NEWBIE: Please critique my routine

[Davids1567]

I just registered for the board tonight, and i'm looking forward to learning a lot from you guys. Here's a little info about me... I'm 24, 144lbs, 5'9", 31 inch waist. I've always been extremely INactive, a real couch potato. I have a great metabolism so that's always been my "free pass" to not have to worry about my body. I think it has a lot of potential though, especially my upper body - in high school I was the only one in my class that could climb the 40 foot rope to the top "military style" using just my arms.

Last month I made a serious decision to change my lifestyle and build some muscle. I have a really nice modular dumbbell set that goes up to 26lbs per bar - I can get weights too if I need to. I've always liked dumbbells for their simplicity and I have heard that you can get a full body workout from them. Surfing around the web, I found what I think was a great beginner's dumbbell routine at MensHealthNow.com (http://www.menshealth.com/fitness2/dbellwkout.shtml) It has 6 exercises for novices with instructional videos. They all looked productive and do-able, so I started an every other day routine.

I've been tracking my progress with an Excel spreadsheet, and striving to gradually keep beating my previous goals over the past 3 weeks since I started - which I have been doing. I've also been stretching before and after, and have never been sore the next morning. As of tonight, here's my routine (which ties my record). Using a 26lb dumbbell in each hand:

Dumbbell Push-ups: 2 sets of 20
Bent Over Row: 2 sets of 20
Alternating Shoulder Press: 3 sets of 10
Alternating Bicep Curl: 3 sets of 10
Abs Cross Crunch: 4 sets of 10
Squat: 2 sets of 10

Does 50 minutes seem long to do the above? I usually take a break for a couple of minutes between exercises - is that bad? I do feel myself getting stronger, which is encouraging. For example I'm always surprised how easy the last set of curls or push-ups is for me. I'm also trying to up my protein intake with tuna, beef and chicken.

So... Comments? Suggestions? Recommendations? Thanks!

-David

 

[CrimsonKing]

i guess that would be ok for a beginners routine.. I guess it depends on your long term goals.. If you want to build muscle and strength or just look good at the beach?

I like a old-school routine or Westside Barbell routine. Do a search and read alot

Example of a old-school routine -

Mon - Wed - Friday
Bench
Should Press
Squat
Deadlift
- All exersices done in a 8 - 12 rep range fro 4 sets

WSB (westside barbell Routine)
- much more complex but more rewarding - do a search -
- My WSB routine looks as follows -

Sunday - Speed Effort Upper Body W/O
Monday- Max Effort Lower Body W/O
Wednesday - Max Effort Upper Body W/O
Friday - Speed Effort Lower Body W/O

Hope that helps...

 

[Davids1567]

I guess it depends on your long term goals.. If you want to build muscle and strength or just look good at the beach

This question has always confused me. My goal is to just bulk up a little and look better without a shirt on... but doesn't that imply that I've built strength? Don't the two go hand in hand? Are there ways I can adjust my routine to build more visible muscle? Thanks again!
-Dave

PS: Would any type of suppliment help me?

 

[CrimsonKing]

This question has always confused me. My goal is to just bulk up a little and look better without a shirt on... but doesn't that imply that I've built strength? Don't the two go hand in hand? Are there ways I can adjust my routine to build more visible muscle? Thanks again!
-Dave

PS: Would any type of suppliment help me?

- Muslce size and strength do NOT correlate.

- You can big big muscles and not have big stength. (ie bodybuilders)


IMO - focus on core compound lifts to build the most muscle and maximize your resulsts

Compount movements - Bench, Squat, Deadlift, Clean+Press

Anything else is icing on the cake and not going to give you the best bang for your buck.

Squats for example will make you grow all over. Not just your legs. Squats increase you HGH release. I added 1 inch to my arms by squatting and doing NO ARM work at all.

Rememebr to build you whole body.. don't want to be a big chested guy walking around on a pair of stick legs.. it will look weird!

 

[supersizeme]

an olympic bar with some plates is going to help you a lot more than any supplement will. like crimson king said, your routine looks good for a beginner. it looks like a good way to get your muscles used to the idea of resistance training and to get your tendons strengthened. but if you want to "bulk up," you're going to need more than a pair of 26lb dumbells. that's just not enough weight to use for exercises like squats, pressing, rowing, etc. you really need access to more equipment. and you haven't mentioned what your diet looks like so there's problem some things that need adjusting there as well.

 

[CrimsonKing]

PS: Would any type of suppliment help me?

YA - MILK and BEEF

Serious - Don't buy into the suppliment nightmare.. its all snake oil.. eat to build or don't work out at all.. Food is the key.. you grow outside the gym not inside..

Gym = Create Stress + Breaks your Muslces Down

Food + Rest = Grow+Recover from Stress created at Gym

 

[Davids1567]

but if you want to "bulk up," you're going to need more than a pair of 26lb dumbells.

I really appreciate everyone input on this thread. Regarding the 26# weights - they take me pretty close to muscle failure with the amount of sets/reps I'm doing. Do you recommend simply upping the weight, and doing less reps?

 

[supersizeme]

I really appreciate everyone input on this thread. Regarding the 26# weights - they take me pretty close to muscle failure with the amount of sets/reps I'm doing. Do you recommend simply upping the weight, and doing less reps?

yeah that exactly what needs to happen. the optimal rep range for increasing muscle size is in the 8-10 rep range. you need to increase the weight, which in turn will decrease your reps.

like for example your shoulder presses for 3 sets of 10. if you're able to get 10 reps off that third set, then for your first set you were probably capable of at least 15 reps. you want to be struggling to get in the area of 6 reps on your third set. i use 10 as a magic number for my first set. if i can hit ten reps off that first set, i know that next week i'm going to up the weight and work towards getting 10 reps out of that.

again with your bent over row sets for 20. that's building up endurance more than it is anything. you need to be going heavier and get down into the 10 rep range.

 

[Davids1567]

I just picked up (4) 5lb weights at sports authority. Tomorrow I'll see how much weight I can do 8-10 reps with. I'll probably put the 5's on, and remove the 1.5's I have on. Which will bring me from 26lbs to 33lbs.