free weights

Hi all
 
I have decided to start lifting weights, I have done before (years ago) but I was never really doing things properly. The thing is I do not want to go to a gym and want to get bigger in my house using free weights, I have a long bar and dunbell's but no bench yet. I can really do with some advice here, I want to be big and cut, is it possible without going to the gym?
 
Thanks
Lionfish

Of course it is possible, as long as you have the right equipment and a decent selection of weights then can be done no problem, there are a fair few members here who train at home.

Thanks, where do I start then, how long should a workout take? I have done 6 sets of curls with the bar today and my arms were pretty tired after the last set but I do not really know what else I can do with the bar, also what should my diet consist of, baring in mind I want to get bigger quickly (holiday booked for april lol)

Well to add size you want to be looking at taking in around 500more calories than you would need to stay at your current weight so depends how much you weigh now (have a look on google for some simple formulas)

As for what to eat take a look at the articles section at the top of the page for some good tips.

As for workouts without a bench then you are quite limited really however there are exercises still that you can do, and in theory you can just use the floor however is nowhere near as good as you cant get the elbows down too far and is much harder to get the bar in place, however dumbbells wont make too much of a difference bar the ROM.

Id definately suggest getting a bench if you want to train at home as allows many more exercises, as well as possibly a rack of some sort so that you can do exercises for legs and have the bar up already rather than have to clean and press it to get it above your head, although you can do dumbbell squats, lunges, split squats, SLDL et etc

Have a look here for exercises for different muscle groups - http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html

A split that you could use would be something simple along the lines of

Back + biceps
Chest + triceps
legs + shoulders

Could also pair shoulders with chest and triceps to make a push/pull/legs routine or could also put biceps with chest and triceps with back, whatever suits you really as all are completely fine.

Have a look at some of the links and articles and see what you come up with, given you a fair few starter poitns already to get you going.

if you are going to train at home you'll find a bench very useful. 

However as a beginner I'd advise you to join a gym even a PAYG for doing the stuff you can't at home and also to get some advice on exercise performance. You could train shoulders, back and arms at home with the barbell/dumbell and do legs and chest at the gym. A three day split

Back/shoulders - HOME
Chest /Legs - GYM
Arms - HOME

would be a good start requiring only one paid gym visit per week.  After 6 months then make a decision to either buy some more kit for home or train entirely at the gym.

Since you already have some weights at home the only cost now is a weekly PAYG gym session and no hassle about buying kit, storing it etc.  In 6 months time your'll be better informed to make a decision.

Also I'd suggest that you wont be big and cut by April. It takes a lot longer than that. Set some realistic goals like "I want to have some shape to my arms, chest starting to show , toned legs etc " and you'll be satisfied with the results.

Thanks again, have just checked out the exercises and now realise I know nothing at all about this lol, I will invest in a bench as soon as possible. Does everbody train their legs, I had not really even thought about doing them I was just going for upper body really. 

Yes do legs. A full body routine as in the posts above will gain you more than 6 sets of curls

So I only need to work out 3 x a week? sorry to ask so many daft questions. As far as getting big by april I know thats not going to happen but thats my motivation at the moment, I am 5 ft 8 and 13.5 st at the moment and somehow have managed to keep a not bad shape from my days in the army despite not really doing anything since. Thanks for your help so far.

On the topic of legs definately DO train them, adds good overall balance to the body, plus big compound lifts such as squats are apparently beneficial in improving testosterone levels (not sure on the validity of this though)

I'd stick with 3 times a week to begin with.  The key here is that you grow whilst resting i.e.

train (break down muscle) + rest + food (feed the growth) = growth

See how you feel after say a month. You might find that 3 times is not enough so split your exercises in half and do on alternate days or you may find you need an extra rest day here and there.  I find it varies depending upon work, comittments etc and having a flexible workout you can stick to is better than a rigid one you don't.

Get yourself started as advised previously then once training ask some more.  The first couple of week's you'll probably ache a bit so try to stick to your plan in that time but after that listen to your body.



HTH