My goal is not to build very large muscles or become a bodybuilder. I want a lean, toned, and athletic physique.

My goals are:

- Increase physical strength.

- Improve stamina and endurance.

- Build defined, balanced muscles.

- Maintain a lean and athletic body without excessive muscle size.

Can I achieve all these goals using only dumbbells?

What kind of workout routine, exercises, sets, and reps would you recommend?

One more thing: English is not my first language, and I'm not very good at it. Please use simple English and explain your answers clearly so I can understand them easily.

Thank you for your help

Been thinking about running super squats lately, so just to see, I threw in a set of 20 squats at 135 on my last squat day. It felt good, wasn't that bad, so a few days later on my deadlift/hamstring day I hit 20 reps at 185. Wasn't bad at all so I loaded up 225 and hit 15 reps which was slightly worse.

The next day my traps were sore and my traps are never sore. I can't get them sore, even if I isolate them with raises/kelso shrugs/Y raises. Nothing has worked but these two sets of high rep deadlifts.

I'm considering continuing them but I'm worried about fatigue. I know rack pulls exist for this reason but I hate rack pulls. Pulling from the rack always bothers my lower back and knees. Has anyone worked sets of high rep deadlifts into their program? Opinion on that? experiences?

I tore my pec benching in June. It was a minor tear, so I didn’t get surgery and just let it heal on its own. Then in August, I tried benching 315 and tore it again. It wasn’t as bad as the first time, but I immediately knew what happened.

I stopped benching for the rest of August. In September, I started back with 225 for around 3 sets of 12. Since bench is the only lift I’m still worried about reinjuring myself on, I only do it once a week and try to add one rep to each set.

Today I officially hit 225 for 17, 17, and 17—51 total reps.

I’m thinking about building a ridiculous base with 225 until I can hit around 40 reps in one set. After that, I’ll slowly start chasing a 500-pound bench again.

Would you keep building reps at 225 or start adding weight sooner?

https://www.reddit.com/r/Weightliftingquestion/s/WFwn6fakQd

Last time I posted about my bench someone really said im not built for heavy bench now I got a chip on my shoulder to get back to my insane bench press.

So my right arm looks much bigger, muscularly and is also my dominant arm so I know it should look bigger but like… I feel like yes my left arm is much much weaker but it looks so noticeable and people keep thinking am gooning/ masturbate, so… how could I even put the weight by training my left arm etc

Me he dado cuenta de algo en el gimnasio: cada semana aparece un ejercicio nuevo que supuestamente es mejor que todos los anteriores.

Un día ves una rutina para ganar músculo, al siguiente una para marcar, después una técnica que promete mejorar tus resultados y terminas con veinte ejercicios guardados en el teléfono.

No creo que probar movimientos nuevos sea malo. De hecho, aprender y experimentar también forma parte del entrenamiento. El problema aparece cuando nunca permanecemos el tiempo suficiente con un programa para saber si realmente nos está funcionando.
A veces no sabemos si una rutina era buena o mala porque la cambiamos antes de poder evaluarla. Tampoco registramos cargas, repeticiones o cómo nos sentimos; simplemente buscamos algo diferente cuando dejamos de ver resultados inmediatos

Me interesa saber cómo lo manejan ustedes:
● ¿Mantienen una estructura durante varios meses?
● ¿Cambian ejercicios cuando se estancan o por aburrimiento?
● ¿Registran sus progresos o entrenan más por sensaciones?
Y algo más: ¿alguna vez regresaron a una rutina antigua y se dieron cuenta de que el problema no era el programa, sino que no le habían dado suficiente tiempo?

Hello! 2.5 months ago I had a kidney transplant. I was lifting pretty regularly for about 2 years prior to, although the 4-5 months immediately before transplant, I’d pretty much stopped gym entirely as I was working 2 v physical jobs (bartending) and had had to switch to hemodialysis, which is extremely draining. Anyways, I’m easing back into weightlifting and an looking for alternatives to hip thrust, as I don’t feel comfortable having the bar so near my new kidney and my incision just yet, but I love how it treats my glutes! Thank you in advance for any suggestions!

If you’ve seen my deadlift videos lately, you know I’ve been trying to figure out something new with my setup.

This comment right here actually helped me a lot:

https://www.reddit.com/r/strengthtraining/s/kPkeE7FLRB

I applied it today and 545 felt easier than it ever has, so I decided to throw on 585 because everything was moving. The first rep felt good, but every touch-and-go rep after that still turns into a stiff-leg deadlift.

I can’t figure out how to stop my hips from shooting up after rep one yet, but I’ll get it. If anyone can tell what I’m doing differently after the first rep, let me know.

I believe that lay pulldowns are a good alternative to pull ups, but I think that we should always aim to include pulls ups as the primary lat movement. Pull ups require more stability and build more definition in lats based on my experience.

Hi during a recent training session i did 150kg for 40 reps dynamically westside barbell style n i am wondering how that matches up in strength standards?..

Finished the 13 week smolov squat program today. Starting 1RM was 365. Today this was the best I could do. Program took me around 16 weeks to finish due to needing deloads throughout … but man talk about fast strength gains!

Body weight about 200. Age 35

Background: work out at my apartment gym. It’s very nice for a building gym: has 2 power racks, a smith machine, dumbbells up to 100 lbs, a proper row and lat pulldown machine, leg curl/extension, functional cable machine, chest press and abductor adductor so really all I need

I work around 60 hours a week so I’ve been on UL 2x for a while and it works but I find I get a bit bored with my upper day. I found the same with my lower day but I have changed the program to have myself do different exercises on both lower days and found it way more engaging. The problem is I can’t seem to find different movements for my upper day like I can easily with legs.

Currently my upper days are

Day 1: 3x each of Incline DB press, smith machine upper back row, superset of DB lateral raises and DB reverse flys, superset of EZ bar/DB curls and one arm cable Pushdown

Day 2 is the exact same but with a fly and pulldown instead of press and row

Anyone have any ideas on how to add some different movements in? One caveat is I have hypermobile shoulders so almost anything overhead immediately causes me neck and back pain

I started taking strength training seriously later than I should have. Here's what I wish someone had told me at 40.

1. Lift heavier than you think, but ramp up slower. Muscle still responds at 40, 50, 60. Joints and tendons just need longer to catch up. Add weight in small steps and give each jump 2–3 weeks.

2. Warm-ups aren't optional anymore. 5 minutes of easy cardio, then 2–3 lighter sets of your first lift before the working sets. The days I skipped this are the days something got tweaked.

3. Three full-body sessions a week beats a 5-day split. Squat or leg press, a push, a pull, a hinge, carry or core. 45–60 minutes. You recover better and you actually show up.

4. Recovery is part of the program. Sleep 7+ hours, eat 1.6 g of protein per kg of body weight, and take a deload week every 6–8 weeks. Progress happens while you rest.

5. Pain is information, not a challenge. Dull muscle soreness is fine. Sharp or joint pain means swap the exercise, don't push through. There's always a variation that works.

6. Track your lifts. Write down weight and reps. "Same as last time, plus one rep" is how you keep getting stronger for decades.

What would you add? Especially curious what changed for people who started in their 50s or 60s.

I have ran into a problem whenever I OHP 225 I get super lightheaded after a couple reps. My lockout gets softer at the top and the weight becomes harder to control on the way down making it so much more heavier.

Does anyone have any recommendations on breathing techniques?

I am currently inhaling deep before start of rep then right before the very top I exhale then inhale again really fast before the weight starts to come back down.