29 and new to lifting/the forum

[mccauleyseanm]

Hey everybody. As the title says, I’m a 29 year old guy, new to lifting/the forum, and looking for a bit of advice.

I’m 6 feet tall, 200 lbs...about as average of a body type as one can have. My experience with lifting has been minimal...I’ve gone to gyms on and off for the past decade, but the most success I’ve had was last year when I tried StrongLifts 5x5. I didn’t have the proper equipment so I ended up stopping after building up some weight and hurting my shoulders trying to throw a bar over my head to do squats. (No squat rack)

I’m now in a new apartment with a gym onsite, so I want to start getting into a routine. There’s no barbells or a squat rack so stronglifts 5x5 is out, but I’m looking for a similar workout plan that will strengthen my whole body.

I’m working with dumbbells, a smith machine, a cable machine, and some benches.

Can anyone point me in the direction of a good beginners strength training program that I can do 3x per week, without telling me I need to join a gym with a squat rack and barbells?

Thanks!

[Bouncer]

i mean you have limited options so just do what's available to you if your not willing to join a proper gym.

i assume you already know the basics if you've been going to gyms on and off for a decade.

if i was forced to be in your situation i would do a full body workout with everything that's available to you in the limited apartment gym.

[mccauleyseanm]

Thanks for the response...I should clarify.

When I say on and off, I mean for the past decade or so I’d join a gym, not know what the hell I was doing but give it the old college try and end up randomly using a bunch of machines for a few weeks/months before ultimately giving up after feeling that I was wasting my time doing ineffective workouts or focusing on the wrong things.

I really don’t know much about the basics. What I liked about stronglifts was the utter simplicity/focus on form, because I felt like I was learning the basics and seeing measurable results.

Are there a few main exercises I could be doing with dumbbells/smith/cables that would have a similar full body effect? It’s not that I’m unwilling to join a gym, it’s that having a 24 hour gym in my building is creating a “no excuses” type of environment for me that I’d like to take advantage of.

[chuckz28]

Welcome! I have a couple questions. How many days a week do you plan on making it to the gym? Two, what are your goals? Trying to just gain strength, or add size, or lean up? Once we get a better picture we can help you choose a good routine.

[mccauleyseanm]

Welcome! I have a couple questions. How many days a week do you plan on making it to the gym? Two, what are your goals? Trying to just gain strength, or add size, or lean up? Once we get a better picture we can help you choose a good routine.

Thanks man!

Realistically, I’d like to start at 3 days a week, then once I am solid in to that routine, maybe ratchet that up to 5 days.

My goals really are all of the above, which makes it tough I know. I’ve got a big frame but I’ve never stuck to lifting, so right now I’m not fat, just kinda...soft hahaha. I guess my main priority is to build upper body strength/size without packing anymore fat on. I’d imagine I’ll lean up a bit by pursuing that goal for a while, and then I can adjust my approach as necessary?

[boricuarage79]

Depends how much weight they have in that gym.

You can do alot if not even more with dumbells and a Smith machine.

Diet has to be in check. Depending on your goals.

5x5 is a good routine, but there is going to be a point that the body will he adjusted to it and you need to switch up.

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[mccauleyseanm]

Depends how much weight they have in that gym.

You can do alot if not even more with dumbells and a Smith machine.

Diet has to be in check. Depending on your goals.

5x5 is a good routine, but there is going to be a point that the body will he adjusted to it and you need to switch up.

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It’s surprisingly well equipped for an apartment gym, and i’m quite a while away from the point that 5x5 will be not enough for me. Plus, when I do get to that point, it means I’m well rooted in a routine and I’ll be a lot more willing to join a gym then. Right now it’s about establishing habits without wasting my time.

With the 5x5, I was doing an A/B routine of

A: Squat, OH Press, Deadlift
B: Squat, Bench, Row

Say I want to stick to something like that, but use the equipment I’ve got. I’ve heard that smith squats are terrible because of the limited range of motion and the fact that the machine does the stabilizing, and obviously deadlifts are out...

Are there exercises I could do with dumbbells/smith similar to the above without sacrificing too much efficiency, or putting myself in bad form?


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[boricuarage79]

It’s surprisingly well equipped for an apartment gym, and i’m quite a while away from the point that 5x5 will be not enough for me. Plus, when I do get to that point, it means I’m well rooted in a routine and I’ll be a lot more willing to join a gym then. Right now it’s about establishing habits without wasting my time.

With the 5x5, I was doing an A/B routine of

A: Squat, OH Press, Deadlift
B: Squat, Bench, Row

Say I want to stick to something like that, but use the equipment I’ve got. I’ve heard that smith squats are terrible because of the limited range of motion and the fact that the machine does the stabilizing, and obviously deadlifts are out...

Are there exercises I could do with dumbbells/smith similar to the above without sacrificing too much efficiency, or putting myself in bad form?


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Whoever told you smith machine squats are pointless. Punch them dead in thier face..

Seems like you are more focus in strength training. So you might as well join a gym.

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[chuckz28]

3 days a week you need to split up muscle groups. I'd do chest, delts, triceps day 1, back, biceps, core day 2, and legs day 3.

Try to stick to as many coumpound lifts as you can in the 8-12 rep range. 3-4 WORKING sets per excercize and pick 2-3 excercizes for each group.

Ex. For day 1, chest: Incline dumbbell chest press, pec fly's, dips, shoulders: barbell shoulder press, rear dumbell delt raises, upright rows, and for triceps close grip bench, overhead dumbell extensions, tricep pushdowns.

Remember to warm up on each excercize with some lighter weight for a couple sets prior to your working sets. Take a min to recover between sets and get back at the next set. Take 1 second to move the weight and about 3 seconds to lower it without relaxing the muscle at the bottom until you finish the set. Full extension and good form. Try to FOCUS on the muscle that you're working. You want to use that muscle to do the work not supporting muscles and joints.

Hope this helps get you started. Use YouTube to see how to properly do each excercize.

[chuckz28]

I forgot to add. Keep track of your lifts like on strong lifts to keep that progressive overload going. Each week try to add reps until you've gotten to 12 on your last set then up the weight 5 lbs or so the next week and so on.

[mccauleyseanm]

I forgot to add. Keep track of your lifts like on strong lifts to keep that progressive overload going. Each week try to add reps until you've gotten to 12 on your last set then up the weight 5 lbs or so the next week and so on.

You’re the man. Thank you for all of this. Huge help.


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