Journey, Not A Destination

Steve said:
God, that makes me sound like a criminal. I feel like my sketch should be on the 10 o'clock news asking people to please contact the authorities if you see this man.

LOL.
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Hahaaa! hey, damnitt... I assure you, it was a compliment. Well, in a Sheryl kind of way.. Have a great day, doll.

-Sheryl
 
Hahaha, I know Sheryl! Coming from anyone else I would have thought differently! :p

Thanks and you have a great day too. Don't scare anyone off with that black eye!!
 
So Steve i umm need some of your expert advice. I have finished moving and we are renting this very small house and I cannot at this time afford to go to the gym. And there isn't room for my weights and weight bench either. So I have fiveand ten lb dumb bells. Do you think i can get a decent strenth workout with these for a while? And if so, what do you suggest.

I will tell you too that I have a goal set for 140, but that is not very important to me anymore. I am not fat. I wear a size 8 and I have had 3 children. I am also not stick thin either. i was made with curves and they do not go away. I am sick of trying to fight this. It isn't working anyway. So I just want to get into better shape. I walk every morning Mon- Fri and it may seam stupid but just want to look fit where I am at. Muscal over fat type. So once again am asking someone I trust to know what they are talking about and would love some good sensable advice. i know you give. So when you have time....:eek:
 
be_gone_soon said:
So Steve i umm need some of your expert advice. I have finished moving and we are renting this very small house and I cannot at this time afford to go to the gym. And there isn't room for my weights and weight bench either. So I have fiveand ten lb dumb bells. Do you think i can get a decent strenth workout with these for a while? And if so, what do you suggest.

I will tell you too that I have a goal set for 140, but that is not very important to me anymore. I am not fat. I wear a size 8 and I have had 3 children. I am also not stick thin either. i was made with curves and they do not go away. I am sick of trying to fight this. It isn't working anyway. So I just want to get into better shape. I walk every morning Mon- Fri and it may seam stupid but just want to look fit where I am at. Muscal over fat type. So once again am asking someone I trust to know what they are talking about and would love some good sensable advice. i know you give. So when you have time....:eek:
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First off, what exactly isn't working? By saying you are 'sick of fighting this' do you mean you are sick of trying to reach 140?
 
Steve said:
First off, what exactly isn't working? By saying you are 'sick of fighting this' do you mean you are sick of trying to reach 140?
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No sick of trying to make my curvy body stick like! It doesn't work. I have curves. Does a shrug, I just thought the stick girls looked better!:D
 
be_gone_soon said:
No sick of trying to make my curvy body stick like! It doesn't work. I have curves. Does a shrug, I just thought the stick girls looked better!:D
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Yea, losing fat will change your body shape to a point.

But once you get down around your genetic setpoint, you got what you got, lol.

There's only so much 'play' we've got to work with in terms of genetic make up.

I'll reply to your first post after lunch.
 
be_gone_soon said:
So I have fiveand ten lb dumb bells. Do you think i can get a decent strenth workout with these for a while? And if so, what do you suggest.
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Ya see, the thing is if you've been using X weight to resistance train with and now you are using X-Y weight to resistance train with, the latter isn't going to provide you much stimulus for strength gain since you are using a lighter weight.

Certainly we can come up with something though.

What exactly were you doing before the move?
 
Steve said:
Ya see, the thing is if you've been using X weight to resistance train with and now you are using X-Y weight to resistance train with, the latter isn't going to provide you much stimulus for strength gain since you are using a lighter weight.

Certainly we can come up with something though.

What exactly were you doing before the move?
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That's tough a question. I went to the gym and did everythign I could. and was definetly lifting heavier weight than this. i should be able to join the gym next month. this is only short time stuff here. The only real problem I have is at certain times for no apparent reason my left should goes out and so then does my neck. i have to be careful on that side. But i usually strebgth trained 3 times a week for about an 45-mins to an hour. Doing squats, leg lifts, triceps, biceps, bow ties, rows, ect.
 
be_gone_soon said:
That's tough a question. I went to the gym and did everythign I could. and was definetly lifting heavier weight than this. i should be able to join the gym next month. this is only short time stuff here. The only real problem I have is at certain times for no apparent reason my left should goes out and so then does my neck. i have to be careful on that side. But i usually strebgth trained 3 times a week for about an 45-mins to an hour. Doing squats, leg lifts, triceps, biceps, bow ties, rows, ect.
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If it's only for a month, I'd simply do whatever you can to get by for the time being.

You can still things such as squats, just with lighter weights. Possibly bump up the volume by doing more reps per set or more total sets per exercise.

