Help defining a program with home-gym (pics of material and myself)

[FallingBridge]

Hi everybody,
I need some help in defining a program, and also I would like to receive any kind of suggestions from experienced people.
I'm 33 years old, 1.78m and 63kg, always been kinda sporty, I started doing some body weight workout lastyear and in Jan I bought a bench to extend my possibilities.

I train, in average, 4 days a week (due to my job sometimes I can't, sometimes I can do more. Also, usually I don't have more than a hour, hour and a half).
I've been doing, for the first 2 months:
1st day:
- Bench press
- Dumbbell fly
- Abs
- Triceps

2nd day
- lifting myself on the bar (with biceps)
- Trx to train shoulders
- Abs
- Biceps with dumbbell (various versions)

Now I've added more exercises and I do a 3 day program:
1st day
- Barbell dead lift
- Bent Over Barbell Row
- Barbell curl
- Abs

2nd day
- squat (one leg only, no weight, standing on the bench)
- calf raise (one leg only, no weight, standing on the bench)
- TRX for shoulders (to explain, it's the antagonist movement to the dumbell fly movement)
- dumbell lateral raise
- dumbell frontal raise

3rd day
- Bench press (I try to vary the grip on different weeks before increasing weight)
- dumbell fly
- barbell shrug
- inclined dumbell press

These routine is just the product of my imagination, so I'm sure it's bad: please criticise and propose a better one, compatible with the material I have at home (see the pictures).

Also, in the pictures, there is one from Jan (when I bought the bench) and two from April (now). I struggle losing fat around love handles; since Jan I gained roughly 1.5Kgs.

Thanks everybody!
Ciao,
Michele

[FallingBridge]

Somme addendums:

I play volleyball, any specific exercise to increase jump height is welcome, and also shoulder strength against injuries.

Another general information, I tend to do 1 warming rep (on the most intense exercises) and 3 or 4 series of 8-10 repetitions for the big muscles, 12 for shoulders and more for legs (where my bodyweight is not enough to stop at 10). No stretching before, rarely some stretching afterwards, I read somewhere that stretching is not necessarily good... Is this correct?

Thanks a lot for your help,
Michele

[17mahmoods]

This would be a better routine to follow with your equipment. I would invest in a proper bench and rack if you are serious about lifting or join a gym.

The Dumbbell Full Body Program

Workout A
Split Squat 3x8 (each leg)
Bench 3x8 (If you don’t have a bench do floor press)
DB Rows 3x8 (One arm on bench, back parallel to floor)
Reverse Flies 3x10
Calf raises 2x15/French Press 2x10 Superset

Workout B
Walking Lunge 3x8 (each leg)
Overhead Press 3x8
Romanian Deadlift or Straight Leg Deadlift 3x8 (Use single leg version when you max out your weight)
Lat Pulldowns or Pull/Chin ups (Once you reach 3x8 begin adding weight)
Ab work 2x15/Curls 2x10 Superset (I don’t care what ab work you do)

For this routine you’ll increase weight as you’re able to, though it should be roughly 5lbs added to each DB every other week for upper body lifts and 5lbs added to each DB weekly for lower body lifts. Keep in mind that without adequate equipment this program can only take you so far. You’ll eventually have to join a gym or get proper home equipment (barbell, power rack, adjustable bench, Olympic weights) to continue seeing results.


For those of you having trouble with lat pulldowns or chin-ups, you HAVE to be creative. No program is complete without a downward pull much like these exercises. Here are a few ideas to get those creative juices flowing.

1. Get a doorway pullup bar. They are relatively cheap and work well. If you can’t do a full pullup then use a chair or band to assist the movement until you’re able to do them. If you can’t afford a pullup bar then find something else to do them on like a low tree limb.

2. Get some bands and follow the instruction seen in this video. Pro tip- buy more band poundage than you think you need.



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[FallingBridge]

This would be a better routine to follow with your equipment. I would invest in a proper bench and rack if you are serious about lifting or join a gym.

Thanks!
I will try this out. Is there a reason why there are no specific tricep exercises? Why no dumbell fly (not reversed)?

Also, is this compatible with 4 days/week (or even more, depending on my job)?

[FallingBridge]

Another question (sorry I'm trying out right now!):
how do I do overhead press? With dumbells, standing? Or with the bar? Can you link me the exercise?
Also I don't understand this:
"Ab work 2x15/Curls 2x10 Superset"

Does it mean one or the other?

Thanks a lot for your help, I'll follow your suggestions!

Michele

[17mahmoods]

Your triceps are getting enough work from movements such as bench press and overhead press. As a beginner you don't need to many exercises to stimulate a muscle, thus why one chest exercise is more than enough.
I honestly don't think it matters what kind of overhead press you do. Do whichever one you prefer to do.
For the abs and curls, its a super set. So you do one set of any ab exercise you look followed by a set of curls than rest and repeat for another set.
I would say stick to 3 days for now and run as ABA week 1 and BAB week 2.

[FallingBridge]

Thanks.
Yesterday I did day B, quite low weights to be honest (I prefer to start low with new exercises), today I'll go for day A.
I guess it's not a problem if I train more frequently, right? I have a window of 2 weeks without volleyball and not too much work
Ciao,
Michele

[17mahmoods]

Starting with lower weights is the right move. Follow the progression and focus on form while the weights are low. You are likely to hit a plateau faster with dumbbells.
The problem with training frequently is that you aren't able to recover. The decesion is up to you but personally I would not train with that routine more than 4 times a week.

