Program for men without barbells?

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We only have one gym available to us and it doesn't have barbells. It has dumbbells up to 50 pounds and then it has a bunch of various machines. We are going to start saving money so we can buy a bench and a barbell and start building our own set. But until then, is there a program my fiance can do without barbells? I bought the book "New Rules of Lifting for Women" which seems very friendly w/o barbells, so I was wondering if there was something similar out there for men. I checked out Stronglifts but that looks very much barbell based, which I understand that barbells are the best to use. He has been typing "workout with weights for men" in Google and as you can imagine that doesn't work very well LOL so I thought maybe ya'll would know of some to check out.

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  • ansaguy
    ansaguy Posts: 14 Member
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    There is a version of stronglifts that uses dumbells. I've read that it isn't quite as effective but if you're just starting it might suffice in the interim. There are a ton of things to do with dumbells. Flyes, presses, dumbell squats, shrugs, side lateral and front raises. If you google dumbell routines you'll find a ton of stuff. Only downside is being limited to 50 pounds per hand. For the big muscle groups that soon will be too light if it isn't already. He could always supplement with some calisthenic stuff too - working up to weighted pushups, pullups, chin-ups, and dips.
  • tacguy
    tacguy Posts: 196
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    P90X uses only dumbbells or even bands if you want. Body Beast uses mostly dumbbells and had dumbbell modifications for barbell moves. I'm sure there are other programs out there as well.
    Please let me know if you would like more information.

    Good luck!
    Joe
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    is joining a different gym an option?

    what kind of gym has no barbells?????