Here is something I threw together for another member here on the forum:

I think we’ll start with a 3 day per week full body routine using your available equipment. We’ll do something like an A/B/A, B/A/B program. Week one you’ll do workout A twice and workout B once. The following week you’ll do workout B twice and workout A once.

Space out the workouts as much as possible. Something like MWF or TuThSa will work best.

Workout A will look like this:

A1 - Ball squats – 3 sets (weeks 1&2 use 10 reps, weeks 3&4 use 12 reps, and weeks 5&6 use 15 reps)
-- you can go a little deeper with this exercise than the guy does in the vid

Eventually we’ll work out way up to dumbbell squats but let’s stick with this for a few weeks.

Also, I highly suggest reading through the thread I created called “the basic lifts” before starting this exercise. It’s been stickied, I forget what section it is in. However, it gives a detailed description of how the squat should be performed along with some mental ‘cues.’

Although you aren’t doing full squats at this point….. I think reading through that thread could help you understand and some benefit will translate over even to the ball/wall squats.

FYI, this will target your quads primarily. However the deeper you go, the more your glutes and hamstrings come into play.

B1 - Dumbbell Romanian Deadlifts – 3 sets of 10


With this exercise, pick an easy weight for the first week or two. Really focus on form and feeling your muscles work. Once you are comfortable, slowly add more weight to the exercise week to week. What pound increments do your dumbbells have? Ideally you move up 5 lbs each time. Moving up too much is never good.

You want to keep the natural curvature of the lumber (lower) back. If you find that you are rounding your lower back, drop the weight until you can perfect the movement. You will be able to get "deeper" in the movement as your flexibility improves. For now, the bottom of the movement is just above the point where your lower back wants to round. Full range of motion for the average person usually allows the bar to travel just below their knees. If you can do this from the start without breaking your ‘tightness,’ great!

You want to think of your arms as chains simply hanging down grasping the dumbbells. There should be no flexion of your arms throughout the movement.

A huge misconception people have is, you simply bend forward at the hips. They are missing out hugely. As with the squat, you want to initiate this movement with your hips, by sticking your butt back. Pretend there is an imaginary wall behind you that you are trying to push your butt against. You don't want to go so far back with your butt/hips that you lose balance. Just before that point, you can start flexing at the hips, which brings your torso down toward the ground. Descend until you feel a stretch in the hamstrings and glutes OR to the point where your lumber wants to round (as noted above).

You can test this out right now without lifting any weights. Simply bend down and touch your toes. ‘Feel’ the movement. Now to it again, except this time really push your butt back before dropping your torso. Eventually when my website is up, I’ll have a video up to explain this better as it’s hard to put into words. When you initiate the movement with your hips and push the booty back, you should feel greater activation/stretch of the hamstrings. If you do, you are doing it right.

To reverse the movement, simple extend your hips and bring your torso back up. I like to overly extend my hips, basically thrusting my pelvis outward and squeezing my glutes at the top of the movement. Follow me?

It is very important to keep your back fixed, as the torso leans forward.

C1 - Dumbbell Bench Press – 3 sets of 10


I didn’t have time to find a good vid, but you get the idea. It’s not a difficult exercise. However, I’d rather see you NOT flare your elbows as much as the buy in this video.

At the bottom of the movement, his upper arms are at an almost 90 degree angle with his torso. Instead, I’d prefer closer to 45 degree. Somewhere between flared and tight to the torso, if you follow what I’m saying.

As with the first exercise, I suggest reading that stickie called “the basic lifts.” Although you aren’t performing the bench press as stated in the thread, there should be translation over to this form of the exercise.

As with the previous exercise, you should use a very conservative weight until you are comfortable with the form. Once you are comfortable, you can slowly start adding weight from workout to workout.

I will add here, and this goes for each of the exercises; you should not be adding weight to the exercise until you can complete all the sets and all the reps. For instance, if you do this week 1:

Set 1 x 10 reps
Set 2 x 10 reps
Set 3 x 8 reps

You would not increase weight. Instead, the next time you train this exercise, you should stick with the same weight and shoot for 9-10 reps on that last set.

D1 - Dumbbell Rows – 3 sets of 10


As with the previous exercise, you should use a very conservative weight until you are comfortable with the form. Once you are comfortable, you can slowly start adding weight from workout to workout.

E1 – Dumbbell Shoulder Press – 2 sets of 12


The guy in the video is a boob for sure. I simply wanted to show you what the exercise looks like. Use the stickie I mentioned before for the actual execution cues.

In the Basic Lifts sticke the Overhead Press exercise is described there which will translate nicely over to this form of the exercise.

E2 – Dumbbell Curls – 2 sets of 12


YOU CAN THROW SOME DIRECT AB WORK IN AT THE END IF YOU’D LIKE. IF NOT, NO BIGGY. A COUPLE OF SETS IS ALL IF ANYTHING.

