Beginning split-body maintenance program for limited health, mobility and equipment

[isatonmynuts]

Okay, so right off the bat, this will be a tiny bit of a read...

I'm just trying to come up with a good split-body workout with dumbbells and body weight at home. I know it's a pretty far cry from a mass-gaining workout, but that's not really what I'm looking for, at least not at the moment. I'm in abysmal physical condition: I'm 400 lbs, 45% body fat, 38.6 BMI, and a herniated disc in my back. I've chosen weight training because I use to lift a lot when I was younger and I really enjoy it, and so I think it will help to be doing physical activity that I enjoy. I have also had some bad experience with crash dieting and losing a lot of muscle and strength because of it, and hope to avoid repeating that mistake.

Here's what I have planned for the short-term. I have done each of these workouts a time or two already, familiar with the exercises, know I can do them, etc. So while these exercise choices may seem strange, I've selected them because I know I can do them with my physical limitations, and keep doing them.

(All with dumbbells except where noted)

Workout A:
Lateral Shoulder Raise
Front Shoulder Raise
Shouder Press
Reverse Flyes
Inclined Bench Two-Arm Rows
One-Arm Rows
Concentration Curls
Reverse Curls
Farmer's Walk

Workout B:
Flyes
Inclined Bench Press
Bench Press
Close Grip Bench Press
Seated Tricep Press
Shoulder Shrug
Crunches (Bodyweight)
Squats (Bodyweight)
Bridges (Bodyweight)

I plan to do this A/B routine 3 times a week with a rest day on Sunday so that I will have 6 days a week of physical activity without over-training any particular muscle group.

I think I did a good job splitting them up so that no group of muscles is worked two days in a row, but I'm not sure about what kind of volume I should be doing, if perhaps I could order them better, and if some of the exercises I've selected are really different enough from each other to be worth doing individually with my goals considered.

I have read around and see 3 sets of 8-12 at 60-70% intensity recommended for hypertrophy, and 3 sets of 5 or less at 80-90% intensity for strength training, and so I wonder if I can do one week for hypertrophy, and the next week or strength? I wonder which I should be focusing on. I'm not really interested in getting heavier, so gaining muscle mass seems like it could be counter-intuitive, but I'm also trying not to lose muscle mass, so on the other hand maybe hypertrophy will mitigate the loss of muscle while I'm in caloric deficit. As far as strength training goes, I could definitely use it, because my 1RM on most of these exercises is absurdly low for my weight, and I think it will definitely help when transitioning to body-weight exercises.

I tried putting exercises that isolate a primary muscle group before compound exercises that include primary and accessory muscles, but I don't know if I should reverse that to where I'm doing the compound exercises first and the isolation exercises second? My thinking was that if I isolate certain muscles first, it will make the compound exercises harder to do at a lower weight, and so I won't need to move beyond dumbbells for the compound exercises for a long time. Plus if the primary muscle groups are already taxed, won't my body recruit the accessory muscles to do more of the work in the compound exercises?

Finally, a lot of it seems a little redundant and repetitive. For example, do one-arm rows and two-arm inclined rows really hit different parts of the back? I sure feel the two-arm inclined rows in my lats more the next day. I know that a lot of bodybuilders like to do wide range of exercises that target the same muscle group for sculpting purposes, but I don't know if that's beneficial for my own goals of simply maintaining muscle mass and strength? I figure at least it will give me more physical output during a workout, so it can't hurt right?

Anyway, I know there's lots of workout plans to follow out there, but I'm trying to tailor fit this to my own circumstances and goals. I have tried and really like these exercises, so I'd really love to focus on them and optimize them to fit my needs. I know a lot of this is all finding what works best for you, and I will likely just need to try it and see how it goes, and probably make a few tweaks, but just figured a little bit of input and guidance can't hurt either. Good, bad, or ugly, let me know what you all think.

[BeginnerGainz]

Honestly bro, you shouldn’t be worried about hypertrophy vs strength right now. If you have dumbbells, then I’d definitely recommend a 6-day ppl you can do at home. Yes, you should do compounds first, always. You’re not in a position where pre-exhaustion would be of benefit to you.

