Need some help
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Virgin
Joined: Jan 2008
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Need some help
Basically im looking to bulk up (upperbody) and lose some weight (mainly my stomach).
Problem i have is i don't have time to go to the gym due to my job. I have a set of dumbbells in my house so this is all i can use. Don't have room to buy a bench or anything.
What do you suggest is the best way i can bulk up? i.e exercises with dumbbells only
Not great with dietry stuff, so what type of food should i be eating and how often?
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Problem i have is i don't have time to go to the gym due to my job. I have a set of dumbbells in my house so this is all i can use. Don't have room to buy a bench or anything.
What do you suggest is the best way i can bulk up? i.e exercises with dumbbells only
Not great with dietry stuff, so what type of food should i be eating and how often?
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Ban[B][/B]ned
Joined: Jul 2005
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From: The Pool.
What size are the dumbbells and how big are you already? I could advise some excersises, but I can't really until you tell us what dumbbells you have. Because something like should press will require a lot more weight than a lateral raise. Same goes for flies and what not.
One set of dumbells isn't enough to create a nice upper body. However, if you have a set you could do the following. Search google and youtube for videos, easier than me explaining.
Shoulders.
Side lateral raise.
Front raisers.
Bent over raisers.
Shoulder dumbbell press.
Traps. (Shrugs).
Chest.
Dumbell press.
Flies.
Dumbell pullovers.
Sit ups. (Can do these weighted with bottles of water in a backpack)
Back. Dumbell pull ups.
Normal pulls up for lat, front and behind. (Again can wear a backpack with the dumbell in or something heavy if it's too easy)
(That's the only one I can think of for back).
Bicep.
Dumbell curls.
Hammer curls.
Bent over dumbell curl.
(All basically a variation of the same thing really, but not much else you can do).
Tricep.
Skull crushers with dumbell.
Overhead extensions with dumbell.
Seated dips.
That's all I can think of. You need to have the correct weight for these excersises though, as some will require way more weight than others. All the best with them and make sure you look up youtube for videos.
Benni.
One set of dumbells isn't enough to create a nice upper body. However, if you have a set you could do the following. Search google and youtube for videos, easier than me explaining.
Shoulders.
Side lateral raise.
Front raisers.
Bent over raisers.
Shoulder dumbbell press.
Traps. (Shrugs).
Chest.
Dumbell press.
Flies.
Dumbell pullovers.
Sit ups. (Can do these weighted with bottles of water in a backpack)
Back. Dumbell pull ups.
Normal pulls up for lat, front and behind. (Again can wear a backpack with the dumbell in or something heavy if it's too easy)
(That's the only one I can think of for back).
Bicep.
Dumbell curls.
Hammer curls.
Bent over dumbell curl.
(All basically a variation of the same thing really, but not much else you can do).
Tricep.
Skull crushers with dumbell.
Overhead extensions with dumbell.
Seated dips.
That's all I can think of. You need to have the correct weight for these excersises though, as some will require way more weight than others. All the best with them and make sure you look up youtube for videos.
Benni.
Last edited by Benni; Mar 13, 2010 at 10:50 AM.
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You're post stinks of a failure to understand how hard "bulking up" and losing fat is.
Ideally you need a gym and 6 meals a day totalling circa 3000calories if you want to put on good mass.
Staple foods such as; chicken, eggs, fish, red meat, rice, cous cous, oats, cottage cheese.
With a set of dumbells i doubt they will do much at all. Plus - train legs. Even if you use dumbells you can still do squats and lunges.
Training legs releases natural growth hormones which spurs the rest of the body to grow blah blah blah, i get the feeling im wasting my time even writing this post though.....
Ideally you need a gym and 6 meals a day totalling circa 3000calories if you want to put on good mass.
Staple foods such as; chicken, eggs, fish, red meat, rice, cous cous, oats, cottage cheese.
With a set of dumbells i doubt they will do much at all. Plus - train legs. Even if you use dumbells you can still do squats and lunges.
Training legs releases natural growth hormones which spurs the rest of the body to grow blah blah blah, i get the feeling im wasting my time even writing this post though.....
PassionFord Post Whore!!
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point 1, disagree, no proven study has backed this up, ive tried both, even gone down to one meal a day and experienced the exact same results.
and as for the last one the legs natural growth hormone is the oldest myth in the book
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Ah ok.
Wait a second till i drop Jay cutler, Dorian Yates, Phil Heath, Markus Ruhl, Ronnie Coleman, Kevin Levrone, Lee Priest, Arnie, Kai Greene.... etc etc.... an email and tell them they've been doing it wrong all these years and that all they need is one meal a day cos James W on passionford tried it out and said theres no point eating 6 a day.
As for the legs...
Testosterone and GH levels after squats & deadlifts:
Resistance training in general, increases testosterone and growth hormone, during and immediately after post excercise. It has been shown in many studies, including a published study Int J Sports Med. 1991 Apr;12(2):228-35 done on both men and women during resistance excercise. Squats and deadlifts increase GH and Testosterone, more than other compound excercises during excercise.
