ExRx.net

ok, i dunno where to start but here goes..

age: 18
height: 176 cm (hopefully i will grow more, do you think i will grow more?)
weight: 160-165 pounds

yeh, so i consider myself fat, and i want to gain as much muscle as could be..i dont care if i lose weight or not, i just want to gain muscle..
also i cant afford a gym and i cant afford anything above £30

anyway, i have 14 inch bars my plates are: 4X 5 kg, 4X 2.5 kg, 4 X 1.25 kg, 4X 0.5 kg.

Realistically, what can i accomplish with this equipment, if anything? (please can you tell me what exercises to do and how many in each session?)

Keep in mind that it is possible for me to do cardio i.e. running cos that doesnt cost any money, i just go out and run in the street..

Another thing is my dies cannot be perfect, but to my understanding, starving yoruself is not good, eating regularly is good (i.e. every 2-3 hours), protein is very important, fruits and veggies are also..i should eat carbs after workouts extra, and also fat must be included in my daily diet..these things are the basis of a good diet and if i follow them, i should be fine..

ps: i smoke roll-ups, about 15 a day

If you are male you have reached your final hieght. If you are female you might get a couple more centimeters but I doubt it. If you use the little money you have to get more plates you should be fine.

Can you do bodyweight squats and lunges without loosing your ballance? Do you have any way to prop up one end of your body into an inclined or declined position? As an example I have used a mat and cushions. You can do pretty much anything with dumbbells.

Ironman, I think you have it backwards. Women are supposed to stop growing around 16 while men can grow until they are 25. Guys definately grow far later into their lives. These numbers also fit with the standard ages which are followed by annual muscle loss due to aging. After age 16 and 25 respectively, 1/2% lean body mass per year.

Certainly you have heard stories of men growing after high school. It happens.

the problem is i cant buy a really good bench with incline or decline cos here in the UK they are pretty expensive..

i can do squats fairly easily but i dunno about lunges...

my usual exercise pattern is this..

Press-ups
I do 3 sets of 10 reps (this might sound unimpressive to you but in February i swer to god, i struggled with just one!!! so this is an improvement i think) i will also increase it as time goes by
Concentration Curl
this is a bicep curl but with one arm..i do 3 set of 6 reps, 10 kgs
Tricep exercise
i do this either above my head or lying down, so far i cant move up past 5 kgs
Squats
16 Kg total
Abs
i do this lying down in the crunch position..i have two dumbells above my head and then lift my shoulders and body a few cm above the ground..i can do 14 kg total
another exercie is i stand straight, feet about 14 inches apart and then i bend to the side, i can do 15-20 kg with this one

I will later add back and shoulders..

I want to know two things:

1) can this exercise pattern be improved (state how and what equipment to buy, ill try to find something second hand)

2) everytime i do an exercise and i up my weight for example move from 10 kg to 11 kg, my muscles the next day hurt like crazy and then my work out is delayed 3-4 days which is not good at all, i want to be able to lift every other day and at the same time keep lifting higher..is this normal that my muscles hurt? am i doing something wrong..

ps: i stretch BEFORE the workout

Oh yea, I did get them backwards. I thought 20 was the limit for guys. Well at any rate. At 18 that's just about it.

No bench needed, just do bench stuff off the floor. To do incline/decline all you need is a mat and cushions or big pillows. A chair with no arms is useful too. Use your money for more plates.

For right now, do your press-ups with plates on your back for 2 sets.
Then do 2 more sets, no plates, but have your feet on a couch or chair so your lower body is raised up.

for back try 1 arm dumbbell rows for 3 sets and then a set of lat pullovers

For shoulders try 2 sets of lateral raises. Then do a set of shrugs with all the weight you have. The reps will be real high, but that's all you can do for now.

for biceps 1 set of regular curls and 1 set of hammers is probably all you need after doing your back.

keep your tricep volume low as well. It looks like you have abs and squats taken care of.

To finish out legs try straight leg deadlifts. You will probably need more plates though. A couple sets of calf raises and maybe 1 set of a wide stance single dumbbell squat might be good too.

If you are going to do the whole body once, less sets might be better. You can maybe do more sets depending on how you split it up. Listen to the advice of your body. You need 3 or 4 days of rest before working the same muscle again at your current volume level. That means if you want to do full body every other day, or alternate half the body every day, you have to do less volume.

The best ways are probably 3 full body a week, or a 2 day split twice a week, or just do the body once a week with higher volume, split up over 3 or 4 days. Then fill in your off days with cardio and or high intensity interval training. For example you can jump rope or do sprints in the yard.

One more thing, stretch after the workout.

All excellent ideas fro ironman. Here are some more based on bodyweight.
http://www.ironsports.tv/in_shape.htm
Frankly, if all you were to do was P bar dips and chins, that would be a good abbreviated upperbody workout in itself. No P bars, put two chairs back to back , lift you lower legs and dip. Like Ironman stated earlier, with bodyweight and DB's, your imagination is the only limit.
Tim

1) the website you gave me..is this guy serious? he says if i can get gold stars in all those exercises i will be dangerous lol and higher than the 99th percantile..those exercises look so easy..

2) what are p bar dips and chins?

3) can you explain that exercise with the two chairs, you explained it kinda vaguely

4) "with bodyweight and DB's, your imagination is the only limit", what does this sentence mean?


sorry Tim if i sound like an idiot, but please take a minute to reply, im serious about my training and your help is greatly appreciated.

Hi.
1. Yep, Bryce is definately for real, and thinks outside the box most of the time. His home page with articles is at
http://www.ironsports.tv
and his message boards are at
http://p069.ezboard.com/btheironworks
2. P bar dips: two bars, horizontally parralel, standing at about 4 ft in height off the ground, approximately shoulder width apart You hold yourself up with your palms with arms straight down, then lower yourself down, and push yourself back up. Go to the home page, take the link to Weight Training from the Menu, then go to the Muscle and Exercise Directory, and look under Chest. You will see a video clip of chest dips.
Chinups, you hang from a bar, and pull yuourself up. It's in the Ex and Muscle Directory under Back. Visuals are also in the article I sent you.
3. Now that you have looked up chest dips, take two chairs, with the backs facing each other. Place them so that the backs are approximately shoulder width apart. Use the top of the chair backs as parallel bars, and dipand push back up.
4. This means that the differentmoves you can do with bodyweight only and with Dumbells are almost limitless. Look through the bodyweight article, Bryce gives lots of options. Also look through the eercise and muscle directory here on this site. They list LOTS of differnt things you can do with the DB option.
Tim

I don't think bodyweight is as good as that website states, but it can work good in certain circumstances. Moving on to question 4, all you need is your bodyweight, dumbbells and some plates to put a decent routine together.

P bar means paralell bar. Doing dips on 2 parallel bars. They are a little tricep heavy IMO. I like chest dips done with both hands on a a single bar with a wider grip. With weight plates to add some intensity, you could work your entire upper body with just a single bar you could dip and pull yourself up to. You can use any sturdy objects to fit the bar in place. The weight of your body provides much of the resistance. You may be to heavy for chins, but you can give it a shot.

For example in my first post I said put some plates on your back for press-ups. That is because your bodyweight is not quite enough. However for the upper part of the chest, your bodyweight is probably all you need so press-ups with your feet up on a couch are just perfect for your level of strength.

So if dips and chin-ups are something you can do, but still very hard, and you are doing the 3 full body workouts a week. You might be able to get away with 3 sets of chest dips and 3 sets of chins and need nothing else for upper body.

It won't work forever but you can grow your whole body for a while just doing 4 lifts. Dips, chins, squats and deadlifts.