My program if I had dumbbells at home would be as follows:

Push 1
Flat Bench press
Overhead press
Floor flyes
Overhead extensions

Pull 1
1-arm rows
Pullovers
Rear delt rows
Incline curls

Legs 1
Goblet squats
Glute bridges
Leg curls (on incline bench)
Standing calf raises

Rest

Push 2
Pushups (start with knee pushups, then incline, then regular pushups)
Incline press
Lateral raises
Kickbacks

Pull 2
Chest supported rows
Pullovers (again)
Incline flyes (to take the pressure off the low back)
Hammer curls

Legs 2
BW squats
Hip thrust
BW leg extensions (google them)
More calf raises

But your diet and weight needs to be controlled for any real results to be apparent. There are great stickies in the nutrition forum to help with that. Have you seen a sports physio about your herniated disk?

Also, stay away from ISOTONIC Ab work if you have a problem with your disk since they all basically involve using your Psoas to yank on your legs. The Psoas basically attaches your spine to your legs. Train your body as a whole before trying to add Ab work.

However, some plank holds or other ISOMETRIC Ab work won’t hurt and can be done every other workout but being as overweight as you currently are, may do more harm then good.

[isatonmynuts]

There are great stickies in the nutrition forum to help with that. Have you seen a sports physio about your herniated disk?

Yeah, I was last year before the pandemic hit, haven't gotten hooked back up with them yet. He had me doing mostly squats, bridges, crunches, and rows. Also had this weird machine that like, had a weight-rack to do weighted crunches on, and then you could turn around and push back against it with your back. Also had me doing a lot of what I think all called "Palloff" presses with resistance bands, where I was holding the band out in front of me with both arms and rotating my trunk. Seemed like he was having me focus on core, back, glutes and quads. It was all pretty low-weight and high-rep.

Okay, thanks for the tips. I'll check out some of the other exercises you mentioned, haven't heard of some of them. So just making sure I'm reading right, I should switch the compounds to be before the isolated ones? I've never heard of isometric vs isotonic, thanks.

[BeginnerGainz]

Yeah, I was last year before the pandemic hit, haven't gotten hooked back up with them yet. He had me doing mostly squats, bridges, crunches, and rows. Also had this weird machine that like, had a weight-rack to do weighted crunches on, and then you could turn around and push back against it with your back. Also had me doing a lot of what I think all called "Palloff" presses with resistance bands, where I was holding the band out in front of me with both arms and rotating my trunk. Seemed like he was having me focus on core, back, glutes and quads. It was all pretty low-weight and high-rep.

Okay, thanks for the tips. I'll check out some of the other exercises you mentioned, haven't heard of some of them. So just making sure I'm reading right, I should switch the compounds to be before the isolated ones? I've never heard of isometric vs isotonic, thanks.

If you have legit back pain, I’d avoid any isotonic Ab work as mentioned. Isometric means the muscle is being worked without changing length, while isotonic has an eccentric and concentric portion.

The machine he had you using to push your back against is a seated back extension. Pallof presses are an example of isometric Ab work and are great. Bridges (and hip thrust) and BW squats are also great, I do both of them.

And finally, yes, compounds first. Always. Compounds should be done for 3-4 sets for 4-10 reps. This will be your heavier work. Compounds should be 1-3 sets and 6-12 reps. They should always be lighter and not take away from the main lifts.

Edit: also what A2F said below, cardio would be good to incorporate into your lifestyle as a whole.

[air2fakie]

I have a feeling you're over-analyzing your workout and under-analyzing your nutrition/diet.

It sounds like you're going to do your 6-day high volume lifting routine no matter what, so my only comment for both your workout and nutrition is to do something which you can sustain over an extended period of time and which will consistently progress you towards your goals.

And given your current stats, I suggest speaking with your doctor about both your workout and nutrition generally, and also asking if a program that includes cardio rather than just weightlifting alone may be beneficial for you.

[isatonmynuts]

Pallof presses are an example of isometric Ab work and are great. Bridges (and hip thrust) and BW squats are also great, I do both of them.

Is it possible to do pallof presses with dumbbells? Maybe by lying on the bench and rotating them up from ground level? The physical therapist had me doing then with resistance bands. I tried ordering a set but they were kind of crummy, so don't know if I want to try another set or do without.

I figured crunches were safe though? I had been trying full sit-ups, and while I could do those, they were definitely hurting my back. I just assumed since the physical therapist had me doing crunches, that they were safe. They don't cause me any more back pain than usual.

I have a feeling you're over-analyzing your workout and under-analyzing your nutrition/diet.

It sounds like you're going to do your 6-day high volume lifting routine no matter what, so my only comment for both your workout and nutrition is to do something which you can sustain over an extended period of time and which will consistently progress you towards your goals.

