First of all some details about myself:

My vital statistics:

Age: 18
Weight: 74kg
Height: 175cm
BMI: 22%

My current routine:

• 500 calories burnt in one hour at about 90 rpm.

I have been doing the cardio workout for quite a while now (since Summer of last year, with a 2 week break from exercise during Christmas, and a month long break in January). I have decided that I need to work in some weight training because I noticed how thin my arms are and how flabby my chest is.

So I think I need a new workout.

What I need is something simple. I've seen a lot of routines that have about 10 different exercises in them, and they are too complicated for me. I just want a few exercises which I can keep repeating without having to put too much thought into them.

I basicly want a fit, somewhat muscular body with visible abs and very little fat (about 10% BMI would suit me nicely).

Equipment I have:

• 2 dumbells
• 8 weight discs (4 weighing 2lbs each, 4 weighing 5lbs each)
• An exercise bike

Every week day I get 2-3 hours of free time, just after 6 o'clock, which I can use for exercise. This is due to the rather full days in my life as a student.

So if anyone can suggest a simple and effective workout routine I can do, preferably I would like a detailed suggestion stating how many reps and sets I should do on each day (sorry if this sounds like too much to ask, but I am quite inexperienced at this and I don't want to get confused).

I would really appreciate some help.

Thanks

The problem with doing "just a few" exercises is that it's not nearly enough to work your whole body. The exercises that yield results are the ones that include a multitude of workouts, and this includes working the same muscle groups multiple ways. Plus, the maximum resistance you can deal with is 28lbs... and that's hardly enough for most exercises.

If you're serious about getting in shape, my best suggestion would be to join a gym. Yes, it can be expensive, but it will give you access to all the tools you need to get in shape. You said you're a student, perhaps your school has a gym. It would be worth looking into.

Another thing to realize is that your diet is about 90% of getting in shape. If you're not eating right, then there's no way you can loose weight or bulk up. There are tons of guides on this site dedicated to teaching about proper dieting, and I reccomend you look a few of them up.

you're a student...does your school have a rec facility with some weights that you're already paying to use via student fees??

making progress is all about pushing yourself harder. 28lbs is not hard. my wife uses more weight than that for 90% of her exercises.

you also need to evaluate your diet. if yoru diet sucks, weight trainign won't make you skinny.

Thanks for the replies.

It seems that the common answer is to join a gym. Well I'm sorry but I just can't afford that.

And as for using equipment at my school, that is just not an option either. I go to a back-end of the world Sixth-Form College, where the only equipment is a ripped trampoline and a patch of laminate flooring (I'm exaggerating but you get the idea).

What I want to know is what routine should I do, how many reps of whatever exercise should I do, how long should I do cardio for.

I have heard that losing 500 calories a day through cardio a day is a healthy weight loss of 1 lb of fat a week. But then that is just the problem, all I have done is heard things, or read vague exercise routines with no detail.

I just want a straight answer. What should I do and how long for?

(Sorry if I seem ungrateful, I may have worded the original question wrongly).

On the weight routine you desire to get that " muscluar body " you want. It is much easier if you have a piece of equipment to structure your dumbbell routine around - like a bench or an exercise ball

A few questions...


- do you have any kind of flat bench at home, and if not, would you able to get one ( new or used ) ?

- or, if not, would you consider picking up an exercise ball ?

- if you are using both dumbells at the same time, what is the max weight you can put on each dumbbell with the plates you now have ?

- will the dumbbells hold more plates and can you get more plates ?


Cardio : On the 500 calorie deficit a day. It doesn't have to come 100% from cardio - the deficit can be the sum of cardio, cardio after-burn, weight training, weight training after-burn, more frequent meals ( tho this is still debatable ) and minor calorie reductions. But as far as burning calories DURING cardio, it is a simple matter of how hard , how long and how frequent you do cardio each day that will determine how mancy calories you burn.

I do have a flat bench, but it is not specifically an exercise bench. Its just a wooden box that I lie on when doing chest presses. It has enough clearance on either side for me to use it like an exercise bench (I put a soft blanket on it first so I'm not lying on solid wood).

I can get three plates on either side of my dumbbells.

If I were to get an exercise ball, would it matter what size ball I buy (since I have seen several different sizes available)?

Could you tell me what after-burn means? I still don't understand most of this fitness jargon.

