Which lifting program is the best for me?

dewit

I was hesitant about asking for free advice here, but one of my friends (who btw gives often very pertinent advice on the forum) suggested I do it, after I posted on my wall and received little feedback. So here I go:

Just before the lockdown I got myself adjustable dumbbells: the bars are about 3 lbs each and the disks weigh 5,5 lbs (x4) and 11 lbs (x6). I also have ankle and wrist weights, adjustable from about 2,5 lbs to 5 lbs. Appart from resistant bands and my own body (roughly 130lbs) I have no other
equipement at home.

I browsed the forum for ideas and ran into "Which lifting program is the best for you?" Thank you, @psuLemon, for the great ideas 🌻! A few webpages further and I made up my mind:

German Body Composition with dumbbells and the following 7days-schedule:
So, Tu, Th: GBC, alternating Day 1 and Day 2
Mo, We, Fr: cardio (HIIT, Tabata... generally 30min, cause I dont have much time usually)
Sa: "rest" day (long walks, bike tours)

I usually average 1-1,5h of fitness per day.

This schedule fitted my desire to lose some weight. I kinda reached my goal, though I am not on maintainance, because I keep fluctuating. 😐

They say here https://coconutsandkettlebells.com/german-body-comp/
that you should do the program for max 6-8 weeks. I am on week 7 and have thought since last week about moving on. I do see some definition, both arms and legs. I dont measure and have no decent way to determine my body fat.

I have an issue with bulking, because I am still too focused on the number on the scale. I also have a hard time eating enough protein...

I'm pretty sure I missed out relevant information, so feel free to ask away what you need to know. I'd appreciate kind feedback.

psuLemon

What are your goals? And what are your major concerns or questions? Is it just what is your follow on program? If so, its going to be based on your goals.

In terms of running programs, you can run them for as long as you enjoy or make progress.

dewit

Thank you. I want to stay at a good weight, be fit & sporty. I have no performance goals in mind.

sijomial

dewit wrote: »

I kinda reached my goal, though I am not on maintainance, because I keep fluctuating. 😐

But fluctuating is maintenance!
If your long term weight trend is up or down then you aren't maintaining but fluctuating is part of normal life - embrace it, try to understand what causes your personal fluctuations but don't fight them or seek to micro manage them.

sijomial

dewit wrote: »

Thank you. I want to stay at a good weight, be fit & sporty. I have no performance goals in mind.

Additional question in light of this - what to you enjoy doing?
e.g. Some people simply prefer fast paced training with little rest, some like slow paced with recovery between sets, some people like high volume, some like low volume.....

Cherimoose

"Fit & sporty" means different things to different people, but for general physical preparedness, most programs are fine for the strength component. I like the program at your link over the dumbbell version of it, for multiple reasons.
I'd add a carrying exercise, like suitcase carries. I'd also do sprinting and agility drills, if able.

Some bulking can happen in most programs if you're in a calorie deficit. If you're not, you're unlikely to bulk. How much protein do you average?

dewit

sijomial wrote: »

Additional question in light of this - what to you enjoy doing?
e.g. Some people simply prefer fast paced training with little rest, some like slow paced with recovery between sets, some people like high volume, some like low volume.....

Thanks for your answers, S. I have little time for workouts. Lifting in particular. So I need to go fast paced, which is fine by me, as long as I can still lift. I do want to measure progress, in terms of being able to lift more in time. But only in competition with myself, because there are two other top priorities in my life: my kids and my work. Classics.

dewit

Cherimoose wrote: »

"Fit & sporty" means different things to different people

Give me some metrics and I'll try to tell you where I stand. Background info: desk job.

I like the program at your link over the dumbbell version of it, for multiple reasons.

Dont quite know what you're saying. No more space at my place for more equipment and while the kids are small I won't take 2h 3 x week to lift in a training room. Might work the muscles better, but I can only do what I can do. I am already doing more, tbh.

I'd add a carrying exercise, like suitcase carries. I'd also do sprinting and agility drills, if able.

Thanks for the ideas.

dewit

I always seems to write popular threads 🤷‍♀️

I guess I'll go back to psuLemon's thread and pick something new to try. Most ppl choose their programs based on own research and taste anyhow... I was just genuinely hoping for more feedback or else I would have not written a personal post. Ah well 🤷‍♀️

psuLemon

dewit wrote: »

I always seems to write popular threads 🤷‍♀️

I guess I'll go back to psuLemon's thread and pick something new to try. Most ppl choose their programs based on own research and taste anyhow... I was just genuinely hoping for more feedback or else I would have not written a personal post. Ah well 🤷‍♀️

You don't necessarily need to go back to the thread. If you want to look sporty, which i guess suggest you want muscle definition, then my question is, are you still making progress with your current program? If so continue. The goal.is to get stronger each week.

ETA: if you do want something different, the M&S dumbbell routines are generally well structured. You could easily select one of their programs.

DancingMoosie

I've been doing YouTube videos. Sydney Cummings and Yvette Bachman have a lot of videos with strength training that look good. I just try to alternate upper/lower, full body. I'm also in maintenance and using dumbbells at home since I'm out of my regular gym and heavy lifting.

dewit

Cheers to both! 👍🌻

sijomial

dewit wrote: »

I always seems to write popular threads 🤷‍♀️

I guess I'll go back to psuLemon's thread and pick something new to try. Most ppl choose their programs based on own research and taste anyhow... I was just genuinely hoping for more feedback or else I would have not written a personal post. Ah well 🤷‍♀️

Your goals aren't really easy for anyone to suggest a particular program. If you had defined and measurable goals it would be much easier.

If you had a personal consultation at a gym with your very general "fit & sporty" goal you would be given a very general purpose program. Probably based around the big compound lifts for maximum return when you are short of time, probably rotating body parts so you don't need much recovery time (upper/lower, push/pull for example).

dewit

psuLemon wrote: »

ETA: if you do want something different, the M&S dumbbell routines are generally well structured. You could easily select one of their programs.

@psuLemon thank you, almost 3 months later🌞. I was happy (some times before, sometimes only after the workout 😆) to do M&S 4 Day split routine. Like you wrote, it gave me structure. Happy to report on finishing the 12w. I might go back to German Bodycomp now, but I would love to get back to M&S afterwards or to use even further some of the exercises I (re)discovered there. For instance the bulgarian split squats - hated-loved them!

In 2 simple words, thank you! ⚘