I don't have easy acess to a gym, and I want to start building a muscular upper body. I was wondering what exercises I should be focusing on for chest, shoulders, arms, and back along with a few leg exercises so I don't look funky. Right now I only have a pair of 15lb dumbells, but I think I'm going to go buy some 20-25's soon. What are some things I need to keep in mind if I want to bulk up without a gym? And is it even possible to get big without a gym?
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Bulking up without weights?
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Hate to say it, but to get any mass at all you're going to need at least some big weights. Try adding another 0 to the end of those 20lb weights.
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My goal is not to be huge, but rather to have more muscle than I do now, and have those muscles defined.
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Well, you're going to need more than 15 or 20 pounds of dumb bells. And you're going to need to eat--a lot.
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Bulking up and getting in shape/muscle tone are 2 very different things. A serious muscular bulk up usually involves the heaviest weights you can lift in short reps. What this does is actually stress and damage your muscle tissue in a fairly extreme way. It keeps rebuilding itself larger and larger. This often results in a large muscle mass gain at the cost of flexibility and connective tissue strength.
If you want to make your muscles somewhat larger, with pronounced definition. You can do so with a leaner workout with higher reps and lower weights.
If you are just starting out there is nothing wrong with starting at home with a few weights. The equipment is not really as important as the techniques. Read up on some good techniques and diet/nutritional supplements to help you get in shape and be fit. When you feel you have reached a plateau with your home equipment, then seek a gym. For just starting you really should look to a whole body workout and doing alot of simple thing like pushups, situps, and mix in whatever weights you have. You can also get some cheap tools like rubber bands which can help give yuo alot more resistance then some 5-10lbs weights. All things have their draw backs though and rate of effectiveness.
Like I said, if you are just starting out, my personal opinion is to start with what you have and learn good techniques. You can get really far without going to a gym although I do recommend going to a gym if you can do so, not just for the better equipment but the professional advice you can get there.
Before gyms were invented there were lots of big muscled people around. :P Its about what you do, how you do it, how long you do it, nutrition, and body type/potentials. No matter where you are, as long as you start the exercise routine, you're going to get bigger and more importantly healthier.
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you might want to try dynamic tension it works well to build and tone muscle and uses no weights i did it for a while i gained mass and tone you can check it out here http://www.charlesatlas.com
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Originally Posted By: wildbkBulking up and getting in shape/muscle tone are 2 very different things. A serious muscular bulk up usually involves the heaviest weights you can lift in short reps. What this does is actually stress and damage your muscle tissue in a fairly extreme way. It keeps rebuilding itself larger and larger. This often results in a large muscle mass gain at the cost of flexibility and connective tissue strength. If you want to make your muscles somewhat larger, with pronounced definition. You can do so with a leaner workout with higher reps and lower weights. If you are just starting out there is nothing wrong with starting at home with a few weights. The equipment is not really as important as the techniques. Read up on some good techniques and diet/nutritional supplements to help you get in shape and be fit. When you feel you have reached a plateau with your home equipment, then seek a gym. For just starting you really should look to a whole body workout and doing alot of simple thing like pushups, situps, and mix in whatever weights you have. You can also get some cheap tools like rubber bands which can help give yuo alot more resistance then some 5-10lbs weights. All things have their draw backs though and rate of effectiveness. Like I said, if you are just starting out, my personal opinion is to start with what you have and learn good techniques. You can get really far without going to a gym although I do recommend going to a gym if you can do so, not just for the better equipment but the professional advice you can get there.Before gyms were invented there were lots of big muscled people around. :P Its about what you do, how you do it, how long you do it, nutrition, and body type/potentials. No matter where you are, as long as you start the exercise routine, you're going to get bigger and more importantly healthier. This is very motivating! I guess what I'm planning now is to build up as much mass as I can with what I have, and then try to hit up the local gym. Atleast then I won't embarass myself :P.