I've put together this workout routine, please tell me if I will see results by doing this, or if it will be a useless waste of time:

Each dumbbell weighs 10lb (it has a 5lb weight on either side).

(For each exercise it is 3 sets with 12, then 10, then 8 reps)

Monday:

Chest press
Lateral Raise

Tuesday:

Upright Row
Close Leg Squat (with dumbbells)

Wednesday:

Rest

Thursday:

Bicep Curl
Single Arm Tricep Extension

Friday:

Abdominal Curls (with dumbbell)

Weekend:

Rest

Advice and alterations would be appreciated, thanks.

Better than nothing.

What weight does that come out to for one dumbbell ?

[QUOTE=BilltheAnt;185935]If I were to get an exercise ball, would it matter what size ball I buy (since I have seen several different sizes available)?

You're 5' 9" tall. For heights of 5’8” to 6’1” you should look for a 65 cm - 25.5” ball.


That's more my term that I use - it's not a ' technical ' term per say.

All it describes is the impact on your body AFTER you exercise. When you weight train - you burn calories while you're training . Ditto if you ride a bike or go for a run....you burn calories while you ride / run. But in both cases, once you're finished exercising , your body continues to burn calories at a more than a normal level as it repairs tissue, tries to replace energy in your muscles etc. etc.

Thus the term, " After ( exercise ) burn ( calories ) " .

I really hate to say it, but the exercise plan you've created would be pretty much useless. 20lbs is not nearly enough resistance for any of those exercises. For example, you can probably bench press at least seventy or eighty pounds, so clearly twenty won't do you anything. You may be able to build a very small amount of muscle with the equipment that you've got, but you'll plateau very quickly and won't get any results.

I'm not trying to press this point to be rude or anything, but there are a lot more options for gyms than you probably realize. The YMCAs around where I live only cost $20-25 per month, which is pretty darn cheap for a nice gym with lots of equipment necessary to build the body mass you desire.


The straight answer is "Your equipment won't do much, if anything for you." I don't want to sound rude or anything, but the resistance you need to work your muscles isn't there.

Thanks again for the replies.

I get what you saying about a gym, but I live in England. The gyms here work with yearly memberships that average around £50 - £70 a month, so you can see why I would like to avoid that. Plus the nearest gym to my home is about 25 miles away, and I'd rather not have to go for a car journey (in a car I wouldn't be able to afford because of the ridiculous gym fee) every time I want to do my daily exercise.

I have read that if your weights are too heavy you could hurt yourself. I can get each dumbbell to weigh 14lbs but curling really starts to hurt after No 7 of the second set.

What kind of weekly routine should I be going for?

I am from the UK.

You might be able to get a student discount, worth a try.

Also are there any smaller gyms around?

The big gyms like David Lloyds and Cannons are very expensive, try any smaller gyms possibly run by the council.


But if you really do live 25miles away from the nearest gym I think the wiser option would be to buy some more weights.

Where abounce in UK are you from?

Mine was £65 for 6 months membership!

Sorry but joining a gym is not an option for me.

I know its possible to exercise as much at home as you can in a gym, and I would rather do that than pay for gym membership and travelling there and back.

I'm not going to post my address or even my county on here, as it is a personal rule I made that I would never put that information on the internet. Just trust me when I say a gym is too far away.

Again can I ask how many of which exercises should I do, on what days?

do bodyweight stuff. BW squats, bulgarian squats, pullups, pushups, handstands, etc. be creative.

Thanks for the suggestions, but I really need a detailed routine since I don't have a clue how to make one myself.

I did try and make one (see above) but I was told it is useless. I have tried looking at other people's to try and get some ideas, but they are so varied they just confuse me. I've seen some people who do about 3 sets of 10 exercises in one day, and some people who just do about 4 exercises.

Plus I don't know if I should do a complete or split workout.

I just really need a straight answer.

We've all said it many times. The equipment you have is insufficient to properly work your muscles. Since a gym is out of the question for you, you should consider purchasing more weights. You'll definatley want a total of 100lbs, since it will give you something to work through.

The other thing is like Karky said. Start doing bodyweight exercises. I don't know much on those so someone else should probably post on that.

The final thing too is that you have to work on your diet. 3-5 small meals a day, manage your calories, and as long as your working yourself hard enough, get enough protein. There's tons of FAQs on this site detailing diets, so I reccomend you do a bit of reading up on those.