Exercise Routine for men and diet routine

[joezergonzalez]

Hi.
I been exercising for a month now 3 times a week and im not sure if im doing it right.

I'm 23 years old. I weight 120 pounds and i am 5'9 tall. I have alot of freetimes i can exercise 5 times
a week if it helps. I wish to get decent size muscle(not to big) and 6 packs abs and work my legs too.

this is exercise equipment i have:
Push-Up Bars
Deluxe Speed Rope
Dual Wheel Stability Ab Roller
Ankle Weights 1-5 pounds each total 10 pounds
Dumbbells 10 pounds
Hand Grip
Doorway Sit Up Bar
Exercise Mat

I also want to know how many should i do? I have no idea what are rep and sets? Also how long i should exercise? I workout at home. I have never exercise before so please try to be as simple as you can.

I also need help with a diet routine. I wish to get decent size muscle so i know i need to eat alot of chicken breast, more fruits(i like apple and banana) what else? And what not to eat?

[scaredbear]

You sound at about the same stage as me. For your nutrition question, I'd make a separate post in the nutrition forum, where you'll get more answers from people who have an interest and knowledge in that. However be aware that they tend to take it very seriously and will require you to perform all kinds of calculations of your calorie intake, requirements etc. In terms of what foodstuffs to eat (rather than how much of it per day) opinions on this vary from "one food type is as good as another" to "wholegrain foods, lean chicken, brocolli" etc. There is a lot of disagreement in this area, but generally its most important that you meet your bodies needs in terms of protein, fat, carbohydrates. ie having a nice, broad, mixed diet of wholesome foods.

With regard to your workout program, you have a lot of different equipment for someone just starting (ie have just started and have only dumbbells, for example. I think more important than the equipment that you have though is to put together a sane routine for the week that exercises different parts of your body. I believe it is best to do either all-compound work, and leave 24-48 hours between sessions for muscle repair, or you can go up to as many as 6-7 days a week (at the extreme) so long as each muscle group is worked on a given day and not worked out again for a couple more days after.

However I'm not an expert on either nutrition or workouts and "roll my own" workout plan and nutrition plan both. You would be best off reading the stickies I think in both this forum and the nutrition forum, which should give you a lot of the information you need to pick a basic workout and nutrition understanding that help you achieve your goals.

[SuffolkPunch]

You don't have adequate equipment.

you will need to join a gym or buy an olympic barbell and plates for a start - and then ideally a power cage and flat bench.

[scaredbear]

You don't have adequate equipment.

you will need to join a gym or buy an olympic barbell and plates for a start - and then ideally a power cage and flat bench.

Is all that really needed given he said he doesn't want to bulk too big and seems to be starting from relatively modest base like myself? That seems a lot of money and equipment for starting out and something you've only committed too for a month. Pretty sure he can see gains for months using some cheap dumbbells can't he and tightening up/losing fat/doing core exercises?

[SuffolkPunch]

Not getting "too big" is something that might still take several years depending on what he means. In reality nobody who is not taking illegal drugs will get "too big" anyway (by my standards at least), even with a liftetime of hard work.

And it doesn't matter how modest your goal is, building muscle is difficult and slow and you should use the best methods available. Cheap fixed dumbells will quickly become useless long before any worthwhile goal is reached - and will probably never be any use for some muscle groups such as lower body and posterior chain.

I suspect you will re-evaluate your goals at some point - when adding a few kilos results in virtually no discernible visual change.

[scaredbear]

Not getting "too big" is something that might still take several years depending on what he means. In reality nobody who is not taking illegal drugs will get "too big" anyway (by my standards at least), even with a liftetime of hard work.

And it doesn't matter how modest your goal is, building muscle is difficult and slow and you should use the best methods available. Cheap fixed dumbells will quickly become useless long before any worthwhile goal is reached - and will probably never be any use for some muscle groups such as lower body and posterior chain.

I suspect you will re-evaluate your goals at some point - when adding a few kilos results in virtually no discernible visual change.

Fair enough, I'm very new to this myself. I can definitely understand what you say about the right equipment being needed to put on muscle and how long it takes. After a month or so in myself as a beginner, I'm also finding it frustratingly slow to add mass/weight so far but in terms of toning and muscle definition, the dumbbells are working for me great thus far and I suspect can carry me for a month or two yet until I stop seeing improvement/gain.

I just meant that the OP should let cheap equipment like dumbbells take him as far as it can first. As with any sport people tend to ramraid their nearest sports store and prioritise looking like a pro and blowing $$$ on equipment before sorting fundamentals like getting fit, sticking with the sport long enough to know you're not just throwing money away on equipment thats going to sit in the cupboard when you get bored etc. Unless weight lifting is different to most other sports, application and drive and sticking with it are normally more important than having all the "right" equipment from day one.

I've not got the experience to argue the toss with you though, and will bow to your greater knowledge :-)

[SuffolkPunch]

If you can easily perform 15+ reps in an exercise with your DBs, they are too light and your training is suboptimal. This is not so much of an issue when you are a total beginner and everything appears that it works well; but you are still making less progress than you could be.

[scaredbear]

If you can easily perform 15+ reps in an exercise with your DBs, they are too light and your training is suboptimal. This is not so much of an issue when you are a total beginner and everything appears that it works well; but you are still making less progress than you could be.

Yeah I've hear estimates of about 8-15 reps being optimal. I'm at 15 on most of my own reps so far, with a few at 12 and a few where I can manage 20. So its probably time to up my weights again (already done once). Then again, higher reps at lower weight also seem to be recommended by some as a good alternative workout, albeit not for the last word in strength/bulking.