There is however, no significant studies that show that resistance excercise, directly leads to higher hormone levels long term. In fact, for a day or 2 post-excercise, many studies show LH and testosterone decline, while cortisol increases. In other words, building yourself up to a 200 lb ripped bodybuilder doesn’t directly increase your testosterone levels, from when you were smaller. But you might though have higher testosterone levels, due to better eating, supplementation, and working out, as a result of the bodybuilding lifestyle. The increased cortisol levels and lower testosterone, is also why overtraining is such an easy state to enter. We have to allow our body to recuperate itself, before doing more weight lifting.
Long term effects from squatting and deadlifting:
The benefit for doing leg excercises, appears from research not to be from increasing long term natural levels of testosterone and GH. I believe however the large burst of testosterone and other hormones during leg excercises, are the major reasons why squats and deadlifts are very important for overall muscle building. It’s the same reason why a bench press is more effective mass builder than a chest flye workout. Why? because the compound bench press is going to release more testosterone and GH in a workout than a chest flye.
The large burst of anabolic hormones resulting from squats and deadlifts, allows most of your muscles to benefit from this release simultaneously. Squats and deadlifts work many muscles simultaneously in the body and will allow most of your body to get some stimulation from the release of the hormones during the workout. The testosterone and GH released, is very crucial for being a catalyst for your muscle growth. It won’t be released as much in the smaller compound excercises, such as bench press. Therefore doing smaller compound excercises, would not be able to makeup for the benefit of having leg workouts in your routine.
Most experienced bodybuilders know all too well, how important leg excercises are for overall mass. You’ve probably seen the guys walking in the gym who look like lightbulbs (big upper body, but chicken legs). That has made many bodybuilders question the idea that leg excercises always equals bigger upper body. One must keep in mind we don’t know if they are using steroids, which would make it a little easier to gain upper body mass without leg excercises. On the flipside, it would also be harder post cycle for a steroid user just to keep his gains. These people probably also have excellent upper body genetics and years of training experience. If they worked harder on leg excercises, they would be even bigger.
Sean Cregan on October 9th, 2008
Resistance training in general, increases testosterone and growth hormone, during and immediately after post excercise. It has been shown in many studies, including a published study Int J Sports Med. 1991 Apr;12(2):228-35 done on both men and women during resistance excercise. Squats and deadlifts increase GH and Testosterone, more than other compound excercises during excercise.
There is however, no significant studies that show that resistance excercise, directly leads to higher hormone levels long term. In fact, for a day or 2 post-excercise, many studies show LH and testosterone decline, while cortisol increases. In other words, building yourself up to a 200 lb ripped bodybuilder doesn’t directly increase your testosterone levels, from when you were smaller. But you might though have higher testosterone levels, due to better eating, supplementation, and working out, as a result of the bodybuilding lifestyle. The increased cortisol levels and lower testosterone, is also why overtraining is such an easy state to enter. We have to allow our body to recuperate itself, before doing more weight lifting.
Long term effects from squatting and deadlifting:
The benefit for doing leg excercises, appears from research not to be from increasing long term natural levels of testosterone and GH. I believe however the large burst of testosterone and other hormones during leg excercises, are the major reasons why squats and deadlifts are very important for overall muscle building. It’s the same reason why a bench press is more effective mass builder than a chest flye workout. Why? because the compound bench press is going to release more testosterone and GH in a workout than a chest flye.
The large burst of anabolic hormones resulting from squats and deadlifts, allows most of your muscles to benefit from this release simultaneously. Squats and deadlifts work many muscles simultaneously in the body and will allow most of your body to get some stimulation from the release of the hormones during the workout. The testosterone and GH released, is very crucial for being a catalyst for your muscle growth. It won’t be released as much in the smaller compound excercises, such as bench press. Therefore doing smaller compound excercises, would not be able to makeup for the benefit of having leg workouts in your routine.
Most experienced bodybuilders know all too well, how important leg excercises are for overall mass. You’ve probably seen the guys walking in the gym who look like lightbulbs (big upper body, but chicken legs). That has made many bodybuilders question the idea that leg excercises always equals bigger upper body. One must keep in mind we don’t know if they are using steroids, which would make it a little easier to gain upper body mass without leg excercises. On the flipside, it would also be harder post cycle for a steroid user just to keep his gains. These people probably also have excellent upper body genetics and years of training experience. If they worked harder on leg excercises, they would be even bigger.
Sean Cregan on October 9th, 2008
Bodybuilding and hypertrophy has been around for years and years and EVERY person who has been succesful at it has followed(among alot more) both of the points i originally mentioned. Why do you think they are all wrong?
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From: The Pool.
When reading on Bodybuilding.com though, Coldo, I was shocked when I seen someone getting mocked and abused for telling someone to eat every 2 - 3 hours. Damn they were giving it to him good, and they all agreed that as long as you get your calories in for that day it doesn't matter how long you go without food.
Apparently, the 2-3 hours thing is a myth by retailers to get people buying, so they say. Was a very strange read for such a big forum, considering what I imagined was more or less a fact.
