okay, so i'm determined to make some time for lifting...

i'm 5'7 and 130lbs. i have crohn's disease, so weight gain is difficult.

my arms are decently defined, but i want more, and my chest is pretty much flat. i am looking to tone my arms and really get some definition in my chest and abs.

i have apprx 5% body fat, so what muscle i do have sticks out fairly well. i've never really worked out before.. i have some freeweights in my basement i can use.

where do i start? :hs:

TIA.

 

curl, bench, pull ups, leg lifts, push ups.

All I do are pull ups and leg lifts while hanging. Can't complain with the results

 

http://www.ast-ss.com/max-ot/max-ot_intro.asp

 

Start slow...low weight, low # of sets...just to get your body acclimated to lifting. Don't just do chest and arms, you gotta do the whole body. Chest, back, shoulders, biceps, triceps, abs, legs.

Chest: Incline bench/dumbbell press, decline bench, flat bench/dumbbell press, dumbbell flyes

Biceps: Dumbbell curls, hammer curls, barbell curls

Triceps: Closegrip benchpress, kickbacks, skull crushers, overhead dumbbell extension

Shoulders: upright barbell rows, dumbbell/barbell shrugs, front/side dumbbell raises

Back: Bent over barbell/dumbbell rows, deadlifts, pull ups

Legs: Squats, calf raises, stiff leg deadlifts

Abs: crunches, bicycle crunches, side bends with weight, leg raises, reverse crunches

Obviously these are just some of the exercises you can do...but they should all be something that you can do with a basic free weight setup. I would start by picking 2 workouts from each muscle group to start with. Do 2 sets of 10 reps after warming up. Once your body is used to lifting weights (probably 2 weeks) then add another exercise and another set. Figure out how many days you want to work out, and plan a routine from there.

 

Eat what you can that is lean and good protein, then just show up at the gym and do stuff.

95% of it is diet.

 

I can get you some discount Humira... :shhh:

 

wow, 5% is CRAZY low... i think 3-5% is considered essential bodyfat. is that just from a crazy metabolism, or from the chrons? (i really don't have any idea what that is)

anyway, aside from the detailed exercises that dubcac outlined, you should start taking a weight gaining shake. it will give you the calories you need to have strong workouts, and they usually also have protein to facilitate muscle growth and creatine. and even if you doubled your body fat, you'd still be within the "athletic" range.

 

eat, then after you eat, eat some more, then eat again and again.

diet is the more important thing here.

 

he doesn't need to take weight gaining shakes, just regular protein shake will do fine. Having low body fat % is not a bad thing, he can get cut easily.

I have a low body fat % and used to take weight gaining shakes

1. It didn't work
2. Gave me hard shits
3. I'm not sure chuging down 1000+ calorie shakes everyday is very good for you

 

I took a weight gainer back in the day...worked well for me...called Cytogainer. Now I just take protein.