Do dumbells have a place?

I'm naturally skinny guy that surfs a couple of times a week and has been doing some basic strength & gymnastic work at my local park (dips on rings, back lever tuck, adv frog stand, pullups, chinups). I'm still pretty weak.

I'm tempted to get some powerblocks (adjustable dumbells) just to add some variety and also to try and add a bit of mass to my lower body, which has shrunk down.

For me, someone who is just trying to keep fit and healthy and build a bit of muscle, would the dumbbells be a good idea or counter productive?

I'd use them for squats, lunges, one arm rows, t/renegade pushups. They'd be handy when it's bad weather and I can't use the park.

For your goals of general fitness and increasing leg mass, dumbells would be fine. They could even help some of your gymnastic movements like deck squats.

If you are using dumbells for improving leg strength, you'll probably want heavier weights than you would normally need for curls. I'd also look at your diet and perhaps add some more protein to your diet. It seems at parks there are more than enough equipment and bars to work out your upper body but not your lower body. You could also try a spinning class or get a bike and hit the hills.

Dummbells are a great tool for certain things and a very poor one for others. You asked a very general question as in most situations the answer is it depends. Now if you asked in term of certain goals then you would get a more clear answer.

Not to be mean but general goals will seldom allow for any serious change and gains. What you'll find after a few year of training and being all over the place is that you are a little bit better at a few things but not even past beginner level of those who specialize. I am speaking from personal experience here. Even if your goal is just to be in shape, pick certain goals (strength wise) to strive for and your general fitness will go through the roof.

to me those dumbells looks like gimmick besides awful. Make your way to pistol and you'll get strong legs using bodyweight. Mountainbiking is still better than dumbells for legs size though I know that nz is pretty wet...

Anyway I suggest you to make your own sandbag /med balls if want to do weighted work out at home. There are a ton of ex you can do with those. Consider also to work on plyometrics jump. If you really want to go hardcore with leg work, hill sprinting and car pushing (how about using a scrum machine from the closest rugby club? they will probably leave it on the side of the pitch) are very demanding.

Still I consider BtGB leg work very, very complete and challenging, the best progression on leg work I've found to date. Not that I'm able to go past the easiest level...

Thanks, I think I'm just going to hit the gym once a week.

And AlexX, you're right about the goals being too general - I'll try to set myself with some specific strength targets and hopefully if I eat well, the muscle will come and I'll get a good amount stronger.