T Nation

Lifting At Home

Beginners
#1


First of all I would like to say I am amazed by and respect the dedication many of you have here at T-Nation. As a beginner I can see how some could get discouraged and not continue. Those of you with the ability to stick with it says something about your character. This of course can be said not only about lifting but about many other things in life that help to make you a better person.

I am a 35 year old beginner. I am not looking to be a body builder I am just wanting to improve my body. There is no conveniently located gym near my home so I will be lifting at home. I recently purchased a used piece of equipment which is sitting in my basement. I have been reading here at the Magnum forums and other site to help me get started.

I am limited on what I can do so would like opinions on how to get the best out of what I have. I am going to try and attach a similar picture of what I have to work with here at home.

It came with 100lbs of weight and a bench press bar. I am thinking about buying more weight so I don’t have to waste time moving it around for different exercises. Also, should I buy a bar for preacher curl and dumbbells? What would you suggest.

After doing some reading this is a program I came up with.

Monday
bench press: 2x8
skull crushers: 2x5
calf raises: 2x10
full squats: 2x8

Tuesday
dumbbell shoulder press: 2x6
Preacher curls: 3x6

Thursday
Bench Press: 2x8
Incline Press: 2x8
skull crushers 2x5
calf raises: 2x10

Friday
lateral bar pulldown: 2 sets x as many as possible
dumbbell shoulder presses: 2x8
dumbbell hammer curls: 2x8
lying leg curl: 2x8

#2

The machine I have only has the upper lat bar. It does not have the lower pulley shown in the supplied picture. Like I said this is not the exact equipment I have.

#3

That is good enough to get started. The biggest thing will be to train hard and stick with it.

Consistency is the key.

#4

more leg work.

#5

Get the deadlift in there.

You need the big 8:

Squat
Deadlift
Bench Press
pull ups
rows
military press
Dips
Power clean

Fit all these in your week and see how you feel.

#6

[quote]joburnet wrote:
Get the deadlift in there.

You need the big 8:

Squat
Deadlift
Bench Press
pull ups
rows
military press
Dips
Power clean

Fit all these in your week and see how you feel.[/quote]

Strongly agree

#7

[quote]rhino72 wrote:
Monday
bench press: 2x8

Friday
lateral bar pulldown: 2 sets x as many as possible
[/quote]

Why are lat pulldowns the only movement without a specific numbers of reps?

#8

Thanks for the helpful replies!

[quote]joburnet wrote:
Get the deadlift in there.

You need the big 8:

Squat
Deadlift
Bench Press
pull ups
rows
military press
Dips
Power clean

Fit all these in your week and see how you feel.[/quote]

joburnet, I have no pull up bar here at home. Someday maybe.

No way of doing rows or dips that I know of.

I assume I can use the bench press bar for deadlift, Power clean, and military press?

#9

[quote]malonetd wrote:
rhino72 wrote:
Monday
bench press: 2x8

Friday
lateral bar pulldown: 2 sets x as many as possible

Why are lat pulldowns the only movement without a specific numbers of reps?[/quote]

No reason, malonetd. My thinking was that lateral bar pulldown would have to replace pullups since I have no pullup bar. Don’t most people do as many pullups as possible? I am learning here, man.

Question: When doing lat pulldowns. Should they be done with both palms away grip and palms toward grip?

#10

[quote]rhino72 wrote:
malonetd wrote:
rhino72 wrote:
Monday
bench press: 2x8

Friday
lateral bar pulldown: 2 sets x as many as possible

Why are lat pulldowns the only movement without a specific numbers of reps?

No reason, malonetd. My thinking was that lateral bar pulldown would have to replace pullups since I have no pullup bar. Don’t most people do as many pullups as possible? I am learning here, man.

Question: When doing lat pulldowns. Should they be done with both palms away grip and palms toward grip?

[/quote]

I didn’t mean this to be a knock or condescending in any way. I just wanted to throw a question at you to get you to think about why you are doing things.

And, you can do lat pulldowns with palms in either direction.

#11

[quote]rhino72 wrote:
Thanks for the helpful replies!

joburnet wrote:
Get the deadlift in there.

You need the big 8:

Squat
Deadlift
Bench Press
pull ups
rows
military press
Dips
Power clean

Fit all these in your week and see how you feel.

joburnet, I have no pull up bar here at home. Someday maybe.

No way of doing rows or dips that I know of.

I assume I can use the bench press bar for deadlift, Power clean, and military press?
[/quote]

rows: pick up bar, bend over…move weight to chest, lower weight…repeat.

#12

It is hard to read people in a forum. I wasn’t firing back at you I truely am learning. I listen to any advice I can get. Thanks for your help and anymore you can give.

#13

[quote]zephead4747 wrote:
rows: pick up bar, bend over…move weight to chest, lower weight…repeat.[/quote]

I appreciate the description, zephead.

[quote]rhino72 wrote:
It came with 100lbs of weight and a bench press bar. I am thinking about buying more weight so I don’t have to waste time moving it around for different exercises. Also, should I buy a bar for preacher curl and dumbbells? What would you suggest.[/quote]

I would appreciate advice on the above.

#14

[quote]rhino72 wrote:
rhino72 wrote:
It came with 100lbs of weight and a bench press bar. I am thinking about buying more weight so I don’t have to waste time moving it around for different exercises. Also, should I buy a bar for preacher curl and dumbbells? What would you suggest.

I would appreciate advice on the above.[/quote]

My advice is, unless you have the money to burn – wait. You can do a lot, especially as a beginner, with just a bar and some weights. And you already have more than that. You will likely need more than 100 pounds, though.

#15

First, congrats on making a change in your life for the better.

Advice:
I agree with the above poster, to pick a plan and stick to it. Consistency is the key.

Believe it or not, just a barbell and weights can take you a long way. I’ll explain.

I think you need more leg work. You can either split your upper body and lower body into different days, or do total-body workouts. However, whichever you choose must adequately balance your body.

Another thing, you must include as much, if not more, pulling as pushing. For every bench press you need a horizontal pull; for every vertical press, a vertical pull, etc. This is for many reasons: shoulder health, posture, recovery, as well as having a balanced physique.

Bent over rows:
You approach a loaded bar on the floor. Keeping your back arched and tight, while keeping your head back and looking up, you bend over and grab the bar with the same grip you would use for a bench press. You row the bar to your chest, pulling “through the elbows” which means you minimize your wrist movement, bicep and forearm involvement. Your bent over row should be comparable to your bench; (e.g. If you bench 185 for reps, you should be able to row 185 for reps, or at least close to it, like 175).

Deadlifts: there are many articles on this site about deadlifting. I suggest you read up on those and include deadlifts into your routine.

Lastly, you need more leg work. Leg work promotes overall development. Your legs are huge muscles, and working them will generate a larger testosterone and growth hormone surge than working any other muscles.

Good luck.

#16

Very helpfull advice.

I will definately do more leg work.

Being a begginer I am going to start out on the light side and concetrate on getting a routine down before loading up too much. This lifts are new to me.

#17

[quote]rhino72 wrote:
Very helpfull advice.

I will definately do more leg work.

Being a begginer I am going to start out on the light side and concetrate on getting a routine down before loading up too much. This lifts are new to me.
[/quote]

Also concentrate on learning correct form right off the bat. Much easier than unlearning bad habits later or worse, hurting yourself. Some movements are more involved to learn than others, but none require post graduate study. My point is a lot of new guys assume if the weight is moving all is well. Not necessarily the case.

#18

I have been watching video examples and try my best to copy them.