And given your current stats, I suggest speaking with your doctor about both your workout and nutrition generally, and also asking if a program that includes cardio rather than just weightlifting alone may be beneficial for you.

I am factoring diet and nutrition into it as well, just figured I'd keep the focus on the exercise for this topic. I'm hoping to go see a nutritionist to be sure I'm doing things right, but basically I'm just trying to keep a sustainable caloric deficit going (calculating TDEE, BMR, how much of a deficit to keep, etc). I've done some crash dieting before where I was eating like 1000 calories a day, and had bad results with that--my muscles atrophied badly, and of course I just gained all the weight back. So I'm trying to avoid that again. Ultimately I'm just trying to change how much I eat more than what I eat, because I know if I try to make changes that are too drastic too soon I'm not going to stick with it. The biggest change I've made as far as what I'm eating is to try to keep it high protein, but I'm not trying to cut carbs out or do something "exotic" like keto. I'm food insecure as well so I have to be flexible to basically eat what I can get. Unfortunately I don't get a lot of vegetables in my diet and don't really see myself being able to change that over night, but I'm working on it a little bit at a time.

I haven't really thought much about cardio yet because just doing these simple exercises gets my breathing and heart rate up pretty high, so it seemed like they were enough cardio on their own. I was also thinking I could just do some simple walking or bike riding beforehand too.

[BeginnerGainz]

Is it possible to do pallof presses with dumbbells? Maybe by lying on the bench and rotating them up from ground level? The physical therapist had me doing then with resistance bands. I tried ordering a set but they were kind of crummy, so don't know if I want to try another set or do without.

I figured crunches were safe though? I had been trying full sit-ups, and while I could do those, they were definitely hurting my back. I just assumed since the physical therapist had me doing crunches, that they were safe. They don't cause me any more back pain than usual.



I am factoring diet and nutrition into it as well, just figured I'd keep the focus on the exercise for this topic. I'm hoping to go see a nutritionist to be sure I'm doing things right, but basically I'm just trying to keep a sustainable caloric deficit going (calculating TDEE, BMR, how much of a deficit to keep, etc). I've done some crash dieting before where I was eating like 1000 calories a day, and had bad results with that--my muscles atrophied badly, and of course I just gained all the weight back. So I'm trying to avoid that again. Ultimately I'm just trying to change how much I eat more than what I eat, because I know if I try to make changes that are too drastic too soon I'm not going to stick with it. The biggest change I've made as far as what I'm eating is to try to keep it high protein, but I'm not trying to cut carbs out or do something "exotic" like keto. I'm food insecure as well so I have to be flexible to basically eat what I can get. Unfortunately I don't get a lot of vegetables in my diet and don't really see myself being able to change that over night, but I'm working on it a little bit at a time.

I haven't really thought much about cardio yet because just doing these simple exercises gets my breathing and heart rate up pretty high, so it seemed like they were enough cardio on their own. I was also thinking I could just do some simple walking or bike riding beforehand too.

Pallof presses can be done with dumbbells, just make sure they are light enough to keep the core rigid. A Ab exercise you could do is a curl up which doesn’t involve hip flexion.

If you want a good brand for resistance bands, bodylastics are the best IMO.

[isatonmynuts]

Pallof presses can be done with dumbbells, just make sure they are light enough to keep the core rigid. A Ab exercise you could do is a curl up which doesn’t involve hip flexion.

If you want a good brand for resistance bands, bodylastics are the best IMO.

Oh okay, those look a lot like crunches but I'm guessing the key difference is with the way the hip is positioned?

I'm not sure if Pallof presses are what they had me doing. They look similar, but instead of pushing arms in and out, he would have me hold my arms out and turn my body to pull against the bands with my arms straight. Any idea what those may have been called?

[BeginnerGainz]

Oh okay, those look a lot like crunches but I'm guessing the key difference is with the way the hip is positioned?

I'm not sure if Pallof presses are what they had me doing. They look similar, but instead of pushing arms in and out, he would have me hold my arms out and turn my body to pull against the bands with my arms straight. Any idea what those may have been called?

Sounds like a simply torso twist. Which is good...for a warm up movement.

Curl ups, the way I was shown involve lying flat and ONLY flexing the spine, it takes the hips out of the equation completely. Spinal flexion being a job for the abs and all. But I’d avoid anything that involves spinal flexion until your disk is properly taken care of.

