Getting Started... Sort of...

[ashamelessego]

I've been a lurker for probably over a year now. About a month ago, I started working out about six weeks ago. 

 

I started out at the gym with a circuit of twenty body weight squats, eight assisted dips, eight assisted pull-ups, five push-ups, eight leg lifts, and finally 30 second planks. I end it all with ten minutes doing some sort of cardio.

 

I do this two times a week and then three-four times a week I do other forms of cardio just to keep myself busy.

 

I originally planned on starting squats, dead lifts, and overhead press with the weight bar at my gym, and then realized that we only had a Smith Machine at the Planet Fitness I go too.

 

I was wondering how I should augment things moving forward to actually continue gaining muscle. Should I just be looking at free weights? And what's a good overall workout to do moving forward? 

 

Should I start just by doing the same workout more often, less weight for the assisted dips/pull-ups, and keep working up to weight?

 

Thanks for your help,

-JT

[jfreaksho]

Whether you continue doing bodyweight exercises or you want to lift weights, you need to find progressively more difficult exercises to do.  From pushups you can start working towards 1-arm pushups, or pseudo planche pushups.  From bodyweight squats you can start working towards pistol squats.

 

Or you can put weight on a bar, and add a bit of weight every so often.

 

More is not always better.  Better is better.

[ashamelessego]

Well, I want to keep things going at a steady rate. Do you think I should just decease the weight in the dips, add lunges, add pushpus, and increase the time in the planks?