Help me with my weight lifting routine, please

I am by far an expert but one exercise I don't see on your list is bent over rows.

Well obviously you're going to be limited by equipment so first choice would be to join a gym with the equipment you need. I feel your pain though, I was in a crappy gym for a while and I had to improvise. I would definitely look into doing squats with the DBs. If you can't hang onto them, get chalk, gloves or straps. Or hoist them up high on your delts/collarbones and do squats that way.

Same with the chest press/bench press. Just use DBs.

The Smith machine is going to give you such a crappy workout compared to using the DBs, honestly. I never even touched the Smith machine in my gym, I used DBs for everything until I outgrew the biggest ones and finally joined a real gym.

Having said that, you've got some redundancy in your workout that isn't necessarily needed. You're hitting triceps with shoulder press, chest press, push-ups, etc. Then you're dong tricep extensions? That's 4 tricep excercises. I'd try to stick to more compound exercises so you don't have to do 20 different ones. Another one would be lats, you're doing pull-ups, lat pulldowns and rows. Maybe just do pull-ups and rows or chins and rows. Consolidate a bit. I guess it all depends on what your goals are, which you have not stated.

Personally, I'd just find a good gym and do a good beginner's strength program. That will get you started off wonderfully.

You can do squats without a smith machine, think about using body weigght, plyos, kettlebells etc. resistance bands
personally id mix it up, with different types of weights or compounds movements

Hey, You seem like you've got a pretty solid lifting base so congrats on that. Also, i have the new rules of lifting and it's a great book. I think it's important to change up your routine seasonally, but if your want a solid starting point push pull legs is a classic and it's always been successful. so example would b
Monday and Thursday chest triceps and delts 3-4 working sets of everything
flat bench
incline bench
dips
flys
tricep pushdowns
overhead extensions
military press
lateral raises

Tuesday and Friday back bis and traps again 3-4 sets of each
wide grip Pull downs
bent over rows
alternating dumbell curls
preacher curls
up right rows
shrugs

Wednesday and Saturday Legs
Squats (front or rear depending on goals)
leg press
leg extensions
calf raises

sunday rest
You can do abs every day or every other day depending on your recovery time

look up workouts on bodybuilding.com and cutandjacked.com. thats where i found some good routines when i started

Those are pretty good exercises, nice job. And I'm a fan of gloves but for purely psychological reasons. When I put on gloves, it's like putting on a uniform and sort of puts me in that zone. I sometimes wear gloves on leg day... lol

Coffeehouse put together a nice list, here's another to consider.

Day 1 - Chest/Triceps

Flat Bench Press - (alternate Incline Bench Press every other week or so)
Flat Bench Dumbbell Press - (alternate Incline Bench DB Press every other week)
*- don't be afraid to ask an experienced lifter for a spot
Pec Fly Machine or Chest Fly with Dumbbell
Wide-Arm Pushups (as many as you can do in 30 seconds, then eventually 45 seconds, then 1 minute)
Skullcrusher
Bent over Tricep with Extension
V-bar Tricep Pulldown (alternate with Rope Handle every other week)
Seated Dips

Day 2 - Legs

Smith Machine Squat or Split Squat off of Bench
Walking Lunge with DB (or Front Lunges)
Side or Rear Lunges (bodyweight or light DBs)
Leg Extension Machine
Leg Curl Machine
Stiffed-Leg Deadlift
Seated Calf Raise Machine (or Calf Raise on Leg Press Machine)
Smith Machine Calf Raise (standing on pedestal of some kind)

Day 3 - Cardio/HIIT/Ab Work

Situps on Decline Bench or Stability Ball
Leg Raises
Planks

Day 4 - Back/Shoulders/Biceps

Dumbbell Shrug
Barbell Upright Row
Assisted pull ups
Lat pull downs
Bent over row with dumbbells or Seated Cable Row
Shoulder press with dumbbells
Front Dumbbell Raise / Lateral Dumbbell Raise (superset)
Dumbbell Bicep Curl (2 sets of wide, 2 sets of front, 2 sets of inner aka concentration curls)

If you do three days of weight training, you can put your ab work in any of these other days. If you do five days, you can put shoulders on its own day and complement it with some HIIT training. You can also do one or two of the ab exercises on any of the other days as well. I like to have one day dedicated to ab work so that I'm not always doing it at the end of a workout when my energy is diminished.

Whatever you end up with, keep up the great work and effort!

I'm not trying to be an *kitten*, but you haven't described your current routine, just a list of exercises....what are your training goals?

You're not being an *kitten* lol. I never know how much info is needed. I want to lose about 10-15 more pounds, lower my bodyfat % 4-5% & get stronger. I have a decent amount of muscle, it's just under a little bit too much fat for my taste. My bodyfat is around 21-22% right now & I'm 5'9, 154 lbs. I don't really have anything specific that I'm training for, but I want to get into federal law enforcement (after grad school so I've got a few more years) & I'm signed up for an obstacle course in late April (Hard Charge). I would really like to be able to do pull ups. Right now, with 55 pounds helping me, I can get 3 sets of 6-7. With my routine, I'm aiming to complete 3 sets of 10. I lift heavy (for me anyways) so once I can complete the full 10 reps for all sets then I increase the weight a little.

Increasing reps is a good way to progress. If you want to gain strength, 10 reps is too much. Do 5 reps with more weight.

Avoid bodybuilding.com like the plague - there is so much misinformation on that site. If you want to learn good lifting technique and have a very good introduction to training for strength, get the "Starting Strength" book. Do what this book says and you will learn more and make more progress than anything else you have tried so far.

scott

Hey, You seem like you've got a pretty solid lifting base so congrats on that. Also, i have the new rules of lifting and it's a great book. I think it's important to change up your routine seasonally, but if your want a solid starting point push pull legs is a classic and it's always been successful. so example would b
Monday and Thursday chest triceps and delts 3-4 working sets of everything
flat bench
incline bench
dips
flys
tricep pushdowns
overhead extensions
military press
lateral raises

Tuesday and Friday back bis and traps again 3-4 sets of each
wide grip Pull downs
bent over rows
alternating dumbell curls
preacher curls
up right rows
shrugs

Wednesday and Saturday Legs
Squats (front or rear depending on goals)
leg press
leg extensions
calf raises

sunday rest
You can do abs every day or every other day depending on your recovery time

I would like to be able to do a split workout, but I work full time & I'm taking 19 hours at school, including 2 grad level classes. I just don't have the time to get in the gym every day.

Somebody already said it but given your time constraints I would

1. Find a new gym with proper equipment

2. Look into Starting Strength, New Rules of Lifting for Women, or Stonglifts.

All those programs focus on whole body routines and compound lifts. It'll save you time and you'll get results.

strstd.com

Bumo for this right here.

You're the man Captain.

Just alternate 3 non consecutive days per week with squat, bench, row on one and deadlift, shoulder press, chinups the other. Add weight as often as possible. After the fat is gone determine whether you can still make progress with such simple programming or if you need to move on.