All I have is a bench press, is it enough??

[Gamergeek]

Hello everyone. I'm some what of a newbie, I'm not completely ignorant on working out but I do have a few questions. I'm 22 years old, 5'10" and 145lbs (VERY SKINNY) i have been busting ass at the kitchen table and managed to put on 10lbs (mostly fat). I went out and bought some whey protein last night which I'm not even sure if that will do me any good. And about 3 weeks ago I purchased a bench press. So as of now my exercises are limited and i REALLY dont have time for a gym... trust me on that.. lol.. but anyway, I'm extreamly weak ,as you can imagine I mean I do good to get 15 bicep curls @ 40lbs. Haha. So basically my questions are, can I get decent results with just a bench press? Should i focus on weight or reps do to my small frame? And what kind of schedule do you suggest to a smaller framed beginner?

[gary9191]

yeah I think you can get good results, with the equipment you have, but that kind of depends on what kind of results you are expecting.
but you can do basically every muscle group with what you have.
you can do chest with bench, shoulders with military press, biceps with curls tri's with french press, back with deadlift/rowing, and legs with squats, forearms with wrist curls..... Also, If you have Dumbbells, that will help you incorporate many more movements.
(you dont need to stick to those, you should mix them up abit from time to time)
but you would want to add sit ups to that, and it's best to train all groups equally, dont neglect one of them and over do another.
remember you should warm up etc before each workout (you prob know that but you did say you're completely ignorant)
and if your serious about building big muscle, and high strength etc, you should probably adopt a simple stretching routine.
As for weight or reps, again that depends on what you want to acheive.But whichever one you choose, make sure you always practice good form, to avoid injury and improve results.
And there are loads of threads on nutrition on this site, which should help you with your eating and such.
Good luck man, read up and be careful.

[Detrus]

You should have found this forum before you purchased a bench press. Would have purchased a power rack, with which you can do safe squats with and safe benching alone.

You'll probably be best off with starting strength as a program at first. Then switch to something with more volume. But can you even do squats with your bench press? Is it one of those or only a bench press?

[KBKB]

You need more than just a bench press.

The good news is that you can put the bar on the floor and do deadlifts too.

You need to figure out some way to start doing squats.

[ProtienandIron]

I personally feel you could benefit from a basic bodyweight routine for a little while while you sell your bench and save for a power rack, FID bench, and oly weights.

Pullups
Chin ups

Dips
Pushups

Squats
Lunges

Crunches
Dorsal raises

...could build a great foundation for barbell training.

Before you buy any more equipment though I would suggest you buy some books and get reading. Starting Strength, and Beyond Brawn are very information dense books that cut through the bull$*** and give you the tools to train safely IMHO.

[Derekdiruz]

with just a bench, you can hit every major muscle group. Bench press obviously, barbell row, shrugs, curls, skullcrushers, deadlifts... you can do jefferson squats too, which would hit your legs without having a squat rack, as you hold the bar between your legs. Just use your imagination. dips on the bench, holding plates and doing step ups onto the bench, or just weighted lunges. Then a tree branch outside could provide a spot for pullups and such.

Just start now! Proper nutrition and training and you should be able to put on mass quickly, as you are a beginner. I know I did. Lol.

Good luck!