BritNoob

I workout 3 times a week now Mon, Thurs and Sat. Usually I do: Incline Dumbell bench press 4 sets Arnold presses or military press 4 sets Lateral raises 4 sets Rear raises 2/3 sets Bicep curls or hammer curls 4 sets Leg press 4 sets leg extension 4 sets Shrugs 4 sets Back rows 3 sets I want to add a workout inbetween maybe on a wednesday or friday, what could i work on if i have done these exercises the day before? I only have an hour or so to workout so as I am learning new exercises I am finding it difficult to fit them all in. Something needs to give....

I've got a bench and some dumbells and I've started working out an extra day a week when i wouldn't normally be able to get to the gym. How do the rest of you warm up? Without any cardio equipment I find it really hard to exercise for 5 minutes in preparation for lifting. I try to just copy warm up techniques learnt at Karate which can be done on the spot but they're nowhere near as effective as 5 minutes solid on a row machine. Also, if you're doing bench presses (which I'm new to anyway after mainly using machines before now) how do you lift really heavy weights with no training partner to assist? I find I have to lift lighter weights and could still risk injury by putting the weights done wrong or something.

Thanks for sharing your workout, very interesting. I tend to only be able to spend an hour or so in the gym and I was also told that as a hard gaining ectomorph (I think?) it's best to keep the workouts short and intensive. I like the idea of mixing it up every few weeks to keep the muscles from hitting a plateau (lol sp again). Do you just do 2 high rep low weight sets during this period then?

I think I notice the clicking more when i exercise at home, which leads me to believe that the more warmed up you are the less clicking there is (I don't have any cardio equipment at home so warming up for 5 minutes can be difficult). I think when I'm at the gym there is less clicking...I'll have to check next time I'm working out.

I've started to add single arm rows to my workout, what do they work and are there any other back exercises I can do with dumbells? Are shrugs worth doing? I want to try and build some muscle around the neck/collarbone area, will this do? Keep the help coming, lads, very helpful!

When I'm performing certain exercises (bent over rows, press ups, or even general movement sometimes) I get a painless click in my shoulder and occasionally the elbow too. Is this a warning sign I'm doing something wrong? My knees have both clicked for years with no injury (and they click/pop much louder) but I'm a little more concerned about the shoulders as they're apparently easy to injure aren't they? Anyone else experience pain-free clicking or crunching?

Ok, thanks for the suggestions so far. One of the problems I have is that my local gym has only limited equipment. I have access to dumbells and a bench, but no barbells. There are mainly machines (which I have been sticking to until recently when I realised i was getting no growth ) and a dual adjustable pulley machine which can be used to do lots of stuff. With that in mind, what would be the most benficial exercises available to me? I have started to do seated shoulder press with dumbells (in place of the old machine i was using for it) and lateral raises for the shoulders. For the forearms I do wrist curls and reverse wrist curls For the biceps I do dumbell curls. Now apart from that I am a little stuck now. I have been wasting my time on the machines I think so now I need to learn the free weight equivilents. I found doing the shoulder press with dumbells FAR harder than using the machine and with a lower weight...which shows its working better I guess. I'd be happy to work out a decent 2 day full body workout... as like you said working t out two days in a row isn't going to work for me.

Those exercises are a tad advanced for me (ie I have no idea what they all mean LOL) but all I really wanted was specific muscle groups. Do you think its ok to work on the back muscles the day fter working the chest shoulders and arms, is that ok?

I have been lifting weights 2 days a week for 6 months or so now and can now add a third day. I have been doing full body work outs before but now I can split them up. I can go to the gym Monday Thursday and Friday so I was thinking of doing maybe shoulders, chest and arms on mon and thursday and back and legs on Friday? I have previously included no back exercises at all....occasionally lat pull downs. I am trying to gain mass so I have started doing 4 sets starting with 15 reps, then 8-10 then 6-8 then 12 (varying the weight obviously to match the reps). Could I use this system with back exercises or should I take it easy to begin with?

I'm 26 :/ I can only fit the gym in 2 days a week and I'm only a beginner so alot of what you said goes over my head lol Should I basically increase the amount of sets I do? So start with 10/12 then lower it each set? Is it best to do the sets straight after each other? Currently I move my way around the gym doing one set of each exercise, then when i have done 1 on each I start again 2 more times. Is it better to just sit and do 3 sets one after another? It's my arms and shoulders i want to mainly focus on, then the chest.

I've been doing Karate for nearly a year now and visiting the gym twice weekly for 6 months. I'm a really tall, skinny guy and really want to put some weight on. At the gym I do 3 sets of 8-10 reps of various exercises, bicep curls, chest press, shoulder press, leg curls, leg extension etc working pretty much the whole body. Since I started I have steadily increased the weights i use and I'm happy with my progress there but in terms of actual visible progress there is almost none. I am slightly more toned now and I can notice my chest and shoulders are very slightly bigger but I would still be called scrawny rather than muscular if you asked anyone to describe me. I have adjusted my diet to include 5 meals a day and as much protein as possible but I don't seem to put on any weight at all. Is it just a case of keep at it? Do I need to do something to move to the next stage after the initial improvements I gained? How long should it take to build muscles? I need to gain 2 stone ideally. Although currenly I'd be happy to put on half a stone as every day i seem to weight the same. I'd really appreciate some advice on this, thanks in advance

Very helpful, thank you. Any particular brand/design/colour you personally recommend? What are the ones I linked to like?

Thinking of getting these: http://www.blitzsport.com/weapons/images/metalweapons/saichrome.htm They aren't that cheap at over £30......will they do for a beginner? I don't want to pay out for these then have to get some more if they break quickly.

K I'll get the longest ones. You make them sound worrying badly made though - are they fragile then? Is it better to get black if the chrome ones flake?

Hhmm...that only works out to about 15 inches for me and I thought I was lankier than most? Am I doing it right? lol