In college I used to weight train 6 - 7 days a week. I've never been able to get results out of a single set of weights. You really need a full range of weights and a full set of benches (incline, decline, upright, etc) to build any muscle mass.
Since you can't really increase mass, you should think about doing a relatively high number of reps and whatever exercises you can come up with. You'll at least maintain muscle tone doing that (you may drop some muscle mass or add fat, depending on your diet).
If you just want to be healthy, you can't go wrong with an aerobic exercise (whatever fits your current circumstances). I live in a crowded city and running saves my sanity.
Several weeks in now and I have bulked up a bit, but not a very large amount. Quite willing to hear recommendations/tips about what I'm doing. I have trouble finding time to get out and get much aerobic exercise, but find I can get some reading done while I lift weights in front of my screen or lift them while wait for food to cook.
EDIT: oh, and I go in lots of ten, so 100 = ten reps of ten if I've got my terminology right
there are a million things that need to be addressed but i'm going to be as basic as i possibly can.
#1 - if you can read while you exercise, you're not exercising. if you want to accomplish something meaningful with weights while "waiting for food to cook", you're in for a world of disappointment.
#2 - a decent olympic bar and basic assortment of plates (5/10/25/45) can be had on craigslist for cheap ($30). you're going to outgrow those 10lb dumbbells in a week.
#3 - you're only working two of the smallest muscle groups there are. you need to focus not on building biceps, but building an overall strength base and level of fitness. this is best achieved with BASIC BARBELL MOVEMENTS - squat, deadlift, bench press, overhead press, barbell row, clean, lunge, etc. research and learn these movements, they're the key to unlocking both mass and strength gains. body weight exercises like dips and pullups are crucial as well. (and for the love of god, if there's one thing that you take away from this, it's that you have legs and they're the biggest muscle group you have... work them!)
#5 - diet is equally as important as what you're doing with the weights. sleep is the other leg of the tripod.
#6 - set goals. and have fun. :)
EDIT: there's another thing i should add that is absolutely crucial --
please learn to perform these lifts properly. study videos online, look at pics of other lifters, and practice with a broom stick. hell, you'll gain more in a month from practicing the basic movements with a broomstick than you would from continuing your current program for five years. i cant stress enough that these movements are the basic building blocks of all strength fitness, and when done properly they can transform you into a lean, mean animal. when done improperly, however, you risk everything from looking like a fool at the gym to eventually blowing a disc in your lower lumbar and spending the next two years rehabbing rather than achieving your fitness goals.
reference this older post of mine for more detail on some program templates, and definitely look into "never gymless" if you're interested in what you can achieve without weights.
You've certainly given me a lot to think/read about. The weights are 10kg, so that's about 22lb I think. Still, I will be buying more equipment when I can.
Where I am staying I don't have room for a bench, so I've been slightly limited in what I can do. Any suggestions for working around that?
I am also very interested in squats/building up my legs and have been trying them out and practicing the correct form the past few days.
i'm glad i misread that as 10 pounds, 10kg weights will be fine for now as you learn what to do with them (all barbell motions that i suggested you research can be practiced with dumbbells)
and honestly, all you really need a bench for is bench pressing. until you have access to a gym or just have more space, you can work on pushups and eventually weighted pushups.
and if we could get some feedback from you, the following would be helpful -- current height/weight, your average daily diet (meals, meal times, snacks, everything)
My diet is mostly chicken stir-fry with rice, or something based on baked beans for dinner. I'm trying to cut back on pasta because of weight gain but still have it with beans or vegetables once a week.
I often miss breakfast, but when I don't it's muesli or weetbix, on rare occasions porridge.
Snacks are mostly bananas or ham and cheese wraps. Also carrots with hummus, or cuppa soup. My lunch is usually some mixture of these. I only drink once a week, sometimes once a fortnight.
My schedule is approx. 8:30am breakfast, 1pm lunch, 6:30-7:00pm dinner. Usually with a snack before lunch and maybe after dinner.
My height is about 179cm (5 foot 10?) and my weight sits around 98kg (215.6 lbs).
Hope this is what you were after.
Edit: forgot to mention microwaved potato as a fairly common lunch
Comments
In college I used to weight train 6 - 7 days a week. I've never been able to get results out of a single set of weights. You really need a full range of weights and a full set of benches (incline, decline, upright, etc) to build any muscle mass.
Since you can't really increase mass, you should think about doing a relatively high number of reps and whatever exercises you can come up with. You'll at least maintain muscle tone doing that (you may drop some muscle mass or add fat, depending on your diet).
