dumbbells only?

[lobsteriffic]

Hi there,

 

I am looking to add some muscle. I have access to two gyms, but both aren't that well equipped with weight equipment (no squat rack, no bench press, etc.). I am looking at dumbbells and body weight exercises. Any suggestions for a routine to follow? I would like to go with a 3-4 day routine.

 

Thanks!

[beforewisdom]

This site has the best exercise books and information that I know of.

 

http://www.exrx.net/

[lobsteriffic]

hey thanks, I like the animations.

[lobsteriffic]

p.s. would you advise a 4 day upper/lower split or should I do a 3 day full body if I want to gain muscle? I've never really tried to put on muscle before so I'm not sure which one works best. Google gives me sites that I don't really trust for info.

[beforewisdom]

Your best bet would be to get one of the bodybuilding books off of that site if you are interested in putting on lots of muscle.

 

The general rule is that as a beginner you start off with a 3 day routine, doing full body each day. You do a few compound muscle exercises with free weights and fewer reps.

 

Putting on larger amounts of muscle might be more difficult with dumbbells, as dumbbells will make leverage more difficult. You'll get much stronger that way, but it will be more difficult to overload your larger muscles.

 

In general you move on to routines of more than 3 days and split routines after you begin getting stronger, enabling you to do more work and requiring more rest.

Edited October 25, 2010 by beforewisdom

[lobsteriffic]

Thanks!

[boardn10]

You can do wonders with just dumbells. Because of joint issues, I have made huge gains with only dumbells.

 

However, I would be carefull doing a full body workout three days a week if you are trying to gain...unless you go light enough to not cause soreness. I know myself and plenty of other need about 6-7 to recover after a hard workout on a particular bodypart.

[lobsteriffic]

Update:

 

So at work I have access to a bench press set up (a bench and a barbell). No squat rack though, just a dreaded smith machine.

 

My goal for the winter is to put on muscle/gain strength. I wanted to follow Stronglifts, which looks like this (most people probably already know this, but whatever):

 

Workout A:

squat, 5x5

bench, 5x5

inverse rows

push-ups

reverse crunches

 

Workout B:

squat, 5x5

OH press, 5x5

deadlift, 1x5

pull ups

prone bridges

 

I was going to do a Monday - Wednesday - Friday thing, alternating the workouts.

 

Now here is my dilemma - I have access to all of the equipment I need, with the exception of a squat rack, which is a pretty big exception. I've read about how evil the smith machine is. But what should I do in this situation? Use the smith machine? Sub out squats for something I can do with dumbbells, like goblet squats? Should I do the same db exercise in each workout or alternate between something like db lunges and goblet squats? I'm really confused and need help.

 

Thanks.

[lobsteriffic]

Okay, update, it's not just a smith machine, it's a 3d smith machine (aka a jones machine?). Googled it to see what was up with that and it sounds like it is better for you than a smith machine. Thoughts? I trust you guys more than random google pages.

[bronco]

I never used a jones machine, but it sounds a lot better than a smith machine. I would do squats with that if I had to . Following stronglifts seems like a good idea btw.

[bronco]

If you don't already are good at squats and deadlifts, I would also recommend the starting strength book. I recently read it and found it surprisingly good.

[lobsteriffic]

Thanks for the tip!

[MaryStella]

excited to hear your training again!