Does Anyone Here Lift Weights?

[Shitty Rambo]

I need some beginner's advice.

I've come to the decision that I need to add some meat to my bones. I don't want/expect to be Avenged Sevenfold ripped and mostly just wanna make my arms look less ridiculous.

I have dumbells and no desire (monies) to join a gym. Help?

[dethrock]

How heavy do your dumbbells go? There's tons of good exercises you can do with them for basically every muscle group.

http://www.dumbbell-exercises.com/exercises/index.html

I just googled this and it looks pretty decent, the link has it split up by muscle group so that's a good starting point.

[hipsterasfolk]

Get resistance bands, you can sub them for weights and they will get your arms pretty toned

They range from 5lb-50lb I think

[Shitty Rambo]

Thanks guys, that list is similar to one I found. I'll probably just follow one of em'. My dumbells only go up to 40lbs, which is ok for now because I'm not using a lot of weight at the moment and will probably just buy bigger ones when I need them.

I'll definitely look into resistance bands as well, I didn't think about those haha.

[IanRees]

+1 on resistance bands, also get one of those doorway pull up bars to use with the resistance bands to simulate pull ups. This is what I do when I do P90x

[thebiglebowski]

I would recommend reading all of this:

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=146519303

You might think "I don't need to read anything on a body-building website. I'm just gonna do my thing and I won't look like Arnold, but I'll get bigger". There are a ton of tips in there that will help you to work out properly. Some that come to mind:

Unless you are just starting to work out, it is very difficult to get big and lose weight at the same. If you want to get big, you need a calorie surplus. Then you can lose whatever fat you pick up as well once you have muscle.

Don't think "I just want arms so that is all I will do". Our bodies like to grow all at once. You'll see better results if you do a full-body routine.

Give yourself plenty of time to rest. Doing 300 curls everyday is NOT the way to get bigger arms. I do a 4 day routine (with a light amount of crunches thrown in everyday):

day 1: bench and squats

day 2: bis, tris, and calves

day 3: shoulders and traps

day 4: rest

And you can do just about all this with dumbells. You can substitute push-ups for benching. For tris, you just need a stable chair and your body weight. Squatting your body-weight is probably going to tire you pretty quick.

[hipsterasfolk]

Skip it all and shoot roids, bitches love the roids \m/

[unwound]

Anything hipster said is backed, that dude has like an Olympian weight loss and weight gain approach.

As far as adding mass, you don't have to go balls out with supplements, just EAT. Especially if you just want to casually work out. Make sure your intaking the right kind of proteins though, if you gorge on crap then that's exactly what your body will turn into.

Couple this with the advice above and you should be good to go.

[hipsterasfolk]

^ Easy way to give you the lean tone is going to be cottage cheese and make sure lean protein light carbs for dinner.

Sub white rice/bread w/ brown or wheat. It's such an easy change but changes the game plan.

Now that I'm back at my campus I'm about to start a new plan after the freshman clear out ( first 2 weeks of school.) I basically start with a cardio base to endurance to bulk then to cut. That way I get to enjoy being healthy then go to smashing the shit out of all-you-can-eat buffets lol

I had to start somewhere when i began, I was a 6'6" vegan whose max bench was 70-80lbs lol

[Shitty Rambo]

I'm Pescatarian (have been for 9 years), so I tend to stay away from junk. I eat more veggie/soy based meals than fish. I also run quit a bit (around 3 miles a day, 5-6 days a week).

I'm gonna follow this program, essentially just doing 3-5 sets of 12-15 reps.

• Biceps - curls
  
• Triceps - extensions, kick backs
  
• Shoulders - lateral and front raises
  
• Forearms - wrist curls, reverse wrist curls
  
• Pecs - dumbell press (incline, flat, decline), flyes
  
• Abs - standing dumbell side bends, dumbell crunches
  
• Back - reverse flyes
  
• Hamstrings/Quadriceps - squats, lunges, dead lifts
  
• Calves - calf raises
  They suggest working your muscles every other day though, is this too much rest? Also, when I add weight should I do it in increments of 5LBs or just whatever fatigues me easiest?
  

[thebiglebowski]

That looks like a good, thorough workout.

There is no 100% right answer for everyone. An olympic weightlifter might target one muscle, work it to complete exhaustion, and rest for 5 days. I would say every other day is the MOST frequently you should work out a specific muscle. I suggest you split that plan into 3 days -- something like upper body, core, lower body, repeat. I prefer sets of 5-10 reps but 12-15 is probably fine. Again, no 100% right answer, just rules of thumb (ie, not sets of 30).

I would recommend you lighten up on the running. As some of those resources I posted above say in much more words, cardio is to produce a calorie deficit, not to put on size. Weightlifting usually requires a calorie surplus to have the desired effects. Plus, it doesn't fit in with the "work your legs until they are tired then wait a couple days while your body repairs itself" plan. It's not bad to do a 15 minute run to warm you up, though.

As far as how much weight to add, I don't think you really have an option to do more than 5 pounds at a time. They don't come in smaller increments usually and if you can add 20 pounds on to your rep, you almost certainly weren't lifting enough to begin with. Just keep trying to increase the weight and it will work out. Your body will tell you when you are doing too much. You will probably see a lot of improvement quickly, but as you get bigger, it get's harder and harder to put on muscle. Only so much muscle you can put on your body before it says it has enough (even with things like roids).

