i dumbbell set

1 x 2 kg - 24kg

94

Dumbbells

EUR544,44

Bowflex Selecttech 552i dumbbell set

1 x 2 kg - 24kg

94

A substitute for the gym?

Hang on to your hats because here comes a subjective opinion: nothing can replace the gym. It doesn’t matter if it’s TRX bodyweight training, Therabands or smart dumbbell sets. While I do think all these things complement your fitness regimen while you’re at home, travelling or on vacation, the opportunities offered by the gym with its countless strength machines and free weights are unparalleled. What’s more, there’s the question of space. Like I said, that’s just my opinion. You’re entitled to see things differently and work out wherever you want. More power to you.

Let’s stay on the topics of space and dumbbells for a moment. At the gym, there are several metres of racks containing dumbbells weighing, say, 2-40 kilogrammes. That’s a lot of metal. Adjustable dumbbells aren’t a new solution to this problem. The novelty offered by Bowflex is the combination of weights and AI.

Technical data: Selecttech 552i

• Dimensions: 43 × 21.2 × 22.8 cm
• Material: steel, nylon, ABS (thermoplastic rubber)
• Weight settings per dumbbell in kg: 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 16, 18, 20, 23, 24

Motion tracking

Bowflex has combined its Selecttech 552i dumbbell system with the paid fitness platform JRNY. When used with a smartphone or tablet, it observes you working out in your living room and gives you feedback on your technique. Once you’ve installed the JRNY app, you need to set up a profile. This involves answering a few questions about your fitness level, then positioning your smartphone or tablet camera at a distance of roughly 2.5 metres away. If you’ve got the distance right and are in the picture, you can start your workout.

You don’t necessarily need to pay for the JRNY app. It’s free to download and use for two months. After that, you can opt for the paid version. There are two models on offer, both to be paid for in US dollars: all-access membership for 19.99 dollars or mobile-only membership for 11.99 dollars per month. Alternatively, you can go on training with the more limited, free version. It includes:

• Standard training sessions
• Three adaptive workouts in three different lengths
• Five motion tracking programmes for a holistic workout (cardio + strength)
• Ten additional free full-body workouts (no machines required)

I didn’t review the free version.

Bowflex calls this technology, which it says is new, «motion tracking». This supplements the JRNY app with so-called robotics elements – the voice-supported real-time feedback that tells you how to modify your movements. The app also counts your reps, records the weight you’re using and takes the information into account when making recommendations for your next workout. There are no special movement sensors or similar electronics built into the dumbbell system. Of course, you can communicate with the interactive platform too. Saying «hey JRNY» is all it takes to adjust the weight and number of reps by voice command in the app. With the dumbbells, however, you still have to adjust the weight manually between two sets.

Verdict: interactive training, but ...

I’ll start with my most important realisation first: this kind of interactive training isn’t for me. The constant chit-chat distracts me. On the one hand, it’s the coaches who guide you through the different workouts, describing everything as «awesome», «great» or «fantastic». On the other hand, it’s the voice-supported, real-time feedback, aka the disembodied voice telling me to raise or drop my hips or move my shoulders forwards or backwards, or giving me some other criticism for an incorrect movement. That’s a lot of talk.

All this can be set to music via the app too. There are various motivating sounds to choose from, including pop, rock/alternative, hip hop/rap, EDM/dance and ambient meditation. If you ask me, this is overkill. Who knows? Maybe I get distracted too quickly. Either way, it’s all too much for me. I need calm when I’m strength training so that I can concentrate on executing the exercises correctly. At the gym, I listen to music, and have put together a matching workout playlist. The music helps me mentally immerse myself in the workout and blocks out ambient noise. That being said, I totally understand if the upbeat nature of the JRNY training platform helps motivate and support other people.

The JRNY app with motion tracking workouts is designed for use with the Bowflex Selecttech 552i and the Selecttech 1090 dumbbells. It was created for Android or iOS tablets and smartphones. In a press release, the manufacturer announced plans to expand the Selecttech series to include other models.

The second conclusion I’ve come to in this review concerns the dumbbells: they well and truly won me over. Selecttech 552i combines 15 dumbbells in one. This allows you to switch back and forth between heavyweight training and gentle, full-body training instantly, saving space at the same time. If you’re looking for a book with instructions on how to do strength training, you’ll find one here. On occasions when you don’t fancy going to the gym, this weight system complements your fitness regimen well. But it does nothing more than that.