dumbell workouts any good

[cypry]

this is all fairly new to me so im sorry if questions seem stupid
at the moment i am working all the time and what with getting married in 3 weeks and two kids life is pretty hectic to say the least so a gym is out of the question for at least a few months
i have a utility bench some dumbells and a bar over the loft hatch that i do some pull ups on
can i get a good allround routine from what i have at disposal

i am 5ft10" 36 and 155lbs (11 stone) a novice at this i am doing 2x10reps of the following
day 1
CHEST
Incline Dumbbell Flyes
Incline Bench Dumbbell Press
Dumbbell Pullovers
Flat Bench Dumbbell Press
Flat Bench Dumbbell Flyes
Decline Dumbbell Bench Press
Decline Dumbbell Flyes

TRICEPS
Dumbbell Kickbacks
Dumbbell Extensions

Day 2
Two Arm Dumbbell Raises Over Head
Two Arm Front Deltoid Dumbbell Raises
Twisting Dumbbell Presses
Seated Dumbbell Deltoid Presses
Dumbbell Deltoid Lateral Raises
Reverse Incline Dumbbell Flyes

BICEPS
Two Arm Dumbbell Curls
Hammer Dumbbell Curls
Incline Dumbbell Curls
Standing Zottman Dumbbell Curls
i also do some pull ups most nights 3x 5 reps
and some gentle abs because i am taking it easy at the moment to strengthen a bad back

at the moment i cant do legs because i have a problem with knee which is also stopping me from doing any cardio
i just want a well toned muscular physic with decent pecs,arms stomach and back etc not bodybuilders huge bulk


diet is good as i posted it somewhere else and have added more protien that was lacking (thanks swans05)
appreciate any help cheers
i have posted this on another forum but didnt get much response
but i realise now i was doing far to many chest exercises
what i realy need is a good routine to stick to
if for example i do 3 chest exercises Incline Dumbbell Flyes
Incline Bench Dumbbell Press
Dumbbell Pullovers
do i do 3 different ones next time or stick to the same ones
any advice would be very helpfull
thanks in advance

[swanso5]

wats wrong with yoyur back and how are you strengthing it? that should be your first port of call before anything

the exercises and vol u need will be detirmined if you already have any appreciable mass...there's no use isolating what's not there

If yes:
* try a 2 day split 2 on / 1 off / 2 on / 2 off or 2 on / 1 off / 1 on / 1 off / 1 on / 1 off...do chest, delts and tri's one day and back and bi's the next...1st exercise should be major mass builder compound (flat bench, shoulder press, dips with wt, pull ups, alternate db curl), 2nd should be secondary mass builder (incline, shrug/arnold press, oh ext/lying ext, row, incline/hammer curl) and 3rd can be an isolation type exercise or bodywt with high reps (fly/push up, lateral/rear delt raise, kickback/ext u didn't do for 2nd, pullover/lower back variation, another row or trap exercise, concentraion curl etc)...do 12 total sets for back, 9 for chest, 6 for shoulders and 4 for tris/bis

If no:
* do back, chest, shoulder tri and bi mass builders from above in that order 3/week...can go heavy/light/mod for 3 sessions or just alternate heavy and mod to lite sessions...same vol as above...for back can split up pull up variationas and row variations evenly would be best

what other forum were you at? i frequented a few for a while but takes too much time now so only go "out" once a week or so if i have time...i run own as well so visit although u can't register at the moment as somethings gone wrong and main man hasn't contacted me for ages

[cypry]

i get spasm in lower back havent had it for over 18 months but when it goes it lasts quite a while2-6weeks i was told its the fluid between the disks that pushes out and causes me to get locked in a bent position
i have had physio on it
some of the exercises are here http://www.sportsinjurybulletin.com/arc ... -spams.htm
i just have to be careful when lifting akward (i am a builder) things like sharp sideways movement or pulling things of any weight towards me
i dont let it stop me getting on with things as they have said theres nothing they can do so i just get on with it and rest up if it goes

if you already have any appreciable mass i am not that big to be honest 5ft 10" 155lbs i probably could do with more mass i have slim build
if i was to do the mass building would this routine be ok not sure about reps will 8 be ok or should i start of with a smaller amount as some of these i will find easier than the others?

BACK
4xpull ups
4x1 arm dumbell rows
4x not sure what to do for this one?

CHEST
3x flat bench dumbell press
3x incline/decline bench press
3xflyes

SHOULDERS
6xseated dumbell presses


TRIS
weighted bench dips

BIS
alternate dumbell curls

would this routine 3x per week be benficial 1st session heavy 6kg 2nd 4kg 3rd 2kg
how much mass should i be looking at putting on
when would i switch to the 1st work out you suggested

i am not fat by a long shot but i think i have some access body fat (i can grab some loose skin on hips love handles and stomach)
bmi is 22.2 which says is normal
how do i loose the fat without loosing more weight (stupid question)?

