I have started my new strength building work-out program. Thanks for the help!

[peteruk]

Hey all,

Further to my plea for help on the forum a lil while back, I have now started my body improvement regime.

In the end I just went to Argos and nabbed a dumbbell and barbell kit with 70kg of weight . Still no bench unfortunately though.

I've started working out with either one miss day in between workouts or two miss days depending on the circumstances. On 'miss' days I go back to my heavy CV exercise instead. In a 'workout', I do exclusively barbell exercises, and aim to do usually 3 sets of 4 muscle groups, or sometimes 4 sets of 3 muscle groups. I usually do 15-20 reps in a set, though maybe 10-12 if I'm doing a new type of lift and struggling . I try to leave as little time as possible between sets, usually just the time it takes to change weight and reposition for the next set. I have been trying to increase weight on exercises I'm feeling confident with by about 1kg each workout, then I keep that weight until I'm comfortable I can do it properly before adding more.

Last night for instance, after a light CV warm up, I did a typical-of-me work out, which was something like (roughly in order; all approximate weights given are excluding bar weight):
- 20 Bicep Curls (15kg)
- 20 Close Grip Bench Press (16kg)
- 20 'Wide Leg' (not sure if my legs really are wide enough) Squats (13.5kg)
- 20 Upright Rows (16kg)
- 20 Deadlifts (13.5kg)
- 15 Close Grip Bench Press (18kg)
- 20 Bent Over Rows (16kg)
- 20 Lying Tricep Extensions (16kg)
- 15 Close Grip Bench Press (18kg)
- 12 Standing Shoulder Presses (15kg)

I fit dumbbell exercises in when I can during the day, and usually consist of 15 Hammer Curls (10-12.5kg), 4 30second Lateral Raises (2.5kg) and 20 Pullovers (12.5kg, using the end of a bed...). I usually get these 3 dumbbell sets in every day, missday or not.

I have only been working about 2 weeks, but have noticed improvements already. Unfortunately this is mainly in the triceps, some in the biceps, and just a precious little bit on the pectorals; but hey, I can't be picky. I do think my stomach area is beginning to harden however, which is good to note. Another change is that some leg stretches seem much more 'painful' than usual, particularly the hamstring, and the other one where you lean on one leg forward with the other out behind . Sometimes it is very tempting to work out on a 'miss' day (like today as it happens), but I'm under the impression that it will just destroy any work I did previously, as my body is trying to recover and rebuild. My usual workout time is before the evening meal, any time from 7pm-9pm (yes, I do eat late). It usually takes around 1 hour to 1 hour 15 mins to do a work out. I do some basic stretching beforehand, and usually some afterwards if I remember.

I have not had to change my diet at all, as it is very sound, even if I say so myself. I have been making sure, however, that I keep up consuming plenty of protein foods, in particular oats and cottage cheese.

I haven't had too many problems trying to get the technique of each exercise right, and I do my best to be honest with myself if I'm not performing one correctly. After a bit of practice, I have managed to get my breathing patterns correct, as before I had a habit of just holding my breath doing the strenuous parts of a lift. Many exercises state you should 'engage' certain parts of your body during movement, usually the abs or pects, which I've been a little uncertain about. What exactly classes as 'engaged'? Does this mean tensing them up tight (i.e. similar to when you breath in deeply), or just ensuring they're in a normal supporting position?

Also, working the chest without a bench has been tricky. I've been doing solely close-grip bench presses lying flat down on the floor with knees bent. I heard that only close grips could be done this way, as wide-grips needed you to lay supine on a bench with feet on the floor.

Anyway, I also wanted to say thanks to everyone who's helped get me started! This could be life changing.

All comments are welcome.

 

[peteruk]

You really need a bench to work your chest or you could get a pair of these they'll give you a much better range of motion.

Looks interesting, nice cheap price too.

How exactly do they work? I imagine like a press-up?

 

[peteruk]

Argos sell similar for £4.99 - http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/3027066.htm

But you are really going to need a bench if you want a chest. something like this would be good to get you started : http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produ...43389.Weight+lifting+and+exercise+benches.htm

The push-up assists look like a good choice, and I would go for a bench, but I have very little space to store one.

Close grip benches like you are doing are only going to build your triceps they wont be hitting the chest at all.

Are they not working my chest at all then?

Oh, also your squat and deadlift should be your heaviest lifts.

To be honest, I started using the weight guide that came with the set for planning my workout. I can see now this was a mistake. According to that, I should use lighter weights with the deadlift to prevent injury...I shall adjust.

As for the squat, I find heavier weights, although I can just about squat them correctly, they tend to dig into the spine/neck and can be quite painful .

i was thinking that those are total reps rather than single sets.

Each line is a single set for me.

I'd recommend no more than 8 reps per set and up the weight.

Very well. I do find however, that when I find the maximum weight I can still perform the excersize with correctly, I can manage to do quite a few repetitions. I do have a good level of endurance, so maybe it's something to do with that.

TBH i would seriously try to join a gym. Exactly how expensive and far away is it that you cant join it?

Well sorry if this offends you, but I'm considering both the long term cost, and more importantly, the freedom and flexability of home excersising, something which is very important to me.

Are you doing this every day? Thats far too much. Once a week really is all you need.

I just noticed the confusion this part of my post gives. The workout listed is for the barbell excersizes, which are what I control rutinely, doing every 48 or 72 hours. I just fit the dumbbell excersizes in when I can (those 3 mentioned), usually everyday, as they only take about 10-15 mins.

Too much. Ten reps per set or less.

And oats are a source of complex carbs, not protein.

If that's what you recommend, then I'll switch. I was previously going by the advice of aforementioned weight guide , which states:

...If you want to train for hypertrophy (size) keep your sets between 8-12 repetitions, starting with 12 and decreasing reps and increasing weight for about 3 sets.....if you want to train for shape/definition then sets should be 12-15 repetitions, with about 2 sets in total.

Either that's wrong, or I've misunderstood what I'm after.

I'll heed all your advice, stick at it, and hope it's doing some good.

 

[peteruk]

Well, just to show the sources for what I've been talking about:
Number of Reps:
Deadlift Warning:
and the type of close grip bench presses I've been doing:

Also, no need to do dumbells curls every time you can. Once a week is enough.

That's a shame. It can be good for the motivation when I fit in mini-work outs with the dumbells . Will it do no more good at all?

 

[peteruk]

OK thanks for the tips Morba!

I'll be off outside to have another go in a few minutes. I'll aim at doing some of the similar excersizes I've been doing, but with a much heavier weight and with fewer reps. I'll also see if I can include a few new unusual moves, namely the One Arm Floor Press and Barbell Ab Rollout.

And another thing, as you're basically decomposing muscle when you work out (then it regrows bigger, at least that's how I thought it worked ), I take it after a workout, should your muscles appear and feel that way? I have noticed on my Biceps after a work out, when I tense them they appear not as hard, particularly round the edges. Is this just me?

I just hope this is all getting me where I want to be (and not backwards) faster than the heavy CV I used to do .