[isatonmynuts]

Sounds like a simply torso twist. Which is good...for a warm up movement.

Curl ups, the way I was shown involve lying flat and ONLY flexing the spine, it takes the hips out of the equation completely. Spinal flexion being a job for the abs and all. But I’d avoid anything that involves spinal flexion until your disk is properly taken care of.

Okay, it sounds like I've been doing curl-ups and thinking they were crunches then, because I basically don't have any hip movement involved with them, really just my upper chest that comes forward. You were saying that and planks would probably be okay, or am I misinterpreting?

How much would the rest of these exercises target my abs on their own? I just didn't know if it would be a good idea to neglect abs or not since I have heard having a good core will help take stress off the disc. When I look around at some of these exercises though, quite a few seem to list abs as a secondary muscle group targeted though.

[BeginnerGainz]

Okay, it sounds like I've been doing curl-ups and thinking they were crunches then, because I basically don't have any hip movement involved with them, really just my upper chest that comes forward. You were saying that and planks would probably be okay, or am I misinterpreting?

How much would the rest of these exercises target my abs on their own? I just didn't know if it would be a good idea to neglect abs or not since I have heard having a good core will help take stress off the disc. When I look around at some of these exercises though, quite a few seem to list abs as a secondary muscle group targeted though.

I think curl ups and planks would be enough. Squats, any unsupported row, bridges done properly will be what really work your core through maintaining a rigid trunk. Really most of the exercises I listed involve maintaining proper core positioning.

The core, being more than the 6pack muscle and obliques, involves the spinal erectors and glutes as well. This is also a good time to tell you a hard truth, and that is you can’t spot reduce body fat.

[isatonmynuts]

This is also a good time to tell you a hard truth, and that is you can’t spot reduce body fat.

Not sure what you mean by this.

[BeginnerGainz]

Not sure what you mean by this.

It means don’t put much emphasis on abdominal work. It won’t help burn fat.

Trust me, I’m 6’ 300 lbs, I’ve tried. Some fat is more stubborn than others.

[paulinkansas]

Not sure what you mean by this.

You can't reduce fat in a specific area of your body. Think of a swimming pool filled with water. You want to lower the water level in one particular area but maintain the level in the rest of the pool. Unless a person has telepathic abilities, this can not be done. I'm trying to develop my 3M talent. Mechanic, Magician, Mindreader.

[isatonmynuts]

It means don’t put much emphasis on abdominal work. It won’t help burn fat.

Trust me, I’m 6’ 300 lbs, I’ve tried. Some fat is more stubborn than others.

Oh okay, got it now. Yeah like I said I was mostly thinking about the ab work because it seemed like I wasn't doing anything that would hit it, and I've heard they're important. Not really concerned with losing the fat for appearance sake. I've already come to terms with the fact I'll have loose skin everywhere, so there's not really much sense in trying to focus on other aesthetic niceties lol Just want to get healthier, take a load off my back, etc.

You can't reduce fat in a specific area of your body. Think of a swimming pool filled with water. You want to lower the water level in one particular area but maintain the level in the rest of the pool. Unless a person has telepathic abilities, this can not be done. I'm trying to develop my 3M talent. Mechanic, Magician, Mindreader.

The weird thing is I would have expected it to reduce evenly all over, but my body is doing some strange things during this weight loss. For example, my left manboob has shrunk down while the right has stayed the same size. It looks pretty funky.

[xuerebx]

You can't reduce fat in a specific area of your body. Think of a swimming pool filled with water. You want to lower the water level in one particular area but maintain the level in the rest of the pool. Unless a person has telepathic abilities, this can not be done. I'm trying to develop my 3M talent. Mechanic, Magician, Mindreader.

This is a pretty good analogy, never heard it described this way!

[Nicksosure1]

There’s a reason for your yo-yo and crash dieting history. Way too much, way too soon. Bailing on it. Eating back what little progress you made afterwards. And I can tell by your posts your very motivated currently. That may be fleeting after a few weeks. That’s why it’s always important to start small and build from there. So sustainable and much more enjoyable.

Really, and you probably won’t listen to this currently (which I understand, you want to get going and get after it), but this is what your first couples weeks should be:

Week 1: Walk steadily for 30 mins each day while staying under x amount of calories

Week 2: Increase walking time to 45 mins each day while staying under x amount of calories

Then you assess your progress and work from there. You don’t realize how much and how fast you would lose weight right now by just focusing on nutrition with NO EXERCISE at all.