So..no barbells at gym

So how does one get from the machines to the free weights? Some of the attitude in this thread is what's keeping some of us on the machines. When I joined my gym I didn't know how to use the machines. I don't have any idea where to even start with free weights.

What someone else said - ask the trainers.

Or, do like I did and google stuff (I went with stronglifts 5x5 but you can use any decent youtube video), and the next day walked into the free weights section and did the one exercise I looked up the night before.

Next time, I looked up a new one, and did the old one I felt comfortable and the one I looked up the night before.... etc.

lol @ people who think barbells are necessary for strength training.

I lol @ people who lol @ people

So how does one get from the machines to the free weights? Some of the attitude in this thread is what's keeping some of us on the machines.

a mob like personality has invaded this site. It is all this macho nacho "lift heavy" stuff. There is nothing wrong with lifting heavy, but a lot of these folks would have total beginners who have never lifted anything heavier than a fork, grunting max weight in the squat rack.

Beginners to weight lifting can spend a solid year "lifting heavy" with only dumbbells. Dont get sucked into this "I'm so cool cuz I talk chit about lifting heavy crap.

Wow, I must have missed the posts where people were saying "Load that barbell up and squat 300lbs right now!!" Oh wait, that didn't happen.
I'm pretty sure that people where offering advice to someone who specifically asked what to do since his gym had no barbells.....leading me to assume that he expected to have use of barbells during his strength training routine. And then several people said that barbells were not necessary, but efficient for strength training. How is that bad? I must be missing your point, because I seriously cannot see a problem.
And several of the people on this thread of routinely offered solid advice about lifting programs, how to get started in strength training, and offered examples of what has worked for them. I have yet to see any of them offer any unsafe advice, like you have suggested.

Wow, I must have missed the posts where people were saying "Load that barbell up and squat 300lbs right now!!" Oh wait, that didn't happen.

This. Sometimes you get people who get into pissing contests about how much they lift, but everyone who lifts understands that no one starts as a powerlifter, and any time someone asks, "What is heavy?" the answer is "Heavy is relative to your abilities."

NO, you dont need barbells to get a great workout but...................

turn around and walk out of that gym!!! Exercise is best when you have multiple options and not having barbells can limit what you can do.

Hell, in the extra bedroom in my apartment I have a bench, squat rack, 450 pounds of free weights and several pairs of dumbells...sounds like I have more in my apartment than your gym has, lol.

Just my personal opinion, but as a beginner, I wouldn't recommend trying any free weights at all, dumbbell or barbell, without having a personal trainer. You can seriously hurt yourself by using improper form, especially on a repetitive motion.

Even watching videos on the Internet does not help as much as you would think when you are starting from ground zero.

So if that gym doesn't have personal trainers (they are not cheap, but they are worth it), you definitely should find a new gym.

NO, you dont need barbells to get a great workout but...................

turn around and walk out of that gym!!! Exercise is best when you have multiple options and not having barbells can limit what you can do.

Hell, in the extra bedroom in my apartment I have a bench, squat rack, 450 pounds of free weights and several pairs of dumbells...sounds like I have more in my apartment than your gym has, lol.

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/average-home-sizes-around-the-151738

uumm, okay. whats your point?

lol @ people who think barbells are necessary for strength training.

Necessary? No. Efficient? Hell yeah.

Yes, there is a huge difference between "This workout is more efficient than that one" and "This is absolutely necessary."

You might not NEED barbells for strength training, but if you joined a gym to do strength training, and they have none... Then that's a completely different story. I'd switch gyms.

I'll agree with this guy. Still good idea to switch gyms. Though the equipment isn't necessary (and I'd argue the efficiency of using weights vs body weight), an ill equipped gym can't be a good gym.

Show me the bodyweight routine that allows people to squat over 300 and deadlift over 400 and you can win

So how does one get from the machines to the free weights? Some of the attitude in this thread is what's keeping some of us on the machines.

a mob like personality has invaded this site. It is all this macho nacho "lift heavy" stuff. There is nothing wrong with lifting heavy, but a lot of these folks would have total beginners who have never lifted anything heavier than a fork, grunting max weight in the squat rack.

Beginners to weight lifting can spend a solid year "lifting heavy" with only dumbbells. Dont get sucked into this "I'm so cool cuz I talk chit about lifting heavy crap.

Dude, this thread is about the OP asking what to do in a gym without barbells. Obviously he's not a beginner otherwise why would he waste his time concerning over a barbell???

People throw out pistol squats in response to this argument all the time. Hell, I weigh 240 and I can do a one-legged body weight squat, but still haven't broken a 200lb barbell squat.


A lot of people don't realize that a barbell squat gives you so much more than "some leg strength."

There's lots of bodyweight movements that strong people will struggle with. I'd be willing to say that every 1000 pound squatter out there can't do a pistol squat, and clearly doesn't need them in his training.

So how does one get from the machines to the free weights? Some of the attitude in this thread is what's keeping some of us on the machines.

a mob like personality has invaded this site. It is all this macho nacho "lift heavy" stuff. There is nothing wrong with lifting heavy, but a lot of these folks would have total beginners who have never lifted anything heavier than a fork, grunting max weight in the squat rack.

Beginners to weight lifting can spend a solid year "lifting heavy" with only dumbbells. Dont get sucked into this "I'm so cool cuz I talk chit about lifting heavy crap.

Dude, this thread is about the OP asking what to do in a gym without barbells. Obviously he's not a beginner otherwise why would he waste his time concerning over a barbell???

Actually he is a she....

Good grief, the OP asked for exercises she could do using either the machines available at her local gym using either machines or dumbbells not "War & Peace" about the relative merits of free weights, dumbbells or machines.

A beginner (which I believe the OP clearly is) can do perfectly well just using machines / dumbbells / body weight.

If her goals are to reach elite strength standards I'm pretty sure she wouldn't be asking for this kind of advice.

I know this might sound astonishing but I think the average person doesn't really give two hoots about being able to bench 1.5 x their BW.

Average people aren't members on an online fitness community looking for ways to get stronger. Don't insult the OP or anyone else here by comparing us to average people!

They're posting in the excercise section of a fitness forum, if anything you should be stoked that she isn't receiving answer like "just run and eat less".

You can lose weight and lift heavy.................. You can lose weight without lifting heavy.

But she said her "gym" doesn't have any barbells, theres nothing wrong with people reccommending that she find a real gym. Because even if average is her goal right now, hopefully at some point she wants to do a little more than that.

"Strength training" means training to get stronger and is in fact what is under discussion right now. Squatting 300 is still novice level for an average height man and can be achieved in under a year. If a man wants "strength training" to continue to be strength training, then he should be concerned about squatting 300. (yes i know the op is a woman)

You could do either of these for at least 6 months.

http://www.stumptuous.com/workout-6

And I think you could probably do NROLFW, with a few substitutions.

edit: my gym has barbells, but the plates are very small which means I can`t do certain exercises. However, I have been able to do substitute exercises with dumbbells (I think they go up to 90 lbs). The mechanics of using DBs vs BBs is slightly different, but not impossible to overcome with some creativity.

For example:
- Instead of BB hip thrust > single leg DB glute bridge
- Instead of back or front squat > goblet squat, single leg squat, Bulgarian split squat
- Deadlifts > 1-legged romanian deadlifts; DB deadlifts; step-ups work many of the same muscles, especially if you use a high step
- You can do rows a million ways, no problem there

(Most of those are from the link above - see also exrx, OR this book:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Womens-Health-Big-Book-Exercises/dp/1605295493 )