khaledyasser

My shitty gym only has one bench press bench, one pull-up bar, and one customizable barbell so barbell exercises are kinda hard for me to do even though I would love to do them. This means I can't follow most exercise routines I hear getting recommended to beginners like me (starting strength, stronglifts, etc...). So while I look for a less shitty gym I would like some recommendations for effective bodyweight/dumbbell/machine exercises. My favorite of these is dumbbell exercises so those are extra appreciated. Also, I have access to barbell plates if there is anything I can do with those 

So this is a question I kept forgetting to ask for a long time now. Is it better to do a set that provides the most volume or a set of 5 reps that doesn't provide as much volume? For example, I can do 15 x 52kg on the lat pulldown machine but can barely do one or two at 65kg (my bodyweight) which is not nearly as much volume. It is the same for almost every exercise, I am most comfortable staying in the 10-15 rep range and I get the most volume out of it but I heard that lower rep ranges (5-8) are better for size so which should I do. Note: I am new to lifting and have only been to the gym for 1.5-2 months

I have finally found the guts to move from my unproductive home "workout" to an actual workout at the gym which I made and looks something like this (note: this is also in the help me build a workout forum called "New to the gym. Need help" but I changed some things)

 

3x10 dumbbell overhead press (two 14kg dumbbells)

3x10 wide grip lat pulldown (48 kg)

2.5-minute plank

3x10 goblet squat (one 26-28 kg dumbbell what I hold like a kettlebell)

3x10 deadlifts (40 kg barbell)

 

2x all of the above + random exercises I feel like doing at the end

1 minute rest between sets

 

However, I have noticed that for a month I have made almost no significant advancements (size) despite all I hear about newbie gains. I have actually lost some weight even though I intended to gain some and I don't know what I'm supposed to do. As for nutrition, I admit that I don't pay the most attention to what I eat but I have started eating way less shit since the workout began(I was never big on snacks or fast food but now I almost don't eat any). I've been trying to do paleo but I have made allowances for grain flour because I can't afford coconut flour or anything like it(I'm a high school student). Again, I'm new so I don't know if this lack of results is normal which is why I'm making this post. As a side note, I would also like to know if volume beats exercise range when it comes to gains. Most popular strength workouts I've found have sets of 5 in most exercises but I can get more volume by doing sets of 10 or even 15 (which is what I used to do) so which should I pick. Basically, I would like to know if the main problem is the workout or the diet

I recently started getting into fitness and quitting video games and so far I have had decent success. I have been going to the gym every 2 days for 1.5 hours and I already spend a large chunk of my day on foot. I've started free weight training but I am not sure what I am doing wrong. For starters, I find any lower body free weight exercises (deadlifts and squats) very tiring but I don't feel like I am actually working my legs. I used to use a leg press machine and my muscles actually felt sore like they were supposed to but I never sweat. Now that I moved to free weights, my main muscles almost never feel sore but I sweat a lot O_o. I also never feel sore after a workout even though I am doing each set to failure (usually around 12-15 reps with the weights I am using). Here is the workout plan:

 

3x15 dumbbell overhead press (two 12kg dumbbells)

3x15 wide grip lat pulldown (38 kg)

2.5-minute plank

3x15 goblet squat (one 22 kg dumbbell what I hold like a kettlebell. Not sure if this is enough but squats tire me out fast)

3x15 deadlifts (32.5 kg barbell. Pretty sure this isn't enough but can't seem to add)

 

3 rotations of all of the above

One minute rest between sets

 

Note: 1- My shitty gym has 1 bench press bench and it is always taken so no bench presses

           2- My shitty gym has 1 pullup bar and it is always taken so no pull-ups

           3- My shitty gym does not have coaches so yea

           4- My shitty gym is in Japan and I cannot speak Japanese nor do I have any friends who live nearby so no exercises that require spotters

           5- I am 17, weigh 65 kilograms and 173 centimeters tall in case that information is helpful