Home dumbell routine

RE: Home dumbell routine (mhartman)

Tue, 06 Jul 2004 20:48:07 GMT

There's already been a ton of great advice on this thread but I thought I'd add a little tidbit for the money issue.. Make your own chin-up bar! CHEAP CHEAP and you can use it for abs or back or even arms. Get a nice metal bar, stick it between some tall and sturdy sides, voila!

RE: Home dumbell routine (cpl)

Tue, 06 Jul 2004 16:20:29 GMT

No. If you're trying to handle weights, there really isn't a safe substitute for some form of bench- That is, something that was designed to handle that sort of activity. I've seen people line up milk crates on the ground to try and use them as a bench- They tried to improvise some setup that would hold the weight in position for them to do bench presses, and the very first time the guy tried to lift the weight off the improvised stands- Well, his body weight shifted the milk crates so that his lower back and ass had no support all of a sudden- They had fallen into the hole between the two crates, and he almost dropped the weight on his neck as a result.
These days, the only things I really need a bench for are my chest work and my leg work- You can't work your chest right without a bench, and there's no way you can really do squats without some solid squatting station- Not safely, anyway. Other than that though, I'm able to work absolutely everything else with nothing but free weights. You might want to consider getting a full set of free weights, and then perhaps find a way to get to a bench once or twice a week- You have to know someone who's got one, and perhaps you're just the training partner they need to get them motivated to use it.
Hope this helped!

RE: Home dumbell routine (Rangers)

Tue, 06 Jul 2004 15:40:38 GMT

I was just wondering... Since I don't have a bench would it be ok if I used something like a chair instead of a bench? Thanks.

RE: Home dumbell routine (cpl)

Mon, 05 Jul 2004 13:50:54 GMT

You might want to check out this thread, The basics. It's a great program, but it's mostly geared towards people with access to at least a bench/squat rack. There's plenty of good advice in there for building muscle. Sets and reps are covered there too- Although there are plenty of opinions out there as far as how many sets and reps you should do, the general consensus for building muscle is that you should lift heavy- Some do 4-6 reps like myself, others go for six to eight reps, etc. etc... Either way, the weight should be heavy enough that you can't do more than the max amount of reps you've decided on. The heavier the weight, the less reps you can do- Anything over ten reps won't be very productive when it comes to building muscle.
You said you'd like to keep your lean frame and add muscle at the same time- That's sorta hard. Whenever you want to put muscle on, you have to overfeed yourself, which means you're going to put on some fat at the same time. Not a whole lot, you're not going to turn into a lard ass, but if you're bulking properly you should get see some extra fat. Why not post something in the nutrition forum about how you're eating, I'm sure someone will be able to help you out- The way you eat counts for a huge part of your gains.

RE: Home dumbell routine (Rangers)

Mon, 05 Jul 2004 12:36:22 GMT

Wow, I hav'nt been here in a while. I was supposed to get e-mail notification for every post but I guess it didn't work. Anyways the set of dumbless I was supposed to get, I never got. I've kept up with the running and pushups and instead of situps do crunches and reverse crunches. I'm gonna start doing weights though all I have now are 5's 15's and 25's, so I'll probally stick with the 5's and 15's for nows. As for what type of body I have a very thin body with very little fat and not too much muscle either. I would like to keep the lean frame but I would like to add a bit of muscle and some weight. Thanks so much for all they replies.

Also for the exercises, how many reps and how many sets of each should I do?

RE: Home dumbell routine (cmg)

Mon, 31 May 2004 09:54:45 GMT

i'm active.. So i go (or am going) for a 3 day rest... I like to do things on the weekend that are excirse relatied... So i figure with 3 days of rest (2 days on the weekend and wednesday) will still alow me to play some football and what not...