[FallingBridge]

Hi,
thanks for the advices. I've been following the schedule, now I have multiple questions:
1) I'm not sure I'm doing the Romanian Deadlift correctly. First, I didn't feel any soreness in the biceps femoris. Second, I felt lower back muscles working more (latissimus dorsi maybe?). For the moment I decided not to increase weight and stay conservative (I'm lifting 41 Kg including barbell, 3x10 reps but I could go on more)
2) LatPullDown: I do it with the bar, lifting myself with a wide grip. I can do 5, 4, 4 reps, is it better to help myself letting legs on a chair and do more reps?
3) Reverse Fly: I do them with the bench inclined, as shown in the exercise database. Is it normal I cannot lift up to shoulder level? I stop some 10-15cm lower. I did with 4.6 kg including barbell 4x12
4) Press bench: is it normal I find more confortable putting my feet on the bench rather than on the ground? I feel an arched back if I do that...

Thanks!
Ciao,
Michele

[17mahmoods]

1. Soreness is not a sign of your muscle being worked. It's simply your body adapting to new movements. After running the same program for a while its normal to no longer feel sore after a workout but that does not mean your muscle weren't worked effectively. Just look up some tutorials on you tube if you are having trouble with form.
2. Not everyone is able to 8 pull-ups so I would try to do simply do 3 sets of as many pull-ups as you can do in each set. Overtime you can work up to 8 and once you do you can start adding weight.
3. It could either be a shoulder mobility problem or the weight is just too heavy. Not sure how you are doing reverse flies with a barbell though you should be using dumbbells.
4.During the bench press your back is meant to be arched and planting feet on the ground provides more stability. You should spend some time working on your bench form. https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...hp?t=157060063

[FallingBridge]

1. Soreness is not a sign of your muscle being worked. It's simply your body adapting to new movements. After running the same program for a while its normal to no longer feel sore after a workout but that does not mean your muscle weren't worked effectively. Just look up some tutorials on you tube if you are having trouble with form.
2. Not everyone is able to 8 pull-ups so I would try to do simply do 3 sets of as many pull-ups as you can do in each set. Overtime you can work up to 8 and once you do you can start adding weight.
3. It could either be a shoulder mobility problem or the weight is just too heavy. Not sure how you are doing reverse flies with a barbell though you should be using dumbbells.
4.During the bench press your back is meant to be arched and planting feet on the ground provides more stability. You should spend some time working on your bench form.

Thanks!
1. Yes I've looked on this site the exercise database video. Will try again in a couple of days!
2. Ok
3. Yes sorry it was a typo, I use of course dumbbells
4. I will try the arch tonight.

Ciao,
Michele

[FallingBridge]

Hi,
I've been doing this for 5 weeks now, I would say 4 times per week in average, sometimes more, sometimes less due to travel for work.
I progressed on all exercises in general, these are my impressions:

Workout A:
Split Squat 3x8 (each leg) - I progressed quite regularly, now I have 15Kg * 2 dumbbells
Bench 3x8 (If you don’t have a bench do floor press) - Here I didn't progress in a while, but I think I'm improving the way I do it (going more down to my chest). I lift 51Kg, medium grip. Since a week I started to do it with slightly inclined bench, for a change. Should I also vary the grip? How often?
DB Rows 3x8 (One arm on bench, back parallel to floor) - I've been progressing regularly on this, now I lift 21 Kgs.
Reverse Flies 3x10 - I do this with the TRX, I find the muscle loading much more regular than the fly.
Calf raises 2x15/French Press 2x10 Superset - I started the french press this week, before I was lifting my body from the ground. I do french press with a dumbbell, while standing.

Workout B
Walking Lunge 3x8 (each leg) - I feel this is very sensitive the way I do it, usually I end up doing around 15*2 steps, with around 14kgs*2 dumbbells
Overhead Press 3x8 - I progressed quite well with this, now at 15Ks per dumbbell
Romanian Deadlift or Straight Leg Deadlift 3x8 (Use single leg version when you max out your weight) - I do the romanian deaedlift, the version with back movement only (as explained on this site). I progressed a lot, now the limiting point is also my hands grip! Do you think the version with squat in the beginning is better? So lifting the weight initially with legs movement, then with back.
Lat Pulldowns or Pull/Chin ups (Once you reach 3x8 begin adding weight) - I do them with bar on the door, not much to say, wide grip and I progress slowly. Should I vary the grip?
Ab work 2x15/Curls 2x10 Superset (I don’t care what ab work you do) - Not much to say, I vary abs exercises quite a lot. On curls, I do them sitting on inclined bench, with dumbbells

Concerning the frequency, is it possible to add a third day with different exercises? Or you think it's better to keep this routine as it is? I do run from time to time but my knee don't like them too much, so I tend to prefer lifting to running

Any other suggestion?

Ciao,
Michele

[17mahmoods]

Bench: no need to vary the grip. Do whichever you are strongest with and feel most comfortable with.
RDL/SLD: You could use straps if grip is a limiting factor. Again do whichever one you prefer.
LP/Pull-ups: no need to vary the grip. Do whichever you are strongest with and feel most comfortable with.
Curls: if you are doing seated curls ensure you do both arms at one rather than alternating arms.

You can add cardio on rest days however you like. Just don't any other weighlifting exercises.

[FallingBridge]

Bench: no need to vary the grip. Do whichever you are strongest with and feel most comfortable with.
RDL/SLD: You could use straps if grip is a limiting factor. Again do whichever one you prefer.
LP/Pull-ups: no need to vary the grip. Do whichever you are strongest with and feel most comfortable with.
Curls: if you are doing seated curls ensure you do both arms at one rather than alternating arms.

You can add cardio on rest days however you like. Just don't any other weighlifting exercises.

Do you think the program is adapted to the frequency I have?