Beginner, Olympic set, HELP!

Sigmar · 10-20-2005, 11:02 AM

I'm a beginning lifter, 34 years old, 5'9", 165 lbs. I've just moved to a very rural area, and do not have access to a gym. My money is very tight and I can't afford to buy any more equipment right now. The only supplements I buy are a good once-a-day multivitamin and protein powder. On the bright side, I can make pretty much unlimited time to work out in the evenings.

The equipment I have is as follows:

Olympic set w/300 lbs, counting bar.
30 lb dumbbell. About right for hammer curls for me, not much else.
Wrist roller.
A towel hanging from a rafter in the basement so I can do pullups.
Cheap Airdyne-type stationary bike.
4 microplates (1.25 lbs each)

My lifting in the past has centered on the military press and the deadlift, as I don't have a bench or a power rack. My 1RM in the deadlift is right around 300 lbs (I can pull all the Olympic weight I have, with a lot of difficulty ... haven't tried more). I've done Pavel Tsatsouline's "Power to the People" workout as my main workout.

I've lost a lot of weight recently - about 30 lbs since the beginning of the year, and about 50 lbs since I let myself go and got "orca fat." I still have some body fat to lose, as I'm kind of "skinny fat" right now, but my diet is under control - lean meat, eggs, whey protein, tuna, brown rice, veggies, whole wheat pasta, a little olive oil, etc. - and I'm still losing weight at a sensible and acceptable rate.

Unfortunately, with that kind of weight loss, I've obviously lost muscle, too.

So, keep in mind all I've ever really done is Pavel's stuff. I'm looking for something different right now. I don't get to do Brazilian jiu-jitsu while I'm living out here, so "performance" isn't really an issue.

Here's what I need help with:

* For the first time, I'm going to start working out for "cosmetics." I don't want to have done all this work to lose fat and still look as crappy as I did when I was fat. I don't know the first thing about working out for looks.
* I'm not looking to gain a lot of weight yet. I'm happy at 165 lbs or so, but would like to replace the last of the fat I'm carrying with a few pounds of muscle. I guess I'm looking for "light hypertrophy."
* I don't really know anything about cardio, as matwork has always been my cardio.
* I absolutely _cannot_ a) join a gym or b) buy more equipment. I am poor and in the middle of nowhere, working out in my bedroom. There's not even a stoplight or a parking meter in this entire COUNTY. So, any workout I do, I have to do with an Olympic set. That means my major barbell press is going to have to be the military or something else that doesn't require a bench or rack, and my major barbell lower body exercises will have to be deadlift, sumo deadlift, front squat, etc.
* I'm very flexible and can do Oly-style front squats, just not with a lot of weight yet.
* I don't know the first thing about what reps, sets, splits, etc. I should be using for my goals, when/if I should be fitting in cardio, etc.
* I don't mind doing bodyweight stuff like pushups, deep knee bends, etc. to plug any gaps in development.

Any help anyone can provide would be _greatly_ appreciated. I'm willing to work out hard, do cardio, eat right, whatever, I just can't buy more stuff or travel right now.

I basically need help designing a whole workout.

Thanks in advance!

diamondpete · 10-20-2005, 12:09 PM

I think you could start with Homegrown muscle

you do need a bench, but a bench does not necessarily have to be a real bench, in a pinch you could use a strong board propery anchored, or make a bench. But in anycase I think you could do HGM (it is a work at home program) with the equipment you have a little substitution and some creativity. Check it out and see what you think

Peter

laxcdn · 10-20-2005, 01:30 PM

HGM is a great start. If you finish the year long program you know you will stick with it. It changes often and you will see good results too.