I needed dumbbells for the Infinite Intensity program, and wanted to get them as inexpensively as possible. The photo above encapsulates my solution. The plates above are 10-pound plates from Walmart. I think they were $5 or $6 each, so I bought a bunch of those along with four 5# plates and four 2.5# plates. Walmart also sells a cheap 14-inch handle for around $7, shown above on the left (it's threaded, and the star-shaped thing is one of the included collars that just screws on to secure the plates). UPDATE: Okay, a year later and the Walmart handles suck. The problem is if you screw the collars down tight enough so they don't loosen during the workout, the rubber handle gradually crushes under the force, so as the months go by the space for your hand gets smaller and smaller. Mine are basically unusable now. Dick's Sporting Goods sells a pair of handles for $20 that are all metal. A better design.

This handle is big enough for me for most of the full-body over-the-head moves, like snatches and swings. But for stuff like deadlift twists and side bends (both great core exercises) I needed a bigger handle, and real DB handles that are longer than 14" get expensive. So I took one of my plates to Home Depot to the pipe section. Black 3/4" pipe is a perfect fit (but 3/4" galvanized is not; always bring a plate to the store!). I got a 24" length and a couple hose clamps. At home, I cut up an old inner tube and wrapped it tightly around the middle of the pipe, and then secured it in place with the hose clamps, trimming off the excess. The inner tube stretches great when you wrap it, and it gives the hose clamps something to snug down onto. I considered epoxying the hose clamp threads for added security, but figured I might want to change the grip some day, so left them alone. They are pretty damn tight, and failure here probably wouldn't be catastrophic, as they just keep the weights away from my hands, not from sliding off the bar. The finished bar is immediately to the left of the plates in the photo above.

I still needed collars for this bar though, and here I splurged, as I wanted these to be easy to change and very secure. I bought a pair of Muscle Clamps, which seem great. I've only used them a couple times, but they go on and off in a flash, and no weights have slid off yet. The are pictured above the plates.

Finally, the last thing in the photo, all the way to the right, is a homemade uneven dumbbell handle. Made of the same 3/4" black pipe, inner tube handle (secured with electrical tape) and a union and nipple threaded securely on the end (snugged down with a pair of pipe wrenches). It is for forearm work. You put a plate on the end, secure it with a Muscle Clamp, and then hold it like so: with your elbow by your hip, and your forearm parallel to the floor hold it in front of you by the handle. The handle should be perpendicular to the floor, with the weight up. Rotate the bar to the right, stopping it when it gets parallel to the floor. Rotate it back, and then down to the left, again stopping it when it's parallel (your fist goes from "fingers up, thumb to the outside" to "fingers down, thumb to the inside"). With a long handle, it doesn't take much weight at all to make this very challenging.

Yesterday's Infinite Intensity workout was intervals followed by "Core Training #3". This included my first efforts at an exercise called a "Turkish Get-Up." It's pretty easy to describe. Lie on your back, with a dumbbell extended overhead, elbow locked (like the top of a bench press). Now stand up, keeping the DB locked out overhead (so when you are finished you are standing and the DB is pressed overhead). Then reverse the process until you are lying down again. Once you're down, that's one repetition (for that side of your body). I started off with what I assumed was a reasonable weight and was immediately humbled. The movement highlights weak links in short order, as you have to stay tight through your core, your balance is challenged, and your shoulder has to hold that weight locked out through 90-degrees of rotation. "Core Training #3" (out of the 10 core workouts you do over the course of the program) was a very interesting workout, as at the time I couldn't really decide if I was working the right muscles, but when I got up in the middle of the night I could feel that the entire girdle from my hips to my shoulder blades had just gotten worked.

Anyway, it seems like a movement that is worth adding to your arsenal. Just keep that elbow locked, especially on the way back down, as the DB is aligned with your head for a good part of the move. You have been warned.

Update: Via the Crossfit forums comes this excellent demonstration from the Art of Strength folks (WMV, 7MB).

As I've noted, I'm new to dumbbell work, but it factors into the program I'm currently following. Lots of whole-body moves like snatches, clean-and-presses, etc. It's going pretty well, but as I press the DB over my head, especially on some of the more "explosive" moves, if the DB cocks the plates whack against my forearm, very close to my wrist. I expect I'll correct this as my control improves, but in the meantime I've developed bone bruises on both arms, which make for an uncomfortable workout after awhile. So here's my solution:

1. Have a daughter.
2. Sign her up for youth soccer.
3. Steal one of her shinguards.
4. Strap it to your wrist.

The fit is perfect, and you get to feel all protective of this young creature whose leg is the size of your arm.