BowFlex Results Series 1090 SelectTech Dumbbells Review

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Long before adjustable dumbbells became the centerpiece of the modern garage gym, BowFlex was already pioneering the idea that strength training could happen in a spare room. Originally building their reputation on a home gym system powered by composite Power Rods, thick, fiberglass-like rods that bend under tension to provide resistance, the company name “BowFlex” is a literal description of that “bow and flex” mechanism. Over time they expanded beyond the original Power Rod systems into treadmills, rowers, and eventually adjustable dumbbells. Their SelectTech series, introduced later, has since become one of the more trusted names in home gym equipment, and for good reason. That’s actually where my own fitness journey started.

My Story: From One Pair of Dumbbells to a Full Garage Gym

Back in February 2008, I bought what I considered my first serious piece of home gym equipment: a set of BowFlex SelectTech 552 adjustable dumbbells. No bench, no rack, no barbell. Just those dumbbells and an inflatable fitness ball I used as a makeshift bench for pressing movements. And here’s the thing, it worked. The shape you can get into with just a pair of 52.5 lb. adjustable dumbbells and a little consistency is quite surprising. It doesn’t sound like much on paper, but that setup took me a lot further than I expected.

Fast forward to today and my garage looks like a small commercial gym…squat rack, treadmill, rower, barbells, plates, the whole setup. But for all of that equipment, it was a pair of BowFlex dumbbells that started it all.

A few years back I hit the ceiling on the 552s, maxing out at 52.5 lbs. per dumbbell on more and more exercises. Rather than upgrading immediately, I patched the gap with barbell work. It got the job done, but it’s not the same thing. A barbell and a dumbbell might look like cousins, but they train differently. With dumbbells, each hand works independently, forcing your stabilizer muscles, the smaller supporting muscles around your joints, to do more of the work. You also get a greater range of motion on most lifts, especially presses and rows, which leads to better engagement through the full movement.

There’s also a practical side to it. Dumbbells are simply safer when you’re training solo, if a rep goes sideways, you can bail without putting yourself in a bad spot under a barbell. Between that and the added range of motion, I was leaving gains on the table. So I finally pulled the trigger on the Results Series 1090s, and I’m glad I waited, because what arrived is a meaningfully better product than what I bought in 2008.

What Exactly Are the BowFlex Results Series 1090 SelectTech Dumbbells?

Think of a full commercial dumbbell rack, the kind that lines the wall at your gym running from light to heavy. Now imagine collapsing all of that into two dumbbells that sit on a shelf. That’s the pitch, and it’s not an exaggeration. Each 1090 dumbbell adjusts from 10 to 90 lbs. across 17 weight settings, in 5 lb. increments, replacing what would otherwise be 17 separate pairs of traditional dumbbells. You turn a dial on each end of the dumbbell, pull it out of its tray, and you’re lifting. That’s it. No loading plates, no hunting for the right size, no tripping over a pile of iron.

The name “1090” refers to the weight range: 10 lbs. on the low end, 90 lbs. on the high end. They’re sold as a pair and at 90 lbs. per hand, these are serious tools for serious training.

Delivery and Unboxing: BowFlex Knows How to Ship Heavy Things

Two hundred pounds of steel showing up on your doorstep could go a lot of ways. BowFlex thought this through. The dumbbells arrived encased in a foam clamshell, think of the protective packaging a high-end power tool comes in, except sized for dumbbells. Each dumbbell is strapped into its storage tray with a nylon strap secured by an allen bolt. The outside of the boxes took only a slight beating in transit, which is quite surprising when you’re shipping this kind of weight.

Inside? Perfect condition. The packaging did its job wonderfully.

BowFlex Results Series 1090 SelectTech Dumbbells Build Quality

Here is where I can speak from experience, because I still have the originals for comparison. The biggest flaw of the older SelectTech dumbbells was the plastic used in the weight retention dials, the mechanism that locks the selected plates onto the handle. Over time that plastic cracked, and occasionally weight plates would slip out. For a product you’re pulling off a tray mid-workout with sweaty hands at 70 or 80 lbs., that’s not a small concern.

The 1090s have moved entirely to metal components throughout. The dials are smoother to turn, the locking mechanism feels solid, and the whole dumbbell has a more substantial, premium feel in the hand. The weight numbers are printed in white on a black background, which sounds like a small thing until you’re mid-set and trying to quickly confirm you grabbed the right weight. Readability matters. The knurling on the grip, the textured pattern machined into the handle for traction, is noticeably improved. Better grip means better control, especially under heavier loads when fatigue sets in.

So yes, these have improved across the board. The trade-off is size.

