Oh sorry – female, 5’4” , 140lbs, and I’m definitely the beginner
Gotcha... so you don't have *too much* weight to lose. Strength training is definitely your best bet right now. Too many women your size think running until they're blue in the face is the best choice and it simply isn't. Not if you're going for that lean look.
I've used there the exercises which I know, so I’ll have to check out your suggestions on You Tube. Can I do Romanians
Yup, you certainly can.
It's not a difficult exercise. However, you have to make sure form is proper. Rounding your lower back is a no-no.
I'd start with no weight for a week or two just so you can get comfortable with the movement and muscles involved.
You want to start with a tight upper back and a high chest. You can mentally cue yourself for these things to happen by thinking, "pull my shoulder blades together" for the tight upper back and "stick my chest out" for the high chest.
When you stick your chest out and high, it should naturally tighten your lumbar (lower) back. That slightly arched lower back MUST be maintained throughout the entire movement.
That's how you set yourself up to start.
From there, it's simply a matter of maintaining that position while you lower your torso.
But here's another important thing to remember. It's not as simple as just bending over at the waist. The movement is really at the hips. You want to move as if you were trying to stick your booty against an imaginary wall that's a foot behind you. This means you'll have to flex at the hips. When you do this, your torso will naturally descend towards the ground.
You want to lower yourself until you can no longer maintain the tightness from above.
It's a wordy description, so let me know if you have any questions.
I want to workout at home and I’ve got (for now) only DB’s (~2x20lbs) available.
That's fine. Resistance is resistance, you can apply it anywhere. It doesn't always have to come by way of a gym.
That said though, progress is very important if a workout is going to be effective. You can progress for a while with your stationary DBs. They're stationary in that you can't increase or reduce the weight.
You can progress by moving from bilateral to unilateral work; think one leg Romanians to single leg Romanians, for example.
But eventually, the fact remains that you'll have to increase the load lifted as your body adapts to the stress and you tap out all the progress you can do without adding weight. For your next purchase, I recommend buying something more adjustable/customizable. You can even find adjustable DBs.
Could You also explain to me why order is so important? If it’s too complicated for the beginner to understand, then never mind
Nothing is written in stone. But in general, especially for a beginner, I like to order exercises from hardest to easiest. This way the trainee is fresh for the most difficult tasks. I also like to pair exercises in antagonistic fashion... meaning I like to pair opposing muscle groups.
Legs are generally the hardest movements, then your basic pushing and pulling upper body movements, then isolation movements for your core and arms.
So I'll position leg exercises first and the first one will be quad dominant, like squats or lunges, and the second one will be posterior chain dominant, like romanians or glute bridges.
Then I'll throw in some upper body work. I'll pair a pushing with a pulling. So the first one might be pushups and the second one might be DB rows.
You get the idea I hope.
It's certainly not the *only* way to program... just one. One that I like in the context of this situation. It orders based on difficulty and helps balance out the body so imbalances don't form.
Yes.
I'd slow down the descent a bit though.
