health gurus inside please
 

Hello all. Being that I am no longer at Rutgers, and don't feel like spending money on a gym membership, I need to change my workout routine now that I plan on getting back into it. I started a daily running routine but would like to lift again also. I have a weight bench with a bar, free weights, and one of those over-the-door pull up bars. With what I have, can someone think of a good week routine using what I have? A muscle group that is especially important for me to bulk up is my shoulders being that I have a week rotator cuff. That is all. Thanks guys

Need more info on the weight bench. Is it adjustable? Any dumbbells? How much space do you have to work with? Do you have any woodworking tools?

to help strengthen ur weakened shoulder, id say try starting with light dumbells (5-10lb) and do front raises and lat raises, or some bent over lat raises, bentover rows (using dumbells, one arm at a time, you could probably go a bit heavier as well). get the Arnold encyclopedia to modern bodybuilding. it covers everrrything. even if ur not trying to get into it that seriously, it is a great guide to use.

Yup. Nutrition stuff in there is dated, but the rest of it is timeless.

to strengthen your weak shoulder you could also use those resistance bands

Unfortunately I cannot do lat raises because of my condition. Those exercises I have from my old physical therapy routine. I guess I'll have to pick up that book. I've heard about it before, but I always laughed at the idea of needing it granted I'm not really trying to bulk up. Just want to lose weight and get a little stronger.

the bench is adjustable. The back can angle up to about 45 degrees but does not go down. I have used it before for incline bench but not decline. I do have a decent amount of room, but certainly not enough for more machines.

A new place just recently opened up down the road from me... $10/mo. The craze has hit my town, which is full of McDonald's-lovin' cows, and it seems like everyone in a 10 mile radius of my address goes there every night. Might be a haul for you though :lol:

ya, I hate the "2 weekers" that come in all balls to the wall ,usually the cows, and then after 2 weeks they stop comming.

qwikz28- are you able to do a shoulder press?

jake just come with me to ballys u can go for free i can get an extra card...

Jake I'm sure Billy will come up with a good plan for you so I'll refrain. Just be careful with your shoulder. Rotator Cuff's can be aggravated by just about anything from bench to shoulders, to bi's, etc. If you're not looking for a bodybuilder physique and more for general fitness I'd stick with bigger exercises like flat and incline bench, bicep and tricep curls, and if someone can come up with some safe exercises for your shoulder. And use your pullup bar to work your back....try to do pullups and not chin-ups. This puts much more effort on the back than the biceps.

enro are u talking about planet fitness?

nope I can't. that was one I recall my orthopedist saying no to

that's quite a hike from NY, but thanks :)

That is pretty much what I have been doing, only I have been doing chin ups so I guess I will switch to pull ups. for triceps I used to do dips but I have nothing to do that with at home. Gonna have to do it with free weights i guess

Yeppers

Jake,

After giving this some thought, here's some stuff for you to think about.

From my experience, flat barbell bench and pull ups will aggravate a shoulder injury. You may want to stay away from those for a little while, until you strengthen your weak area.

For strengthing your shoulders safetly you will need some dumbbells. The free movement will allow you to perform reps more naturally and can help you get reps done that normally would be painful.

A basic blast-off style might be good for you. 4 sets, 12,10,8,6.

Are you looking for legs as well or just upper body at this time?

I am surprised you are doing pull ups. They were painful when I was rehabbing my shoulder.

o... thought u still live near rutgers...

my gf is a member there and wants me to work out with her so maybe ill see you there

POWERBARSSSSSSS

My job is enough of a workout :lol:

You are right, the flat barbell bench is very uncomfortable for my shoulder, but my orthopedist said it was fine so I continue to do it. I think I will switch to freeweights though. Nothing really hurts per se, but certain things are uncomfortable. For example, most things that require my arms to be directly above my head (as if I were reaching towards the sky) are uncomfortable. This is what my orthopedist suggested I stay away from.

To be honest, the one thing that really made my shoulder feel great, was when I went rowing on the Potomac in April. It was seriously tiring because my upper body hadn't been worked out in months, but the next morning, my shoulder felt great. I may have to pick up a rowing machine for my back exercises. The rest I guess I will have to make do with dumbbells.

so here, would this be a sufficient workout for now:

(chest)
Bench press
Incline bench
Butterfly

(arms)
Bicep Curl
Tricep extension

(shoulders and back)
Pull ups (possibly a rowing machine soon too)
front raises
shoulder shrugs
some other various physical therapy exercises once I get my hands on some elastic bands

I also do some situps for my abs and running for my legs so I am not worried about those areas. What do you guys think?

don't listen to Ron, hes just trying to get you beefed up. loll . just get a resistance band. use an arm bike at a gym. go to physical therapy.

I edited what you have listed. The stars are the ones you should bust your ass on. The other stuff is kind of "fluff" in that it's not really a compound exercise you will hit a lot of muscle with. I didn't star the dumbbell BP because of the likelihood of shoulder pain. You can do all of this stuff with what you have. Keep in mind that running will make your legs lean but you will not build mass.

i was going to say do a bunch of rowing exercises. they hit your back real good and your shoulder should see some good strengthening from it as well.

I flipped through this quick, so if I'm repeating something sorry.
I saw you said you had some shoulder issues, I was a pitcher through college and shoulder ***** is drilled into your skull. You mentioned PT exercises with resistance bands, you can use those or very light dumbells like the little pink ones make sure you keep up doing those internal/external rotations (obviously lying on a bench if you have to use little dumbs). If they gave you others like 'unsheathing the sword' do 'em all it all seems dumb but they're awesome I still do them and I'm healthy as can be.
They probably told you to do nothing overhead, so that rules out alot of exercises. But you don't have to have a complex workout routine that half the exercises are foreign to the average joe. Dumbing it down to military/LE style workouts works out pretty well too. Like some people had said prior, master your body weight; i.e. pushups, pullups, run, etc. You'll build strength, lean up, and stay pretty athletic and agile with crossfit type stuff if you can manage that. That stuff is fun and usually gives you workouts based on your body weight, fun to do and you're soaked in 20 minutes...if you can do it that fast haha.
BMXrider mentioned rowing, that is killer I like that suggestion!
Also, obviously anytime you use dumbs in the place of a barbell the stabilization now becomes your shoulders task rather than a solid bar. Keep that in mind, but be careful with it, good luck!

looked back at your equipment list, try this for fun...

1 set equals:

3 power cleans at 135 lbs, do less weight if you think you have to.
5 pushups
2 pullups

Do as many sets as possible in 20 minutes and try not to 'pace' yourself. Seems like cakewalk until you're huffing and you're not even halfway through. That's one of my favorite 20 minute shorties.

That all sounds great. I'm just curious as to why you took out the rowing machine in favor of the bentover barbell row? Money saver or more effective? Thanks by the way for all the help :)