this is what i posted in the diet section but i have upped the protien with some egg whites and larger portions chicken or turkey as i dont want to use supplements would i have to change this diet to much to get the best from the workout
6.30am is usually bowl of muesli skimmed milk ,a bannana
7.30am bannana and apple
10am green leaf salad ,peppers tomatos,with chicken or tuna
natural yoghurt or seafood mix with whole grain bread
1pm large bunch grapes or cherries or similar and some nuts
530pm toast and marmite or rivitas wholegrain with low fat cheese
8.00pm fish or chickenbreast with rice and steamed veg
i always snack on fruit /raisins etc
2-4litres of water a day


sorry for the long post but i realy appreciate any help
mens health was the other forum it is good but where i am a novice at this it seems very daunting on there but it is very good to browse through the posts and i have picked up some good info from there but on here seems to explain things better with more detail
thanks for reading

[swanso5]

oh i wrote that wrong...the vol won't be the same or you'll be there for 2hrs!! it would probably be 50% so something like this maqybe:

warm up with lower back physio stuff

pull ups alternate with shoulder press x 3 - 4*
rows alternated with flat chest x 3 - 4
dips alternated with curls x 2

add own abs/core stuff

* pull up...rest 60secs...shoulder press...rest 60secs...pull ups x 3 - 4 and so on
if you don't have enough wts to alternate than just do as straight sets as usual...6 - 8 reps should be alright...if your wts don't go heavy enough than u can go hogher but no more than 12 reps...on the last rep of the last set you should just get the 8th (or 12th) rep so choose wts accordingly...the previous sets will act as a warm up sort of...once all reps are reached increase 2.5 - 5kg and start again

BMI is rubbish so don't take any notice of that...get an actual % reading if you can

you want protein with every meal (i.e. banana and apple 0grams of protein...fruit doesn;t have protein in it but a lot of people think it does)

if you want to get rid of the excess i wood say do the above for 4 weeks eationg a little more than usual to build some muscle then all you need to do is lower decrease the rest for the above by 10secs for each rest period until at 30secs then decrease by secs while using the same wts u used in the last week of muscle building phase...make sense??

sample for pull ups / shoulder press combo for muscle building
week 1 - 3 x 10 @ 10kg with 60secs rest bwtween them...get all reps...increase wt (just say we're doing 1 sessions aweek but we're doing 3, u no wat i mean)
week 2 - 3 x 10 @ 15kg with 60secs rest between them...get all reps...increase wt
week 3 - 2 x 10 / 1 x 7 @ 20kg with 60secs rest between them...stay with same wt
week 4 - 3 x 10 @ 20kg with 60secs between them

now for fat loss phase
week 1 - 3 x 10 @ 20kg with 50secs rest
week 2 - 3 x 10 @ 20kg with 40secs rest
week 3 - 3 x 10 @ 20kg with 30secs rest etc

if you think 10secs is too much of a drop to where u won't be able to get most or all of the reps, do 5sec drops works just the same

sort of completely changed it there i think...hope you understand...get back to me

[cypry]

great detailed reply m8 many thanks if i ever visit australia i will buy you a drink
i think i understand it
would the one below be about right all with 10 reps with the increases/decreases in weight and rests you mentioned
DAY 1
1xset shoulder press
1xset pull ups
1xset shoulder press

1xset arm row
1xset flat chest
1xset arm row

1xset tri dips
1xalternate curls


DAY 3
1xset pull ups
1xset shoulder press
1xset pull ups

1xset flat chest
1xset arm row
1xset flat chest

1xset tri dips
1xalternate curls

DAY 5
1xset shoulder press
1xset pull ups
1xset shoulder press

1xset arm row
1xset flat chest
1xset arm row

1xset tri dips
1xalternate curls

is it ok to do abs and core on other days as well or should i rest that aswell?
when would i start adding secondary and isolated moves like you mentioned in your 1st post

[swanso5]

yeah that's about right just remember to do 3 - 4 sets of each exercise except keep the order the same...i put back fiorst as most people always train chest first and neglect back a little which stabilises everything...i would try and do abs/core on the same day so off days areactually off days with cpmlete rest as with adequate food that's when muscle grows...isolation exercises are that great really i probably only do 1 - 2 week if that so really i would bother with them at all except for rehab purposes or muscle imbalances

[cypry]

last questions can i do variations eg incline and decline on the bench /close grip wide grip on the pull ups etc also once i gain some mass and lose some body fat can i incorporate some secondary mass builders into the work out
top man i realy do appreciate the time and effort you have put in to help me
i will let you know how it goes over the next few months
thanks again m8

[swanso5]

i'd do 3 sessions in a row with each grip / variation...if you change each workout it's too hard to see what one is getting stronger and what one isn't etc

[cypry]

just an update i can definately see some gains by doing the compound moves i have also changed diet a bit to get more protien
see what you think
eg
6 am porridge with fruit
8 am 2 boiled egg whites apple
10am cottage cheese salad/tuna salad fruit
1pm tuna /chicken brown rice
5pm muesli or rice cakes with p/butter or cottage cheese
8pm chicken breast or fish with small portion of rice unlimited veg
930-1030 natural yoghurt
also added decline flys to work the lower chest more

[swanso5]

that's a solid diet plan, well done...just make sure the yoghurt doesn't have more than 10grams of carbs per tub or whatever serving size you have