I've decided to start doing some weight training as a physical and meditative exercise, but it's been ages since I've done any (have very few muscles, all pretty weak), though I remember most of the exercises. Anyway, two questions: Is there a list of some basic, low-weight exercises (just to jog my memory and to remind me of where to hold the weights for some of the lower-body ones)? Are there any chest exercises that don't require a spotter (I think the weight room has some benches that I could do flys on facedown at an angle, but that's about it besides push-ups and pull-ups, and I suck at the former and can't do that latter at all)?
you can do bench press with dumb bells instead of barbells, no spotter needed, and it works more than barbells including stabilizer muscles, or good old fashion pushups, decline incline and regular all do the trick
my best recommendation is look at what people tell you to lift, tell them to screw off, and drop the weight. many people will brag about being able to bench 250 pounds, and mock me because when I do my workouts, I bench about 90-100. The funny thing is, the people I know who trash talk about low weights are the ones who rarely are able to pack on any muscle. As long as you feel challanged, but still able to control the weight, the workout is effective at tearing down, and therefore, creating the conditions for recovery in which your muscle will grow stronger and the fibers will enlarge. That is why friends who talk shit about their high benches don't see results, and yet with lower weights, I dont need a spotter, am still challanged, and in the last year alone has put on about 30 pounds. a portion of that is fat and water weight, but most of it, probably 1/2 of it, to 2/3's was muscle. The human male body can produce, with proper training, not overtraining (what my friends do), and good diet and rest, can build 1.5-2.5 pounds of lean muscle a month. it varies, depending on your genetics and metabolisem. I have actually lowered my bodyfat, so I know I am putting on more muscle than fat, and doing lower weights have not hurt my gains at all. I was skinny most of my life, and slowly, I am phasing into the apperence of being muscular. just remeber, do what you know you can handle, focusing on proper form (www.bodybuilding.com is a godsend, as it has videos for every type of lift and movement, to show you proper form, along with other resources on diet, nutritian, and is a good place to get protein powders of high quality for low prices because the site handles them in massive bulk quanities. A good whey protein shake after a workout, coupled with good clean protein sources in your diet can do wonders for naturally skinny people). I have a adjustable bench, and a barbell/dumbell set that I put weight plates, instead of being one of those expensive sets that are set weight, and you have like twenty sets of dumbells. I never have a spotter, and I never push weight I cant keep under control. Just learn your limits, and push yourself a little bit each time. it doesnt matter if your pushing huge weights one could brag about. as long as you are in control, and still challanged, you will stimulate growth, more so than weightbraggers, because you are less likely to overtrain, which hinders results in the long run, and can lead to injury.
A couple of other options on the chest exercises. Does you gym have a smith machine? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith_machine You can place a bench under it and use use it for a bench press. Then if you can't get the bar back up you just twist the bar to lock it. They also often have stops you can stop the bar from going to far down. The next option is the power rack. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_cage You can set the bars so the bar does not come too far down and possibly pin you. Another great option is the cable machine. There are several exercises that can really work your chest. I find this very effective. I did a really heavy chest workout using the cable cross machine on Tuesday and my chest is still sore. Chest press machine. There are machines that simulate the bench press motion. I really don't like these. They work but I don't feel that I generate as much power. As limfjord96 mentioned plain old fashioned dumb bells work very well also.
i agree. most machines limit the range of motion. they also prevent you from having to exert the effort to control the weight because of it. now cable machines are good, because you still have to control the motion and the weight. those will help you feel in areas free weights dont always isolate as well. just dont care what other people are doing around you.
Thanks for the advice. So far I've been lucky; the place has been more or less empty and I've been able to get very meditative while lifting.
Really? Only? I though it was more. . .I'm being waay too impatient(and I'm an ecto-mesomorph at that).
Rapid gains are mostly water and fat around the muscle. Building up the muscle and growing muscle fiber is a slow process.
You should see if your gym has an assisted pull up machine, it's good to start out with if you don't have the necessary upper body strength to do pull ups on your own. Also, even if you suck at push ups you should definitely do them, even if they're just the "girl push ups". It's all about building up your strength, so don't be embarrassed about where you are at or what you can do. Best chest exercises you can do without another person are: cable crossovers, flyes, dumbbell bench press (flat, incline, or decline), seated chest press, push ups, and parallel bar dips. Hope this helps.
