Britain has two big sales seasons now, and they pull in opposite directions. Black Friday arrives on 27 November with a month of countdown timers. Boxing Day arrives on 26 December with leftover turkey and the January sales close behind. Barclays' 2025 data shows how much is riding on both: Black Friday shoppers planned to spend £430 each, more than £10.2 billion in total, while Boxing Day shoppers planned £253 each, £3.6 billion overall. So when should you actually buy home gym equipment? This guide answers that with the data, a week-by-week plan from now to January, and a price-per-kilo test that works on any day of the year.

Shopping for someone else? Our home gym advent calendar gives you 24 moves for December and the kit behind each one. Shopping for yourself? Keep reading.

What the data says about Black Friday and Boxing Day

Barclays' consumer spend research for 2025 found that the average Black Friday shopper planned to spend £430, £91 more than the year before. Boxing Day looks smaller and is shrinking: £3.6 billion in planned spend, down from £4.6 billion in 2024, with only 26% of Brits planning to shop on the day. But the post-Christmas period is not dead. 44% of consumers said they planned to shop at some point during the Christmas sales, and 89% of that group named the January sales as their favourite time.

Which? adds the most useful number of all. It tracked 175 products across eight big UK retailers, including Amazon, Argos, Currys and John Lewis, for a full year. 83% were the same price or cheaper at least once outside the Black Friday sales period, and none were at their lowest price of the year only on Black Friday itself. That does not make Black Friday pointless. It means the price in front of you matters more than the date on the calendar.

The price-per-kilo test

For adjustable dumbbells there is a simple way to judge any price, sale or no sale. Divide the price by the total weight of the pair. Then check the top weight, the number of settings and the warranty. Here is how the BrainGain range scores today.

The 24 kg Evo wins on price per kilo and on reviews. T3 gave it a T3 Recommends award in June 2026, writing that "one pair replaces an entire rack of weights". If you already lift more than 24 kg on rows or lunges, go to 40 kg. The Original uses a dial on the end of the dumbbell, the Evo a push-down-and-twist handle. ThePowerPlant's review shows the 40 kg dial set in use.

ThePowerPlant on the 40 kg SmartBells: 17 settings from 5 to 40 kg, changed with the dial.

The week-by-week plan: from now to January

1. Now to 26 November: shortlist. Pick your set with the table above and note today's price. If it already passes the test, you lose nothing by buying now. Read our guide to the 24 kg round dumbbells or the 40 kg round dumbbells if you are torn.
2. Black Friday week, 23 to 30 November: buy the core set. Dumbbells, a kettlebell or the SmartBells Pro Gym Bundle (£619.99). This is the kit you want in the house before Christmas.
3. Early December: add the support kit. The SmartBells Dumbbells Stand (£99.99) and the Core Bench (£99.99). BrainGain's own guide below shows the stand going together in under 10 minutes.
4. Christmas week: train. The fortnight between Christmas Eve and the first week of January is the quietest training window of the year. That is the reason to buy before, not after.
5. Boxing Day and January: top up. A 9 kg kettlebell (£49.99) for a partner, collars and bumper plates for the barbell, and our advent calendar of moves for a structured start to 2027.

BrainGain's official guide to building the SmartBells Dumbbells Stand for the 24 kg and 40 kg sets.

A good price on 27 November is still a good price on 26 December. The difference is a month of training.

When Boxing Day is the right call

Boxing Day and the January sales make sense in three cases. First, when you are buying for yourself, already train somewhere else, and have no reason to rush. Second, for add-ons such as extra plates or a second kettlebell, where the price matters more than the timing. Third, for a bigger second purchase like a squat rack (£179.99) and Olympic bar (£129.99), where you can live with the Christmas period without it. For the core set of weights, earlier wins.

What to buy for each budget

What our customer survey says

BrainGain surveyed 73 verified customers in 2026. Most train three or more times a week months after buying, and most said the purchase was worth the price. Their biggest worry before buying was not the training. It was the warranty and whether the seller would still be around if something went wrong. Every BrainGain dumbbell, kettlebell and bench in the UK store comes with a 24-month warranty.

The verdict

Black Friday is the better time to buy home gym equipment if you want to use it over Christmas, and Boxing Day is the better time to top it up. In both cases, judge the price, not the date. On price per kilo, the BrainGain 24 kg SmartBells Evo at £159.99 is the best buy we sell, and the 40 kg Original at £279.99 is the cheapest route to 40 kg per hand. Buy the weights in November, add the stand and bench in December, and leave the January sales for the extra plates.

Frequently Asked Questions

24-month warranty on BrainGain dumbbells, kettlebells and benches in the UK store. Prices checked 28 October 2026.

This article is for general information and is not financial or medical advice. Prices checked on braingain.fit on 28 October 2026.