Help me plan a bodybuilding routine please.

Soldato
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Hello everyone. I have to say, I think this is the first time ive ventured into this part of the forum, so hopefully I won't be flamed by all you muscle bound fit people. :p

Right, ive decided ive let myself go for a bit too long now. I used to be dead fit when I was quite a bit younger, but it all went to pot about 7 years ago. Im only 24 now, so im sure its not too late for my to bulk up a bit. Ive had a good read of the sticky, and its proven very usefull(Thank you GordyR) For the last month or two, I have been doing some weights(Mainly armcurls and raises), and I have already started to see some results. But I think the time has now come to design a proper routine.

one of the problems I have come across trying to work this routine is the fact that I only have dumbells, and not much space to work with. So I have tried to choose exercises that only require dumbells, or simple exercises that I can do weighted, and that can use my bed as a bench (Dumbbell Bent-over Row etc) I have based the routine on the one in the sticky, in terms of a 3 day rotation;

Tuesday (Chest/Shoulder/Triceps)
Dumbbell Bench Press – 3x8
Dumbbell Raise - 3x8
Dumbbell Lateral Raise - 3x8
Dumbbell Shoulder Press - 3x8
Dumbbell Seated Rear Lateral Raise - 3x8
Dumbbell Triceps Extension - 3x8

Thursday (Back/Biceps)
Dumbbell Bent-over Row 3x8
Dumbbell Shrug 3x8
Dumbbell Curl 3x8
Dumbbell Concentration Curls 3x8

Saturday (Legs/Abs)
Dumbbell Squat 3x8
Dumbbell Lunge 3x8
Weighted Situps 3x8
Twisting situps
Dumbbell Straight Leg Deadlift 3x8

Can anyone see any problems with this? Any suggestions? As far as my diet goes, its not too bad really(Although I do have my vice in the fact that I love crisps). I eat a very balaned diet of red meat, chicken, fish, veg, pasta, whole grain bread, fruit etc. Having read the sticky, I do have one main problem though.. I eat no breakfast, have my lunch at 2pm ish, then a big dinner at about 6, with maybe a small snack at 9 ish. It might take time, but im going to try and speard this into more smaller meals. Also what is the best way to work out how many calories I eat? My typical itake looks like;

Lunch;

1 Sandwhich consisting of 2 slices of wholegrain(Burgen) bread, lettuce, 2 slices of beef and a bit of ketchup
2 apples
1 cereal bar
1-2 packets of crisps

Dinner;
Varies a lot, but usually a decent portion of meat and vegetables. Normally some form of stew or stir fry.

Snack;
Sometimes a chock bar or cookie and an apple.

I pretty much only drink water, or weak squash. I don't drink much alcohol, probably about 5-6 pints every 2-3 weeks.

I think im quite determined to get things changed for the better this time, although I want to do it step by step so I don't put myself off. So does anyone have any suggestions or advice?

Thanks. :)
 
I don't really like lateral raises, how about something simple like this?

Day 1: Chest, Shoulder and Triceps

DB Bench Press (3 x 8)
[Incline Dumbbell Press (3 x 8)]
Barbell Military Press or DB press (3 x 8)
Skullcrushers or close-grip bench (3 x 8)

Day 2 - Back, Biceps and Forearms

Dead lifts (3 x 8)
Bent Over Rows (3 x 8)
Wide Grip Pull ups (3 x 8)
Dumbbell Curls (3 x 8-10)


Day 3 - Legs, Calves and Abs

DB Squats (3 x 6-8)
DB Lunges (3 x 10)
Standing Calf Raise (3 x 15)
weighted Crunches (3 x 10)

Wouldn't use your bed as a bench though - you may find you'll get a lot of problems. Could try doing dips though if bench is out.

For calories:

Here's a few websites that might help you

Calorie King
Fit Day
calorie database
Calorie Count
Nutrition Data
 
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Thanks for the reply. How come you don't like lateral raises? That is one of the excercises ive been doing for the last month or two 2x20 @ 6kg, and I seem to get on alright with it.

The excercises you suggested that I can see problems with are;

[Incline Dumbbell Press (3 x 8)]
Barbell Military Press or DB press (3 x 8
Wide Grip Pull ups (3 x 8)

Due to me not having a bench, barbell orr anywhere to do pullups. Other than that, thanks for the suggestions, i'll look into those.
 
messiah khan said:
Thanks for the reply. How come you don't like lateral raises? That is one of the excercises ive been doing for the last month or two 2x20 @ 6kg, and I seem to get on alright with it.