Last point, I never eat anything with soy in it. You can google something like soy + estrogen + weight lifting and read but soy increases estrogen. I have never taken roids or anything to increase testosterone, but if I am working my ass off in the gym everyday I am not going to eat a food that has potential to diminish the effect of the work I put in. Given that you seem fond of soy I would suggest you just read some articles and decide for yourself. Just pointing out that the articles exist.

[ajxd]

Push ups, pull ups (wide grip and close grip) should be done daily. I have a pull up bar at the entrance to my living room. I do 10 of each every time I pass it.

[thebiglebowski]

Push ups, pull ups (wide grip and close grip) should be done daily. I have a pull up bar at the entrance to my living room. I do 10 of each every time I pass it.

Wrong. This is better than doing no exercise and will help with tone but for putting on size, you should work a muscle hard and give it a day or two to rest while your body rebuilds.

[jordan999]

I would recommend reading all of this:

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=146519303

You might think "I don't need to read anything on a body-building website. I'm just gonna do my thing and I won't look like Arnold, but I'll get bigger". There are a ton of tips in there that will help you to work out properly. Some that come to mind:

Unless you are just starting to work out, it is very difficult to get big and lose weight at the same. If you want to get big, you need a calorie surplus. Then you can lose whatever fat you pick up as well once you have muscle.

Don't think "I just want arms so that is all I will do". Our bodies like to grow all at once. You'll see better results if you do a full-body routine.

Give yourself plenty of time to rest. Doing 300 curls everyday is NOT the way to get bigger arms. I do a 4 day routine (with a light amount of crunches thrown in everyday):

day 1: bench and squats

day 2: bis, tris, and calves

day 3: shoulders and traps

day 4: rest

And you can do just about all this with dumbells. You can substitute push-ups for benching. For tris, you just need a stable chair and your body weight. Squatting your body-weight is probably going to tire you pretty quick.

Full body? You need some rows in there son. Everything else is good advice.

[jordan999]

I'm Pescatarian (have been for 9 years), so I tend to stay away from junk. I eat more veggie/soy based meals than fish. I also run quit a bit (around 3 miles a day, 5-6 days a week).

I'm gonna follow this program, essentially just doing 3-5 sets of 12-15 reps.

• Biceps - curls
  
• Triceps - extensions, kick backs
  
• Shoulders - lateral and front raises
  
• Forearms - wrist curls, reverse wrist curls
  
• Pecs - dumbell press (incline, flat, decline), flyes
  
• Abs - standing dumbell side bends, dumbell crunches
  
• Back - reverse flyes
  
• Hamstrings/Quadriceps - squats, lunges, dead lifts
  
• Calves - calf raises
  They suggest working your muscles every other day though, is this too much rest? Also, when I add weight should I do it in increments of 5LBs or just whatever fatigues me easiest?
  

Don't waste your time isolating your forearms, you'll get enough doing bicep curls. Other than that looks good. I would stick to running on days off the gym, maybe double up on weekends but gym in the morning and run like 8 hours later. I lift 3 days a week, m/w/f, and run the other 4 days generally. I take my running more seriously but have never had a problem putting on weight/muscle when trying to bulk before I step up running mileage. You'll just need to feel it out how much rest you need.

[thebiglebowski]

Full body? You need some rows in there son. Everything else is good advice.

Yeah, you are right. I do them sporadically but I don't like the exercise so I don't hit it every 4th day. I should, though.

[thebiglebowski]

Don't waste your time isolating your forearms, you'll get enough doing bicep curls. Other than that looks good. I would stick to running on days off the gym, maybe double up on weekends but gym in the morning and run like 8 hours later. I lift 3 days a week, m/w/f, and run the other 4 days generally. I take my running more seriously but have never had a problem putting on weight/muscle when trying to bulk before I step up running mileage. You'll just need to feel it out how much rest you need.

Yeah, I'm not sure about wrist curls but if you want to work your forearms, get those v-shaped things you squeeze to build your grip. I keep one in the car with me. Not sure if this does the same as "wrist curls" but it will make your forearms burn.

[Shitty Rambo]

I'll probably just run on alternate days, maybe cut back on distance so I don't put to much stress on myself. I have a pretty physical job as a Labor.

[mattisr1984]

been lifting since i was 15 (now 28).

maybe its already been said, but...

low weight / high reps = muscle tone

high weight / low reps = muscle mass

im not so concerned with mass - so i do cardio 4-5 times a week. if you want to burn fat, i recommend doing cardio. if you want to bulk up, stay away from cardio (at least to start). otherwise, its really hard to balance your caloric intake to burn fat and build muscle at the same time.

i prefer to do my workouts by muscle group(s). example:

day 1: chest / tris

day 2: biceps

day 3: back / shoulders

day 4: legs

this way, you give your muscles ample time to recover.

be prepared to not be able to move the day after your first (and maybe second) work out.

[Guest deathbydrums]

Do sandwiches count as weights? Cuz I lift them.

[hipsterasfolk]

Do sandwiches count as weights? Cuz I lift them.

[Shitty Rambo]

I definitely felt sore as hell yesterday. Sitting on the toilet was equivalent to having Bane break my spine.

[thebiglebowski]

I definitely felt sore as hell yesterday. Sitting on the toilet was equivalent to having Bane break my spine.

That's good but you may have pushed yourself too hard. Overtraining is a real thing. And eat a lot (with as much protein as you can).

[thebiglebowski]

You guys take supplements?

I'm pretty much taking a multivatimin, fish oil, creatine, and whey all the time. I'm off and on the preworkouts and thermogenics.

[afireinside7444]

I used to be ripped, now just fat