I've never formally approached weight training, preferring the typical trio (biceps, bench press, lat pulldowns) and a little cardio and called it a day. Well, that didn't work so well for losing weight OR gaining muscle, so I'm going to try doing it the right way this time. Since I'm a complete beginner, please comment on the plan below:

First, for the below exercises, I plan on obtaining my 1-REP max tomorrow.

After that, I plan on doing each exercise in the list 3 sets of 10 reps at 70% of that max (per mreik's weight training 101 sticky)

Legs:

• Dumbbell Lunge --- replaced by squat
• Step-Up --- replaced by squat
• Dumbbell Squat
• Straight-Leg Deadlift
• Single-Leg Calf Raise

Back:

• Dumbbell Bent-Over Row
• Cable Front Pull-down
• Rear Pulldown

Chest:

• Dumbbell Bench Press
• Dumbbell Fly

Arms:

• Lateral Raise
• Front-Raise
• Concentration Curl
• Reverse Curl
• Dumbbell Kickbacks
• Dumbbell Tricep Extensions

Abdominals:

• Crunch
• Side-Crunch

A few questions I have:

1. What is the safest way to warm up before doing these? Cardio, stretches, a few reps at 50% max ?
2. I'm actually a little worried about hurting myself while trying to obtain my 1-Rep Max. Anyone have suggestions on the safest way to do that, even ?
3. What other exercises can I do for my hamstrings with minimal equipment ?
4. Does this look like too much for a single session ?
5. I don't want to be completely muscle-bound, but I do want to eventually get into some more advanced weight training. How do I know when I'm ready for that? Or ready to move on from my FBW, in general?

(if you're curious, I pulled a lot of this info from here)

I really want to do it right this time...take it slow, incorporate better nutrition, and really focus.
I browsed the photo gallery yesterday and was totally psyched at the progress a lot of you have made.

Thanks for any feedback!

Hi,

I'll answer a few of your questions according to what I've read here and in the "New Rules of Lifting":

Warm-up: Do a couple of small sets using maybe 50-75% of the weight you'll be actually lifting. This isn't required. I pretty much only warm-up when I'm starting a workout doing squats because it's such a heavy lift.

Running before lifting weights isn't recommended because you want to be able to use all of your energy on lifting and not burning any on cardio. Although just a 5-10 minute "get the blood flowing" probably won't hurt (but not necessary at all.) If you want to do some cardio do it after lifting or on non-lifting days.

Stretching is debatable but it looks like stretching before weight lifting can actually increase the chance of an injury happening during your workout. It is recommended to stretch after working out though.

Your workout: I think you have way too many lifts for a single session. They all are solid lifts although you are missing the squat which should be one of your foundations. Maybe split your workout into 2 workouts and alternate them during the week. Even then I still think you have too many (4-6 compound lifts should be enough.)

Muscle-bound: Don't worry about becoming the Hulk overnight. It takes a lot of clean eating and hard training to gain muscle and you'll be able to gauge your size over the months and then years of training.

Thanks, Boba. For some reason, I missed the squats ! I've replaced the Dumbbell lunge and step-up with squats.

I suspected I had too many lifts. I think you may have saved me from some agony.

i would ditch the tricep kickbacks and replace with skullcrusher or dips.

Ok, I get it. Too much for one person. I did go to ExRx.Net and looked at their full-body workouts.
I must have just grabbed too many lifts at once....caught up in the enthusiasm, I guess. Thanks for saving me.

Does this look more reasonable? I picked an FBW from ExRx and picked one compound exercise from each of the non-italicized groups.

• Dumbbell Squat
• Dumbbell Straight Leg Deadlift
• Dumbbell Bent-Over Row
• Dumbbell Bench Press
• Crunches

Did I pare it down too much?

Is this ok to do 3 sets of 10 reps each, 3x a week, alternating days (MWF) with weekend rest ?

Thanks,
Roger

I'll post this for anyone who finds this thread in the future, and also for Derwyddon's benefit.

Derwyddon -- thank you. I did the reformed routine tonight and it was just enough. That tells me I would probably be dead right now if I tried my origin routine !!

-Roger

Your scaled down compound workout looks nice! Keep it simple and work the basics!




~---------~
112 lbs lost and counting!

I did it all at home...I love Turbulence Training !

You're definitely on the right track IMO - sometimes...... less is more.

Or, as Alwyn Cosgrove ( a very reputable trainer ) has said... " Don't try to do more. Just do more of the right things "

And in your case, compounds certainly are the " right things " to focus on IMO.

btw - how long did it take you to complete your workout ?

Thanks -- it still kicked my butt ! My quads are still mad at me. Compounds definitely feel right at this point. I mentioned in another one of my threads that right now my body feels like it is "waking up".

The routine took about 1 hr 20 mins. I spent a lot of time figuring out how much I really could lift, and of course a lot of time waiting on some of the weights to be free. I guess that's to be expected when the YMCA runs a "New Year's Special".


-Roger