New to working out.
I have a list of exercises that I've been doing for the last month and want to confirm it's going to get done what I want to achieve.
Mainly just want to build more muscle.
Not get ripped but want endurance and strength mainly.
Please let me know any recommended changes or anything else I should add.
Here's my list, don't laugh, I'm new at this.
Warm up (5 mins)
Jog in place

Misc
Squats                                     15x3
Jumping Jacks                        15x3
Laying glute bridge                15x3
Push ups                                 15x3
Plank                                      15 sec X 3


Dumbbell exercises

Double dumbbell rows           15x3
Dumbbell chest press             15x3  
Bicep curls                             15x3   (start arms straight down)
Tricep Extension                    15x3   (one dumbbell behind head)
Dumbbell calf press               15x3

So commonly, building strength, building endurance, and building muscle are three separate goals.  Want to primarily build strength?  Low reps, high weight.  Want to increase hypertrophy?  Medium reps, medium weight.  Want to build endurance?  High reps, lower weight.

ETA: I've only ever trained for strength and hypertrophy.  Not so much endurance.  My strength training would consist of 3-5 sets of 3-5 reps.  My hypertrophy training consists of 3-5 sets of 8-15 reps.  I've always gone to the gym 3 days a week.  Right now, I do an upper/lower split.  So the first week, I'll do 2 upper body days and 1 lower body day.  Next week, vice versa, and so on.  My goal is to get 10-15 sets every 7 days per muscle group.

Good info.
I don't want to get huge, just want to get toned and be stronger.
Which type of lifting would you recommend for that?

You have to eat your way to being huge. Being "toned" is a matter of leanness which is controlled in the kitchen. If you want to get stronger without getting bigger, sets of 3 to 5 with heavy weight and keep the calories at around maintenance. Not an easy thing to do as you will get more hungry as you exert yourself.

Since you're new to lifting, do yourself a favor and read starting strength. It's not the only novice program out there but it's a popular one and the book is basically a lifting textbook that goes into detail about form.

This is a good place to start

Thanks for all the replies so far.
I've heard that book recommended from some youtube videos also.
I'll pick up a copy.

There are a bunch of good programs to start with.

Starting Strength is good, Stronglifts 5x5 is good (and free), I'm a fan of Mind Pumps stuff myself.

As said, most of the tone/size is in the kitchen. You won't 'get big' unless you eat enough for your Body to do it. Similarly, you won't get super lean without eating that way.

However, as far as your actual question - how many Sets/reps - If you want to see consistent progress, you need to vary that. Not weekly, but every 4-8 weeks or so, you want to go to a different rep number.

So you're doing 15's, which I'd consider pretty high. Go into a phase where you increase the weight, but decrease the reps, say to 8-10. Your body will respond. Then, in a month or two, increase the weight, drop the reps to 3-5. Your body will respond. Then you go back to high reps, maybe in a completely different type of program.

A good program will write this - and your exercises - out for you.

ETA:

The other thing to talk about is rest. I see the jogging in place to warm up, so I'm afraid you are doing the 'cardio with weights' thing. You want to REST between your sets - a minute at least, often more like 3. I watch my heart rate, when it gets back close to idle I go again. You do not need to be all sweaty at the end of the workout. There's a time and a place for that, but I don't think this is it.

Nobody ever accidentally got huge by working out.

Proximity to failure, total volume, and frequency are the big variables to manipulate.

Going heavy on one can often overcome slacking in the others.

For more strength, more muscle, and more endurance 6-12 reps is a good target range. Make the sets challenging, but not enough to wipe you out for days. Going to complete failure isn't really needed either, just cuts into recovery too much.

@ASUsax
Thanks for that info.
At the moment I'm only using 20lb dumbbells.
Would you guys recommend more weight than that for mixing up the program every so often?
I have a 30lb kettle bell, 5lb, 10lb, and 20lb dumbbells for now.

The most simple way when starting out to track progress (and actually make progress) is to pick a set and rep target, when you hit it you add some weight on the next workout and try again for the same sets and reps.

Cycle that a few times then move to something more complex.

If you only have up to 20 pounds, then even if you're a pretty small person, you're likely going to have to stay in a pretty high rep range, regardless of what is optimal. With that weight, on the lower body especially I'd lean towards single leg exercises when possible.

If you don't mind... how big are you?

(I'm a 260# guy... I can't do much at all with 20lb dumbells.  )

6'2" 210lbs
What weight would you recommend for dumbbells?

Dumbbells can be kind of a pain because of the weight selection required. Really between 5-60 lbs (and then higher) is what you want to actually use a good progression system.

3 sets of 12 is a good start

IMO, it's good you're using dumbbells.  #1 promotes muscle symmetry. #2 builds all those small yet important stabilizing muscles/tendons/ligaments. #3 easy to dump if you get into trouble.