If you just want to be healthy, you can't go wrong with an aerobic exercise (whatever fits your current circumstances). I live in a crowded city and running saves my sanity.
Thanks for the response. Currently I am doing:
mon - 100 bicep curls - 100 hammer curls
tue - 100 shrugs
wed - rest
thu - 100 shrugs - 100 bicep curls - 100 hammer curls
fri - rest
sat - 100 shrugs
sun - rest
Several weeks in now and I have bulked up a bit, but not a very large amount. Quite willing to hear recommendations/tips about what I'm doing. I have trouble finding time to get out and get much aerobic exercise, but find I can get some reading done while I lift weights in front of my screen or lift them while wait for food to cook.
EDIT: oh, and I go in lots of ten, so 100 = ten reps of ten if I've got my terminology right
there are a million things that need to be addressed but i'm going to be as basic as i possibly can.
#1 - if you can read while you exercise, you're not exercising. if you want to accomplish something meaningful with weights while "waiting for food to cook", you're in for a world of disappointment.
#2 - a decent olympic bar and basic assortment of plates (5/10/25/45) can be had on craigslist for cheap ($30). you're going to outgrow those 10lb dumbbells in a week.
#3 - you're only working two of the smallest muscle groups there are. you need to focus not on building biceps, but building an overall strength base and level of fitness. this is best achieved with BASIC BARBELL MOVEMENTS - squat, deadlift, bench press, overhead press, barbell row, clean, lunge, etc. research and learn these movements, they're the key to unlocking both mass and strength gains. body weight exercises like dips and pullups are crucial as well. (and for the love of god, if there's one thing that you take away from this, it's that you have legs and they're the biggest muscle group you have... work them!)
#4 - find a popular template such as the stronglifts 5x5 (http://stronglifts.com/stronglifts-5x5-beginner-strength-tra...) or one of the Westside for Skinny Bastards programs (http://www.defrancostraining.com/articles/38-articles/60-wes...). these will give you a basic understanding of how to build a program around the common lifts.
#5 - diet is equally as important as what you're doing with the weights. sleep is the other leg of the tripod.
#6 - set goals. and have fun. :)
EDIT: there's another thing i should add that is absolutely crucial --
please learn to perform these lifts properly. study videos online, look at pics of other lifters, and practice with a broom stick. hell, you'll gain more in a month from practicing the basic movements with a broomstick than you would from continuing your current program for five years. i cant stress enough that these movements are the basic building blocks of all strength fitness, and when done properly they can transform you into a lean, mean animal. when done improperly, however, you risk everything from looking like a fool at the gym to eventually blowing a disc in your lower lumbar and spending the next two years rehabbing rather than achieving your fitness goals.
double edit-- http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1401515
reference this older post of mine for more detail on some program templates, and definitely look into "never gymless" if you're interested in what you can achieve without weights.
You've certainly given me a lot to think/read about. The weights are 10kg, so that's about 22lb I think. Still, I will be buying more equipment when I can.
Where I am staying I don't have room for a bench, so I've been slightly limited in what I can do. Any suggestions for working around that?
I am also very interested in squats/building up my legs and have been trying them out and practicing the correct form the past few days.
Thank you for the links and advice.
i'm glad i misread that as 10 pounds, 10kg weights will be fine for now as you learn what to do with them (all barbell motions that i suggested you research can be practiced with dumbbells)
and honestly, all you really need a bench for is bench pressing. until you have access to a gym or just have more space, you can work on pushups and eventually weighted pushups.
and if we could get some feedback from you, the following would be helpful -- current height/weight, your average daily diet (meals, meal times, snacks, everything)
Other information:
My diet is mostly chicken stir-fry with rice, or something based on baked beans for dinner. I'm trying to cut back on pasta because of weight gain but still have it with beans or vegetables once a week.
I often miss breakfast, but when I don't it's muesli or weetbix, on rare occasions porridge.
Snacks are mostly bananas or ham and cheese wraps. Also carrots with hummus, or cuppa soup. My lunch is usually some mixture of these. I only drink once a week, sometimes once a fortnight.
My schedule is approx. 8:30am breakfast, 1pm lunch, 6:30-7:00pm dinner. Usually with a snack before lunch and maybe after dinner.
My height is about 179cm (5 foot 10?) and my weight sits around 98kg (215.6 lbs).
Hope this is what you were after.
Edit: forgot to mention microwaved potato as a fairly common lunch