How we create products at unbound

When we started unbound, we weren’t trying to invent a new way to lift weights. Dumbbells already existed, women were already using them, and they did the job. The problem was, the more we trained with them, the more we noticed the little things that made them not quite right for us.

The handles were often too thick, the steel was uncomfortable to grip, the ends were bulky during dynamic movements and, if you wanted a set at home, the options weren’t exactly inspiring. You could choose something that looked like it belonged in a commercial gym or a tiny pink neoprene weight that wasn’t going to get you very far. The dumbbell itself wasn’t broken, but nobody had really stopped to think about how it could work better for women.

That became the starting point for unbound, and it’s still how we approach every product we make.

We start with what isn’t working

There is already a huge amount of strength training equipment out there, so we have no interest in creating something new for the sake of it. We start by looking at the products women are already using and asking what could be better.

Sometimes it’s about grip, sometimes comfort, sometimes size or shape, and sometimes it’s simply that a product gets in the way of the movement you’re trying to do. We speak to women, use the equipment ourselves, test different versions and work out which frustrations are actually worth fixing.

With our dumbbells, that meant creating a slightly thinner, rubber-coated handle that is easier and more comfortable to hold, keeping the hex shape because it gives you stability, but lengthening the handle a little making the ends as compact as possible so they don’t feel cumbersome when you move. We also wanted a proper weight range so women could progress, 1kg at a time, and we spent a lot of time on the aesthetic because, if you’re going to keep equipment in your home, we don’t think it should be hideous.

We didn’t reinvent the dumbbell, we just made a series of considered changes that made it work better for the women using it.

That thinking goes into every product

As we’ve moved into mats, and now resistance bands and medicine balls, we’ve followed the same process. We look at what already exists, work out where the frustrations are and then make the changes that genuinely improve the experience of using it.

Our new resistance bands are a good example. Women can obviously train with any resistance band, but lots of them roll up, slip out of position, dig into your skin or lose their resistance over time. None of those problems sounds particularly dramatic, but when you’re halfway through a workout and spending more time adjusting the band than doing the exercise, they become pretty annoying.

So, we made ours from a soft woven material that grips without constantly rolling or slipping and is comfortable when the band is under tension. We created three resistance levels, Light, Medium and Heavy, so you can progress with them, and we made sure the material holds its stretch and resistance through repeated use. We also upgraded the logo from a printed piece of fabric to a durable, premium rubber design to match our dumbbells.

It is still, fundamentally, a resistance band. It just works the way we think a good resistance band should.

Then there was the medicine ball

We had a similar experience with medicine balls. They are brilliant for core work, twists, carries and more dynamic lifts, but traditional versions can feel unnecessarily large and awkward, particularly when you’re trying to hold one close to your body (read boobs…) or move quickly with it.

We wanted ours to feel easier to control, so we made it more compact and added sturdy handles. The textured surface gives you a more secure grip, and the size and shape are balanced so it feels stable when you’re moving with it rather than fighting against it.

Again, there was no need to completely rethink what a medicine ball is. We just looked at where the existing versions were making things harder than they needed to be, changed those bits, and made it look nicer.

Designed for women from the start

Designing equipment for women does not mean taking an existing product, changing the colour and putting a female-focused marketing campaign around it. It also definitely doesn’t mean making equipment easier or less serious.

We want women to lift heavy, progress and get properly strong. We just think the equipment they use should have been designed with them in mind from the beginning.

That means considering things like hand size, grip, comfort, movement, proportions, progression and durability, as well as how the product looks and fits into your home. None of those things is ground breaking on its own, but together they make a real difference to how enjoyable and easy something is to use consistently.

As we keep expanding the unbound range, that’s the test for us: every product has to earn its place by genuinely improving the way women train.

Anita x