RE: Home dumbell routine (cpl)

Sun, 30 May 2004 16:05:45 GMT

Here's your link for how to do exercises It's actually a better thing, in my opinion, to have your two rest days in a row- But it's not a big deal if you can't. I work out monday through friday and take the weekends off. When it comes to rest days, leave them alone. They're just for rest, nothing else. Rest is extremely important when it comes to building muscle- Remember, the big three are Nutrition, Rest and Training. We're getting your training sorted out, you should do fine with rest, how's your nutrition looking?
Okay, you said you're doing pushups and situps- Get rid of them both. Pushups work the chest, and triceps mostly, and you'll be hitting them with the weights anyway- Don't overdo it. When it comes to sit ups, they actually work the hip flexors more than anything else, switch to crunches- They hit the abs a lot better. Plus, you can do hanging leg and knee raises, and hanging knee twists- There's also decline reverse crunches, and you can try doing crunches with a weight in your hands.
Now, you asked about your cardio- You said you're doing it every day right now? How much cardio you do depends on what your goals are- Are you trying to bulk up, or lose extra fat? What sort of body do you have now, and what sort of body are you looking to have a year from now? We'll be better able to help you out with this sort of info.

this might sound a bit stupid bit is there a good website that explains how to do all of these??

Doesn't sound stupid at all, bro. That's what this place is for, ask whatever the hell you want.

RE: Home dumbell routine (OG123)

Sun, 30 May 2004 14:52:10 GMT

Yup I definetly agree you should get to a gym, I mean you COULD squat with dumbells but your grip would wear out before your legs and Barbell squat is always best.

RE: Home dumbell routine (Rangers)

Sun, 30 May 2004 09:25:30 GMT

Wow. Thanks for the reply. I agree with you about joining a gym, hopefully I can get a membership sometime this summer. I would try to get some more equipment for home but I'm bound by space/money constraints. Now I just have a few questions. First of all, this might sound a bit stupid bit is there a good website that explains how to do all of these?? Also, lets say I do all of the exercises. should I do
Sunday - Chest
Monday - Legs
Tuesday - Shoulders
Wednesday - Rest
Thursday - Back
Friday - Arms
Saturday - Rest

Now what about cardio such as running and biking - can I still do that every day? Also things like pushups and situps should I just add pushups to my arms day and situps to my chest day? Or should I save those for my rest days? Thanks so much for your help.

RE: Home dumbell routine (cpl)

Sun, 30 May 2004 08:29:41 GMT

For wrestling, you might want to look into getting a gym membership, or a decent home gym- Something where you can do squats, benches, etc- In fact, squats benches and deadlifts would be good exercises for you to concentrate on if you're serious about wrestling. Those are considered the three biggest overall strength building exercises out there- The squats and deads are great for building up your "core" strength- Your legs, your torso- Very important in wrestling, as I'm sure you know. The bench press is great for upper body strength. Of course, it's a good idea to hit everything else too- Shoulders, arms, abs, etc- But for wrestling strength, the big three are a must.
Anyway, if that's not the way you want to go, there are still plenty of exercises you can do with dumbbells- Some of them, you'll need some sort of bench for though. Here's a sample routine-

Chest-
Dumbell bench press- Flat, incline, decline
Flies- flat, incline, decline
Dumbell pullovers
Weighted dips (I'm sure you can figure out some way to do dips without a dip station)

Legs-
Dumbell squats- (Hold the dumbells at your sides while you squat)
Dumbell lunges
Calf raises
Straight leg deadlifts- You can do these with dumbells too

Shoulders-
Overhead presses
Side lateral raises
Shrugs
Dumbell upright rows

Back-
Single arm bent over dumbell rows
Hyperextensions
Weighted pullups

Arms-
Overhead tricep extensions
Dumbell kickbacks
Weighted dips
Bicep curls
Hammer grip curls

Just to name a few- There are a lot of exercises you can do with just dumbells, but I'd recommend at the very least getting a full set of weights with a barbell- that way, you can also add the barbell version of a lot of these exercises- Which means you can add more weight to the bar since both arms will be working together with the movement- And you can also add other exercises, such as deadlifts to your routine. (Optimally, you should get a nice bench with a good squat station like I mentioned earlier- But we don't all have the money and/or space for these things.)
Hope this helps!

Home dumbell routine (Rangers)

Sun, 30 May 2004 07:58:57 GMT

Well I've just started to work out at home a bit doing situps, pushups and other exercises that don't require eqipment. Soon I'm gonna be getting a set of dumbells. I was just looking for a basic routine I could do at home with them. In case it makes a difference my goal is getting into shape for wrestling next year. Thanks for your help.