Dimensions, for reference: each dumbbell is 17.5 inches long, 9.5 inches wide, and 10 inches tall. Coming from the more compact 552s, the size difference is real and worth acknowledging. These are bigger dumbbells. When you are used to smaller weights, there’s a brief adjustment period while your body figures out the new geometry. That said, in practice they haven’t gotten in the way of a single exercise. It’s more of a mental adjustment than a physical one.

Using the BowFlex SelectTech Dumbbells 1090s

The three exercises that finally pushed me to make the upgrade were farmer’s carries, walking lunges, and bench press, and all three feel exactly right with the 1090s.

Farmer’s carries are one of the most underrated exercises in existence. You pick up heavy things and walk with them. That’s the whole movement. But that simple act builds grip strength, core stability, and total body tension in a way that carries over to almost everything else you do in and out of the gym. Research increasingly links grip strength to long-term health and longevity. And at only 52.5 lbs., farmer’s carries with the old dumbbells were starting to feel like a warm-up. At 70, 80, or 90 lbs. per hand, they’re a workout again.

Walking lunges at heavier weights are a different animal entirely. Your legs are the biggest muscle group in your body, and they can handle more load than people typically give them credit for. Having the ability to load a lunge properly without a barbell on your back is a significant quality of life improvement for home gym training. And bench press, even with a full barbell setup available, gets something extra from dumbbells. Each arm works independently, so any strength imbalance between your left and right side gets exposed and corrected over time. That’s not something a barbell fixes for you.

The adjustment system deserves credit in day-to-day use. Turn the dial to your weight, pull the dumbbell from its tray, and go. The storage trays are included and not optional. They’re part of the mechanism that allows the unselected plates to stay behind, so they get used every single rep. They also keep everything organized on the floor, which you really notice when you’re mid-workout and moving quickly between exercises.

And goblet squats, for what it’s worth, feel particularly natural holding these by the plate end. The shape works well for that movement.

One other note: almost any exercise you can do with a barbell can be replicated with dumbbells, usually with added benefit. The barbell locks both hands into a fixed path. Dumbbells let each arm move naturally through its own range of motion. That freedom of movement is friendlier on the joints and harder on the stabilizers, a trade worth making regularly.

Are These All You Need?

If someone told me I had to clear out my entire garage gym and keep only one piece of equipment, it would be these dumbbells. Not the squat rack, not the barbell, not the treadmill. The 1090s cover roughly 90% of the exercises I do and provide enough weight to pursue progressive overload, gradually increasing the challenge over time to keep building strength, for years to come. That says a lot, considering I’ve got a full gym setup sitting right there.

For someone just starting out or working with limited space, the case is even stronger. A traditional dumbbell set that covers 10 to 90 lbs. in 5 lb. increments would require 17 pairs of dumbbells, a dedicated rack, and enough floor space to park a small car. The 1090s take up very little space considering the weight ranges they cover. Apartment, spare bedroom, garage corner, it doesn’t matter. They fit. And that compact footprint becomes even more valuable when paired with other small-format training tools like the Xtenia parallettes or resistance bands. You can build a surprisingly complete strength setup without dedicating an entire room to equipment.

The price, currently $699 down from $799, is real money. No point pretending otherwise. But price only stings once. If you priced out 17 pairs of quality dumbbells and a rack to hold them, you’d be looking at several times that cost. On a long enough timeline, the 1090s are the cheaper option, and you don’t have to reorganize your living situation to fit them.

The Verdict on the BowFlex SelectTech Dumbbells: Start Here, Stay Here

BowFlex has spent nearly two decades refining this product line, and the Results Series 1090 is clearly the beneficiary of that evolution. The transition from plastic to metal components alone is a significant enough reason to justify the upgrade, but the refined dials, superior knurling, and crisp readability elevate these to a polished, mature tool rather than one still navigating its engineering growing pains.

If you’re just beginning your strength journey, adjustable dumbbells are exactly where I’d suggest you start, the same way I did in 2008 with a simple fitness ball and a lot of consistency. If you’ve already been training and have finally hit the ceiling on lighter weights, the 1090s are the natural next chapter. And if you’re currently in the middle, grinding through a weight range you’ve nearly maxed out while using barbell work to patch the gaps, that was me, and I can tell you that I should have made this move much sooner.

These aren’t a flashy, tech-heavy purchase. They don’t feature a screen, they don’t sync with an app, and they don’t try to be clever. They’re just very well-made, very versatile, very practical dumbbells. And sometimes that’s exactly what you need. For more info or to pickup a set for yourself, visit bowflex.com or amazon.com.