Ive come to accept that with my full time college life (15+ credits of STEM major) and part time work (15-20h a week) I can't afford to CONSISTENTLY go to the gym 3x a week for ~1h to lift throughout my hectic quarter.
I was thinking of getting these bowflex dumbbells that have adjustable weights up to 52.5 lb. One concern is that I won't have a flat bench to do exercises like pectoral flies, chest press....and im wondering if that would be a problem? I will probably just use my floor, as a solid surface to lie down on
My current routine would look like this at home every other day (3.5x a week), and work the full body
Bent Dumbbell row (Back) x 10 ... 3 sets per arm
Dumbbell squats (Legs) x 12.... 3 sets
Dumbbell Bench Press (Chest/triceps) x 10..... 3 sets
Calf Raises with one leg (Calves) x 20….. 3 sets per leg
Planks x 60s-120s (Abs)…. 3 sets
Farmers walk 45s-1:30 (Forearms + Upper back)….. 3 sets
Dumbbell Stepping Lunge (Legs)…. 3 sets
Bicep curls x 10 (Biceps)….. 3 sets
Does this routine look good, and how will I be able to get the full motion of Pectoral fly/ bench press without a flat bench?
>>35293528
You won't be able to do the dumbbell bench press without a bench. If you do it on the floor your arms won't be able to extend back as far as they should. If you can't get a bench, your best bet is to makeshift one with a chair or two, and have it so your arms can fully go back.
>>35293575
How about just do dumbbell pectoral flies for chest then? Then just do something for triceps like dumbbell tricep extension
Don't do farmer walks with that low amount of weight, it's pointless.
>>35293592
You could, but just laying on the floor will take away your range of motion, thus reducing the effectiveness of the exercise. Just lay down with your center back on a chair or stool, having your legs and upper torso area hanging off of it. You can now do pec flies and press while simultaneously working your core to keep you balanced on the chair/stool.
>>35293592
Also, try pistol squats with the dumbbells when normal dumbbell squats become too easy (which they will in time.)
>>35293622
OP here
I am 5'7, 135 lb male , ~15% BF. I struggle doing farmers walk with 35 lb in each hand at my school gym for 60 seconds. I think I should work myself up to 52.5 lb then find a new exercise from there
>>35293640
Wouldn't my head be falling off the stool/chair then? Meaning ill have my center back supported, but nothing else
>>35293780
Like I said, you'll be using your core and neck muscles to keep yourself from falling off. This would be a problem if you were barbell pressing a lot of heavy weight, but for what you're doing it is perfectly fine.
>>35293811
I think Im just going to invest another $40 in this simple thing I can fit into my room
Additionally, one question I have is if I'll be able to sufficiently work out my back with dumbbell wide rows..? I think pullups are great but I don't have a way of doing that
I use 3 chairs for my db press. Especially if you get more weight on them one chair gets a little uncomfortable with picking up the dumbbells and getting them above you. Just figure something out, you will find a way that works for you. I don't use it for flys, since the range of motion on the floor isn't really affected by it.
>>35293825
Pullups will hardly do anything for lower back anyway. Wide rows work your lower back, but not heavily. Also don't lean forward too much in the row or else you'll work your hamstrings more. Your best bet for lower back is hyperextensions with the dumbbells, if you can find something/ someone to hold down your legs.
>>35293825
Yes, buy a bench or maybe something more like a bench. I tried to do bench press on a chair or on the corner of the bed, and it's not very comfortable, especially if you have heavier weights to press. The problem is not getting everything ready, the problem is to get up again afterwards.
I also do chest flies on the bed. Pushups in all it's variations is also a nice exercise to complement your chest workout. I also use suspension trainers with my door frame pull up bar, which gives me some great chest exercises as well. /fit/ hates suspension trainers though, because it's not weight lifting. But they are great.
>>35293825
For upper back, rows look like the only choice if you don't have access to a pullup bar.
>I also use suspension trainers with my door frame pull up bar, which gives me some great chest exercises as well
I have a pullup bar mounted above the door and I'm still using the old door frame one for a lot of things. Reverse rows, GHR, just something to slip your feet under for abs, resistance band stuff. Best money I ever spent.
>>35293866
>>35293867
Alright. Do you think that rows will be sufficient to create a sculpted back? I am serious about this , I just want to make sure that I am able to work every muscle with a flat bench + Adjustable dumbbells. See pic for seriousness
>>35293929
buy a bench you can adjust
for incline etc
>>35293950
I'm trying to be as minimalistic as possible. I have a small room in my apartment and just want the bare essentials. I am more worried about not being able to work my back very well with just dumbbells + flat bench
>>35293929
Get a pull up bar as well. Pullups + rows is pretty good - although you wont do much for spinal erectors (like dl would)...
I would advise you to not buy bowflex - but to buy classic screw lock dumbells with adjustable plates. That way you can buy a fitting barbell as well, or at least do so later on. Otherwise you will outgrow the weights on your big lifts soon and there will be no room for progress anymore. Also 299 dollars? For that you can get shitloads of plates for normal dumbells.
>>35293929
The back is made up many different muscles, and to be honest I don't think rows alone would be enough. If you try some deadlifts with the dumbbells, you can hit the traps and shoulders although with only two 50Ibs you won't get very far. I would say the top priority is to get a pullup bar for the whole upper back, and then a bench if you don't find a chair sufficient. Also I think you can find a much better deal on adjustable dumbbells.
>>35293954
>just want the bare essentials
>buys dumbbells for $300
kek
>>35293929
I use some cheap ass dumbbells, that let me use the plates I got for my barbell. Honestly, I don't think those you got there are worth the money, especially because they are dead locked at 52.5lb. You will get to the point where you can row/db press that pretty fast. I load up to 120lbs on my dbs, even though I'm pretty sure they weren't built for that. If you ever want to squat/dl, you have to make another investment. Check out craigslist or something, you can probably buy 200lbs worth of plates, a barbell and your dbs for that cash. You can store a barbell and some weights easily.
>>35293929
I bought a ez curl bar, barbell (not an olympic bar though), like 5 adjustable dumbells, loads of small plates and one set of 20kg (42lbs) plates + a cheap adjustable squatrack that i can also use for benchpress + a bench + a door pullup bar all for about 400 euro from amazon. I think buying 300 dollar dumbells that dont even go high in weight is really stupid - those things are just a marketing gimmikt because the mechanism for adjusting the weight looks cool.
Start out by buying the essentials - and then slowly add more stuff.
Buy 1 or 2 complete sets of adjustable dumbells - that way you usually get the dumbell handles for free and only pay for the plates. Then get a door pullup bar. They are not optimal but good enough for a start and super super cheap. Then get a bench and a couple more plates. That all should be way under your 300 dollars. Later you can buy a cheap barbell that fits your plates (be careful with the sizes of the holes!!).
If you ever have the space get a squatrack. This way you can allway buy more plates, upgrade your equipment step by step.
The bowflex stuff only gets you so far, then you wont be able to increase weight anymore and you cant do anything with them anymore but side raises and maybe curls.
> I was thinking of getting these bowflex dumbbells
I heard these were dogshit, do you not have space for notmal ones which you can drop, etc?