ALSO THE LETTER/NUMBERING SYSTEM BEFORE EACH EXERCISE WORKS LIKE THIS:

IF THERE IS ONLY ONE NUMBER FOR A LETTER GROUP, YOU DO ALL SETS OF THAT EXERCISE BEFORE MOVING ON TO THE NEXT LETTER GROUP.

ON THE FLIP SIDE, IF THERE IS MULTIPLE NUMBERS IN A CERTAIN LETTER GROUP (AS THERE IS IN E), YOU SIMPLY ALTERNATE EXERCISES EACH SET. THIS IS KNOWN AS A SUPERSET. SO IT WOULD GO LIKE THIS:

SET 1 – 12 REPS OF DUMBBELLS PRESSES FOLLOWED BY 12 REPS OF DUMBBELL CURLS, REST, THEN REPEAT…. FOLLOW THAT?

RESTS BETWEEN ALL SETS SHOULD BE 60-90 SECONDS.

Workout B will look like this:

A1 – Dumbbell Stepups – 3 sets of 12


A2 – Supine Hip Extensions with Leg Curls (Shelcs) – 3 sets of 12


With these, I want you to accentuate the eccentric (straightening) portion of the movement. So where it might take you between 1 and 2 seconds to flex your legs and bring the ball inward, I want you to extend your legs slower. Say, maybe 3-5 seconds.

B1 – Dumbbell Bench Press – SAME AS WORKOUT A

C1 – Dumbbell Rows – SAME AS WORKOUT A

D1 – Dumbbell Tricep Extensions – 2 sets of 12
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It would be great if you could pick up an exercise ball, obviously. If you can't we can modify some things.

The ball squats you can change to regular DB squats since you've been squating before.

SHELC's we will eliminate if you can't get the exercise ball.

Bench press will have to be floor presses, since you don't have a bench, which looks somthing like this:



Have you been to the doc about your neck and shoulder? I wouldn't push anything until you get that checked out.... there must be a reason for it.
 
I was just about to head off to bed, but read your last post on that BL thread and it had me dying. :D

Every time you call me "biotch" (which seems to be A LOT nowadays. haha!), I always think of this..... (fast forward it to 1:30 of the clip) I hope it makes you laugh, Makoa.;)

-S Dawg
 
Wow Steve you must have been reading my mind! I just started lifting yesterday. I downloaded a routine from somewhere. The only equipment I have at the moment is a set of dumbbells 5 - 50 lb in 5 lb increments and a flat (utility) bench.

I'm intending to buy a power rack and an Olympic weight set in a couple of weeks. But I want to get started now with what I have. So your post above gives me some good ideas.

Right now the routine is M/Chest & Triceps, Tu/Legs, W/Off, Th/Shoulders & Traps, F/Back & Biceps, Sa-Su/Off

3 - 4 exercises each workout 3 - 4 sets, doesn't mention reps so I've been doing 8.

Right now I'm doing light weights (well my max is 100 lbs unless I duct tape dumbbells together ;)) Mostly trying to focus on form and get in the habit of doing it. I imagine there are better routines, etc. But it's a start. If you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them!

David C
 
MsGhettoBooty said:
I was just about to head off to bed, but read your last post on that BL thread and it had me dying. :D
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Yea, well the letter was sent... so we'll see has the last laugh.

Butch my ass!

:p

Every time you call me "biotch" (which seems to be A LOT nowadays. haha!), I always think of this..... (fast forward it to 1:30 of the clip) I hope it makes you laugh, Makoa.;)
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Hahahaha. That shit's hilarious!
 
DCarr10760 said:
Wow Steve you must have been reading my mind! I just started lifting yesterday. I downloaded a routine from somewhere. The only equipment I have at the moment is a set of dumbbells 5 - 50 lb in 5 lb increments and a flat (utility) bench.

I'm intending to buy a power rack and an Olympic weight set in a couple of weeks. But I want to get started now with what I have. So your post above gives me some good ideas.

Right now the routine is M/Chest & Triceps, Tu/Legs, W/Off, Th/Shoulders & Traps, F/Back & Biceps, Sa-Su/Off

3 - 4 exercises each workout 3 - 4 sets, doesn't mention reps so I've been doing 8.

Right now I'm doing light weights (well my max is 100 lbs unless I duct tape dumbbells together ;)) Mostly trying to focus on form and get in the habit of doing it. I imagine there are better routines, etc. But it's a start. If you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them!

David C
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I'd rather see you stick with something like what I outlined above. Working each body part once per week is far from optimal.

Once you get all of your equipment, which I think is awesome, I'd suggest following something like what I presented in "the basic lifts" stickie. At least some permutation of it.
 
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