The excercises you suggested that I can see problems with are;

[Incline Dumbbell Press (3 x 8)]
Barbell Military Press or DB press (3 x 8
Wide Grip Pull ups (3 x 8)

Due to me not having a bench, barbell orr anywhere to do pullups. Other than that, thanks for the suggestions, i'll look into those.

problem is that what works for me may not work for you. You just have to give it a try for a while and take it from there.

I decided to base my workout on the compounds, and the only isolation exercises I do are for biceps/triceps and some ab work.

Can you not get a pull up bar? it should help with your strength.

Military press may be out, but you should be able to do standing DB press.

A proper bar would be really handy though :p
 
Lateral raises are fine to finish your delts, do them bending over though back straight and looking up.
Edit, Get a bench. using a bed is silly, or join a gym
Also, you dont need a bed/bench for bend over rows.
Also, listen to Raz, to get strong you do compound.
 
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Looking at my calorie intake, im roughly on;

Bread x 4 440Kcal
Butter x 4 206Kcal
Beef x 3 66Kcal
Lettuce 5Kcal
Cereal bar 118Kcal
Crisps 133Kcal
Lucozade 590Kcal
Beef Stew 250Kcal
Apples x3 195Kcal

So thats a total of 2003 calories on an average day. Im about 176lbs, so thats not too far off target is it. Ideally I want to be working off this slight beer/pork pie belly first, before bulking up.

Edit; Ok, thanks guys. I might look at getting a pull up bar. I don't have any plans to join a gym a tthe moment though. As mentioend I want to take it a step at a time, to not put myself off, and I can see joining a gym doing that.
 
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messiah khan said:
Looking at my calorie intake, im roughly on;

Bread x 4 440Kcal
Butter x 4 206Kcal
Beef x 3 66Kcal
Lettuce 5Kcal
Cereal bar 497Kcal
Crisps 550Kcal
Lucozade 590Kcal
Beef Stew 250Kcal
Apples x3 195Kcal

must be a big cereal bar :)
 
Cereal bar 500 kcal? doubt it
you eat 5 bags of crisps a day?
and.. im gonna guess at a litre of lucozade? (taking that the average sugary carp is 50kcal/100ml)

you need a more protein.
dont bother with the crisps, and lucozade, have another meal instead.

I agree with taking it slow, a bench press would be better than a pullup bar.
Also, your core strength will not improve much doing squats and deadlifts with dumbell, getting a bench with a bar is really needed.
 
Heaven Can Wait said:
Cereal bar 500 kcal? doubt it
you eat 5 bags of crisps a day?
and.. im gonna guess at a litre of lucozade? (taking that the average sugary carp is 50kcal/100ml)

you need a more protein.
dont bother with the crisps, and lucozade, have another meal instead.

I agree with taking it slow, a bench press would be better than a pullup bar.
Also, your core strength will not improve much doing squats and deadlifts with dumbell, getting a bench with a bar is really needed.

pretty much what I would have said.

eat more balanced meals throughout the day, drink water or greentea.

Eat around your workouts too - the bulk of your carb intake should be centred around your training.

I'm sure Chong et al can tell you a good idea of what/how much to eat.

For chest it should be easy to start doing dips. Don't use chairs, but something sturdy. There's also weighted push ups.
 
Heaven Can Wait said:
Cereal bar 500 kcal? doubt it
you eat 5 bags of crisps a day?
and.. im gonna guess at a litre of lucozade? (taking that the average sugary carp is 50kcal/100ml)

you need a more protein.
dont bother with the crisps, and lucozade, have another meal instead.

I agree with taking it slow, a bench press would be better than a pullup bar.
Also, your core strength will not improve much doing squats and deadlifts with dumbell, getting a bench with a bar is really needed.

Opps, I listed the KJ figure, not the Kcal. Post ammended So it looks like I havent actually got high enough calorie intake. With me wanting to get rid of this belly, and bulk up in muscle, whats the best way to approach it? Is it to do exercise, including a lot of abs work to get rid of the belly, then bulk up. Or to bulk up and try and reduce my bodyfat after?
 
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Ab work will not get rid of your belly.
you cant spot reduce fat, doing 1000000 situps will take fat from everywhere, but its not efficient.
Best way is to bulk up, cutting when you have nothing to cut into isn't a great idea. the more muscle you get, the lower your bodyfat % goes.
 
Ok, thanks. So basically I need to increase my calorie intake a bit, especially protein. Do mostly compount exercise and see about getting a bench and bar(Although where i'd put it I have no idea).
 
messiah khan said:
Ok, thanks. So basically I need to increase my calorie intake a bit, especially protein. Do mostly compount exercise and see about getting a bench and bar(Although where i'd put it I have no idea).

That would be good start yes.

I'm sure there's probably some starter benches that are fold-away. Go for an Olympic bar - usually 7ft.
 
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