Hi! I'm hoping to get some advice. I have read through many of the sticky-topics but my case is somewhat special. I'm limited to a small gym at our apartment with no free weights--just a big weight machine with a bench. I can do a lot on it, but a lot of what is recommended can't be done on the machine (or at least I don't think it can?). I also have a set of dumbbells at home which I currently only use for bicep curls.
With that said, I have zero experience working out and began the following workout (in its basic form) about 5 months ago; my girlfriend goes to our apartment complex's little gym all the time and I just started going along with her. Originally I was happy to get 1-2 sets in of about half of these exercises. Recently I've been able to get in three full sets. I have seen major changes in body composition and my strength has increased quite a bit (probably 50-75% across the board). I only recently added in the crunches, sit ups, calf and leg raises. So far, I'm really happy with what I've accomplished given that I basically started from nothing (I couldn't even do a pull up!).
I'm primarily aiming for strength and, secondarily, I'm looking for a little more mass (however, I've gained quite a bit in the last 5 months). I am restricted to the weight machine at the gym, so the range of what I can accomplish isn't great. I do have some dumbbells at home, but we don't have room for a bench etc.
I'm just looking for general advice on achieving my goals: are any of these exercises not worth my while? Would another exercise be better vs. what I'm doing now? Am I missing any important exercises/muscle groups? Should I be eating more/less? Are my sets/reps okay?
Height: 72"
Weight: 190 lbs
Body fat: ~18% (electrical impedance)
Caloric intake: 2500*
Protein intake: ~0.8g/lb
*I'd list my macros but I don't follow any set ratio; typically it's like a 1:1:1 ratio with probably carbs being higher than the others on a regular basis.
I go to the gym every third day. I was going every other day for 4 months but I didn't have a lot of endurance; I find every third day I'm much better rested. However, I used to be getting 1g protein/lb and I feel like I recovered faster--I could very well be mistaken. I'm also just coming off about three weeks of calorie reduction (I had a deficit of about 500 cals).
All sets are to exhaustion and are typically done in pairs (e.g., bench press-leg raise-bench press-leg raise). This takes me about an hour.
Bench press: 3x6-10 @ 150lbs (inverse pyramid) + 5 @ 120lbs immediately following each set with no rest.
Lat pull: 3x10 @ 120lbs
Chest-assisted row: 2x10 @ 150lbs.
Pec fly: 3x8-10 @ 120lbs
Calf raises 3x15 @ 110lbs
Leg raises 3x10 @ 110lbs
Weighted crunches 3x10-15 @ 50lbs + 20 incline sit ups following each set with no rest.
Bicep curls (at home) 3x10 @ 30lbs
I'm not sure what my one-rep max is on most of these exercises; I judge what I should be lifting by exhaustion. If 10 reps gets too easy, I bump the weight by 10 lbs until it gets easy again. I recently tested my bench press and got 190 (my body weight)--it almost killed me
Thanks for any and all advice! I know this is a friggen' book to read--sorry!
With that said, I have zero experience working out and began the following workout (in its basic form) about 5 months ago; my girlfriend goes to our apartment complex's little gym all the time and I just started going along with her. Originally I was happy to get 1-2 sets in of about half of these exercises. Recently I've been able to get in three full sets. I have seen major changes in body composition and my strength has increased quite a bit (probably 50-75% across the board). I only recently added in the crunches, sit ups, calf and leg raises. So far, I'm really happy with what I've accomplished given that I basically started from nothing (I couldn't even do a pull up!).
I'm primarily aiming for strength and, secondarily, I'm looking for a little more mass (however, I've gained quite a bit in the last 5 months). I am restricted to the weight machine at the gym, so the range of what I can accomplish isn't great. I do have some dumbbells at home, but we don't have room for a bench etc.
I'm just looking for general advice on achieving my goals: are any of these exercises not worth my while? Would another exercise be better vs. what I'm doing now? Am I missing any important exercises/muscle groups? Should I be eating more/less? Are my sets/reps okay?
Height: 72"
Weight: 190 lbs
Body fat: ~18% (electrical impedance)
Caloric intake: 2500*
Protein intake: ~0.8g/lb
*I'd list my macros but I don't follow any set ratio; typically it's like a 1:1:1 ratio with probably carbs being higher than the others on a regular basis.
I go to the gym every third day. I was going every other day for 4 months but I didn't have a lot of endurance; I find every third day I'm much better rested. However, I used to be getting 1g protein/lb and I feel like I recovered faster--I could very well be mistaken. I'm also just coming off about three weeks of calorie reduction (I had a deficit of about 500 cals).
All sets are to exhaustion and are typically done in pairs (e.g., bench press-leg raise-bench press-leg raise). This takes me about an hour.
Bench press: 3x6-10 @ 150lbs (inverse pyramid) + 5 @ 120lbs immediately following each set with no rest.
Lat pull: 3x10 @ 120lbs
Chest-assisted row: 2x10 @ 150lbs.
Pec fly: 3x8-10 @ 120lbs
Calf raises 3x15 @ 110lbs
Leg raises 3x10 @ 110lbs
Weighted crunches 3x10-15 @ 50lbs + 20 incline sit ups following each set with no rest.
Bicep curls (at home) 3x10 @ 30lbs
I'm not sure what my one-rep max is on most of these exercises; I judge what I should be lifting by exhaustion. If 10 reps gets too easy, I bump the weight by 10 lbs until it gets easy again. I recently tested my bench press and got 190 (my body weight)--it almost killed me
Thanks for any and all advice! I know this is a friggen' book to read--sorry!