A Weighty Issue

Long-time friend and blogfather Ricky of Toys in the Attic was kind enough to send me a very detailed account of his weight training regimen in response to my query a while back.

Since he put so much time into it, I'll reprint it in its entirety:

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Wrote this thing 7 different times & never was happy with it, but I figured I'd put enough effort in so here 'tis:
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A reminder of Jim's question: Can you recommend a weight lifting routine for at home. I have a set of weights for up to 40lb on a small dumbell. I've never lifted before, and would like to get into it, but a gym membership is not in the cards with the financial situation the way it currently is.

First, I'll say that gyms are going through the same financial situation that "we" are. Memberships are falling and fast; An example, my SIL was a long-time manager of a gym and personal trainer (she gives me a lot of workout/fitness information, BTW) who was 'canned' 2 weeks ago due to dwindling membership just a year after getting a *huge* pay raise for almost doubling the membership. So, the gyms are pretty desperate, too. If they're still trying to get you to sign up for some thousand-dollar fee on top of a $45/month contract, then yeah, they can take a hike. But, they're needing members - and fast - so don't assume that they're unwilling to change. My gym has gone to a $15/month-to-month system & they're a chain (Bodyplex, bodyplexofcartersville.com to be exact....wow, that web site looks darn good, whoever designed it must be a genius!). Ahem, anyway, you have nothing to lose by checking & $15/month (or, even up to $25) is an absolute STEAL. Even if someone lost their job for 6 months, that'd be only $90; can't beat it.

But, I'll go forward under the assumption that there will be no gym.

Next, what Unpaid Bill typed in the comments is pretty much spot on, which was: "If you want to hike all day with a load, then you want low(er) weight, and lots of reps. If you want mass and strength, but are ok with needing a rest after a short time, then go with lots of weight and low reps. If you want to burn more fat, then add muscle, which means high(er) weight and less reps. Trying to burn fat strictly through cardio is not going to give you results in a reasonable amount of time. Definition is almost entirely dependent upon body fat, which is heavily dependent upon your diet. I don't care how much muscle you have, and how many "definition" exercises you do, you'll never look ripped until your body fat % drops under 10% or so. So I guess the important question is: "What do you want to accomplish?" then build a workout to accomplish that."

First, an overview & tips: If the max dumbbell is 40 lbs., what you're not going to accomplish is building mass. Nope, nada, not going to happen.
You can get in great shape and have phenomenal workouts, but to build mass you must lift heavy, throw down the calories and push down around 1 gram of protein for every pound of body weight. I know first-hand because for ~ 7 years I did the high-rep/moderate-weight routing & had ripped abs (wow, hard to remember that time since they're now covered with a gut) and low body fat. But, I couldn't gain muscle mass and it didn’t matter how hard I tried. So, unless that happens, and I'm assuming that it won't based on the info given, my second ASSumption is that building mass won't be in the cards (with the definition of "building mass" to be gaining > 10 pounds of body muscle). So, we're going to go forward with light-weight workouts.

For Jim, right off the bat & before doing the first exercise, I'd say go purchase a pull up bar (~$40) or some straps to use for pull-downs (bought some for $20 at Wal-Mart) in order to work the back. Your chest & your back are your biggest upper body muscles, not the arms, so they're the 'big' targets. Not doing this is akin to trying to run a car engine with a cloggy fuel filter & air filter. Everyone likes the double bicep pose, but your chest/back are the ‘real’ upper body muscles.

Next, keep in mind that if you're lifting the same weight & for the same number of reps that you were 6 months ago, you're not making progress. Keep a log of your training & always try to do more than the last workout. And even though the dumbbell weight is a bottleneck for you right now, you can change around your workouts by varying the angles & rest periods.

What are these tips/changes? Well, I’lll use Jay's bicep entry as the foundation:

Just like it sounds, sit in a chair with your knees out in front of you. Bring the weight bar from resting on your leg to your chest 10X one hand, then swap hands. Repeat 5X.

Respectfully, I'd suggest that there is no need for the weight to touch your leg, at all. [ed. I don't actually have it touch my leg, that's for reference only. In fact, for the last set of 10 reps, I intentionally take as long as possible to lower the bar down each time] In that situation, if I read it correctly, your lower bicep is not getting work that is necessary for a full bicep curl. Stand up, keep your back straight and curl those babies up. Then, get the 'negative', which is the downward motion of the rep. This is as important as the upward motion, because you're working the bicep just as much after contraction! S-L-O-W-L-Y lower the dumbbell back down, then explode it back up. Think 'fast up/contract the muscle & squeeze at the apex/slow down'. This goes for the chest (push-ups, since you don't have weights), triceps (dumbbell extentions), shoulders, etc. Don't push the weight up & then let gravity bring it back down: Remember, the goal isn't to lift the weight, it is to work the muscle. [quick tip: if you're working a body part & have on hand extra, put your fingers on the muscle you're working. Trust me, you'll focus more because you're not only looking but you're also feeling the 'peak' while you contract. Try it; sit down on the end of a chair with your legs fairly wide, grab a 15-25 lb. dumbbell with your right hand, place your right elbow about 4" up from the inside of your knee and start doing a round of concentration curls by bringing the weight up somewhat in the direction of the OTHER knee. Now, after about two reps, place the index finger of your left hand on the top of your bicep and literally feel the contraction as you do your reps...you can feel how much the muscle works as you're going lower & lower and more importantly, you’re focusing on working the muscle (the goal, after all). No matter what exercise you're doing, focus 100% on the muscle & form instead of how much you're lifting; heck, you decided that when you picked up the weight. I'm not going to be one of those dweebs who says "man, it's all mental" but I'd be liying if I said that it was all physical. Concentrate on the muscle, squeeze it to its max, work it hard and then feed it & give it rest. That's what your real goal is, not lifting X pounds]