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?p=257628761
And this is a quote from one of their articles. I can't see how going 6 hours without can be good? I'm sure the pro's wouldn't do it! Damn, I wouldn't do it unless I had no choice.
Benni.
Apparently, the 2-3 hours thing is a myth by retailers to get people buying, so they say. Was a very strange read for such a big forum, considering what I imagined was more or less a fact.
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?p=257628761
The rest of the day, for the most part, the only thing you need to worry about is getting in the proper amount of calories and in proper macronutrient ratios. If you wait 3 hours, 4 hours, heck, even 6 hours between meals, you are going to be okay, I promise you're muscles won't be eaten alive.
Benni.
Last edited by Benni; Mar 14, 2010 at 02:58 PM.
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When reading on Bodybuilding.com though, Coldo, I was shocked when I seen someone getting mocked and abused for telling someone to eat every 2 - 3 hours. Damn they were giving it to him good, and they all agreed that as long as you get your calories in for that day it doesn't matter how long you go without food.
Apparently, the 2-3 hours thing is a myth by retailers to get people buying, so they say. Was a very strange read for such a big forum, considering what I imagined was more or less a fact.
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?p=257628761
And this is a quote from one of their articles. I can't see how going 6 hours without can be good? I'm sure the pro's wouldn't do it! Damn, I wouldn't do it unless I had no choice.
Benni.
Apparently, the 2-3 hours thing is a myth by retailers to get people buying, so they say. Was a very strange read for such a big forum, considering what I imagined was more or less a fact.
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?p=257628761
And this is a quote from one of their articles. I can't see how going 6 hours without can be good? I'm sure the pro's wouldn't do it! Damn, I wouldn't do it unless I had no choice.
Benni.
I know there are loads of theories etc...
The way i look at it is that EVERY person i know who has got big, or been succesful at bodybuilding or the pro's have used the every 2-3 hours rule.
Bodybuilding isn't about calories really, its about nutrients. i.e. 5000calories of chocolate is different to 5000 calories of chicken and rice.
I wont grow muscle eating 5000calories of chocolate.
I don't see why people want to challenge a proven method of building muscle thats all.
Ban[B][/B]ned
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From: The Pool.
Oh I completely agree with you mate, 100%. All the competiters at my gym have a vigerous eating plan which is set out at times, and I do myself. I was just shocked that such a big website would have such articles.
Benni.
Benni.
Thread Starter
Virgin
Joined: Jan 2008
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You're post stinks of a failure to understand how hard "bulking up" and losing fat is.
Ideally you need a gym and 6 meals a day totalling circa 3000calories if you want to put on good mass.
Staple foods such as; chicken, eggs, fish, red meat, rice, cous cous, oats, cottage cheese.
With a set of dumbells i doubt they will do much at all. Plus - train legs. Even if you use dumbells you can still do squats and lunges.
Training legs releases natural growth hormones which spurs the rest of the body to grow blah blah blah, i get the feeling im wasting my time even writing this post though.....
Ideally you need a gym and 6 meals a day totalling circa 3000calories if you want to put on good mass.
Staple foods such as; chicken, eggs, fish, red meat, rice, cous cous, oats, cottage cheese.
With a set of dumbells i doubt they will do much at all. Plus - train legs. Even if you use dumbells you can still do squats and lunges.
Training legs releases natural growth hormones which spurs the rest of the body to grow blah blah blah, i get the feeling im wasting my time even writing this post though.....
I can't go to the gym due to my work as i stated.
Yeah i've only got the one set of dumbbells. Never mind though, don't want to waste your time anymore.
Advanced PassionFord User
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Read Bennys post, lots of good info on there, have a go and then if you enjoy the training and progress then think about joining a gym to extend the options open to you.
Good luck, keep us updated and don't be put off from asking advice. This is the internet, you will get some good replies and some you don't like.
I know there are loads of theories etc...
The way i look at it is that EVERY person i know who has got big, or been succesful at bodybuilding or the pro's have used the every 2-3 hours rule.
Bodybuilding isn't about calories really, its about nutrients. i.e. 5000calories of chocolate is different to 5000 calories of chicken and rice.
I wont grow muscle eating 5000calories of chocolate.
I don't see why people want to challenge a proven method of building muscle thats all.
The way i look at it is that EVERY person i know who has got big, or been succesful at bodybuilding or the pro's have used the every 2-3 hours rule.
Bodybuilding isn't about calories really, its about nutrients. i.e. 5000calories of chocolate is different to 5000 calories of chicken and rice.
I wont grow muscle eating 5000calories of chocolate.
I don't see why people want to challenge a proven method of building muscle thats all.
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Arm is ok, still got a brace on upper arm but can straighten it out and move it about a fair bit now. Back at hospital on 24th so fingers crossed i'll have the brace off and be good to go then.
Ban[B][/B]ned
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From: The Pool.
If you get a 2.5kg, 5kg, 10kg, 12.5kg and 15kg. dumbell I think that'll be enough for now. You could get a good workout with them, depeding on how strong you are already.
Benni.