Okay, with all that in mind, here is a chest staple routine that I've used on many occasions:

Monday: Chest/back

Standard Push-ups - just as it states. Get a comfortable grip & knock out as many as you can. Nope, not 3 sets of ten, that's for girls. Go until your face is about to smash the floor. Now, 30 seconds later..[ed. I do this as well as part of my nightly routine. In this exact manner...]
Wide Front Pull-ups/pull-downs - depends on if you got a pull-up bar or the bands mentioned above. Don't skimp and say "I'll use the dumbbell and do the one-arm bent over rows that they show on television". We're talking about the lats, all those huge muscles that won't be worked with a 40 lb. dumbbell. We'll do the dumbbell/back stuff a bit later, but now we need to work the lats. Pull-up or pull down, depending on our apparatus, with a wide grip (outside your shoulders) until you can do it no more. Then, 30 seconds later...
Do some Military Push-ups - with the palms located in front of your shoulders, then a bit lower so that your elbows go more toward your sides. You're still working the chest and not the triceps, so don't go strictly to the sides, but we're looking at a more narrow stance than the standard. Again, go to failure. Then, 30 seconds later…
Reverse Grip Chin-ups/Pull-downs. Same as before, you've just changed your grip so that your palms are facing you and your hands are positioned comfortably in front of you instead of having a wide grip. Max out, then take a 90 second break, then...
Wide Push-ups - We did the narrow version above, now place your palms rather wide & go til you can't. Then, 30 seconds later...
Closed Grip Overhand Pull-ups /pull-downs. Same as the first back exercise above, but your hands are now only a few inches apart. Hits another section of the back, just as the varying pushups hit different sections of the pecs. Then, 30 seconds later...
Decline Push-ups - put your feet up on a bed or chair, not too high though, and knock these out. You're tired, but even if you weren't you won't be able to do as many as normal pushups as you're hitting the upper pecs. Again, to failure, then 30 seconds later...
Bent over rows - back parallel to the floor, arms & dumbbell hanging straight down, palms pointed inward. Then, 'pull' your elbow backward until the weight is around where your belt would be, keeping your arm(s) close. Quicker if you have two dumbbells & if so, it would look a lot like you're pulling up your pants. Then, 30 seconds later...
Diamond Push-ups - A pushup with your fingers spaced apart as much as you can get them, then with the index fingers & thumbs touching so that the in-between space of your hands would be shaped somewhat like a diamond. Your chest will go toward your hands, so be sure not to lower your face down, but your chest (otherwise you'd be hitting triceps instead of chest). 30 seconds later...
Reverse Grip Bent-over Rows - Same as the previous back routine, except this time you're holding the weight as you would if you were doing bicep curls. So, palms out, bend over so your back is flat, then bring up the elbows. As many as you can.

Do that routine for two Mondays, then do two sets of the routine (do it twice). The above should only take 14-20 minutes, so knock out another set. The actual routine calls for two sets of each so you should be up to that level of intensity after two sessions.

There you go, a chest/back workout that won't use more than 40 lbs. If you're not pumped after THAT routine, I'll donate money to the DNC.

Here’s the kicker with the low weight workouts: you can only do them with appreciable efficiency for 2 months. After that, you’ll need a change, which means heavier weights. Your arms/shoulders will be fine, 40 lbs is a decent amount of weight for one bicep/tricep/deltoid to work. But, your chest/back/quads are going to need higher intensity because after two months you are going to reach a plateau. Chances are, if one is dedicated & doing weight lifting regularly, he'll want "more" because he'll be able to visually see the results on top of feeling them. Looking in the mirror and seeing muscle after years of seeing nothing but soft skin is a game changer, believe me.
I won't go further right now, my fingers are tired. But, if you (or anyone) is interested, I can type out the Wednesday (legs) & Friday (arms/shoulders) routines upon request.

Have a good one,

RW

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Seriously good information there. Thanks Ricky!!! This is why I put the questions out to everyone - because in this day and age, chances are pretty good that someone, somewhere out in the ether has the exact answer that you're looking for, and is more than happy to share their knowledge.

Now, get to work on those muscles!

That is all.