The weight you're using is dictated by the amount of effort required.  If you're plan includes 4 sets of 10, the last reps on set 3 and 4 should be difficult...just shy of "I can't do this". The goal is to induce sufficient stress on the muscle to stimulate growth.  If there's no stress, you may as well be doing cardio with the women. So when those final reps become easier, bump up the weight.

Above all else, maintain proper form. Form is key.  It's not a race to sling the most weight by any means necessary.  Maintaining form targets the right muscle/muscle group and it prevents injury.

Good luck.

Most people new to lifting weights say they don't want to get huge.  Don't worry you aren't accidentally going to get huge.  Getting huge lean muscle gains takes years.  Getting huge by putting on some muscle and lots of fat is possible if you can eat enough.  

Bottom line if you want to gain strength stop doing high rep dumb bell work.  Use a barbell on some sort of beginner linear progression routine...I highly recommend Starting strength...Don't think for a minute the term "beginner routine" means it's easy or will not give the results an "advanced routine" will give you.  In fact it's the opposite.  A beginner routine using linear progression using a barbell will give you the fastest gains you will ever see along your journey.  Enjoy it while it lasts.

I disagree with not pushing to failure.  You absolutely need to be ready to push to failure.  Bottom line you have to work hard with intensity to get the gains.  At first Starting strength will be fairly easy and this is good as you learn the forms for each of the lifts.  Eventually it will start pushing you and should take everything you have to finish the last rep of the last set of 5 on each movement.  After it taking everything you have to finish that last rep of the last set you get to look forward to doing it again the next workout with 5 pounds more than you just did on this workout.  The last set may seem impossible with that in mind, but push through it and get it done.  Then do it again on the next workout with an additional 5 pounds.  It gets hard and many give up before they really have finished starting strength then complain that the program didn't give them the results they hear about from others.  They are pussies.  Get in the mindset of continuing to push forward.  At some point you will need to drop down and work your way up, but don't do this too soon until you absolutely cannot progress giving it everything you have.  

This will take your strength to levels you never thought you could achieve and teach your central nervous system to recruit everything your muscles are capable of.  After this you can move onto an intermediate routine of your choice.  After doing an intermediate routine for a while then you will be ready to create your own routine based upon your personal goals and what lifts you like the most.

DO NOT CREATE YOUR OWN ROUTINE UNTIL YOU HAVE EXHAUSTED ALL OF YOUR NEWB GAINS WITH A PROVEN BEGINNER ROUTINE AND THEN FOLLOWED THAT WITH AN INTERMEDIATE ROUTINE FOR A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF TIME!!!

At the end of the day don't over think it stick with a proven routine for a long enough period of time to let it work, eat and sleep right, and work fucking hard.  People over think a routine and what they are eating and forget that hard work pushing yourself to the limit is what it takes.  You can actually eat like shit as long as you get enough protein and sleep as long as you work fucking hard consistently for a period of time as a beginner and get major strength gains.  After your newb gains are done then diet and workout programming need to get dialed in better.  I'm not saying eat like shit, but saying that most people focus on the things that make small differences and ignore the things that make major differences which is working fucking hard consistently for a long period of time using linear progression.  If you aren't using more weight each workout as a beginner then you are doing it wrong period.

After reading a bit about lifting last night, I realize I should have bought adjustable dumbbells so I can progressively lift more weight as I get stronger...

Lifting heavy weights is all you need to do to get stronger. You can go outside to do this.


I recommend you target hypertrophy then target strength later on. The increased cross sectional area can increase your capacity for strength.

Good advice.

Well, they've come down in price drastically since covid.  Powerblocks or SelectTech (bowflex brand) are decent.  Get a pair.

You would be amazed how many people will ignore good advice.  If you are a long-term thinker and want the best results...start with starting strength to make linear gains in strength on the most important compound lifts.  After finishing starting strength you can go in multiple directions.

Build a good foundation with starting strength.  Don't try putting the siding on the house before you laid the foundation or built the frame of the house.  You can achieve results in other ways, but the best results come from starting with a linear progression using barbells on compound lifts, like starting strength.

You can ignore it's creators opinions and hate him if you like, but his program starting strength is legit if you run it correctly and work your ass off without pussing out to soon.

I know I'm repeating myself but get yourself a barbell, squat rack, and bench then run starting strength.  

Copy that.

Whatever routine of lifts you do, 3-5 sets of 3-5 reps 3-5 days a wee at 60-70% of your 1rm will get you and keep you strong.

If you don’t know your 1rm, don’t just guess, start from zero. Nobody wins the race to injury. No sense trying.

StrongLifts 5x5 ap is a good place to start it’ll guide you trough. Start everything at the bar and add 2.5 lb every time. You’ll feel silly at first, but three months in and you’re gonna be lifting pretty big weights and will probably plateau. De-load a bit and start building again.

As others have mentioned, don’t worry about getting huge. You won’t. You need to eat hard and lift hard for that. You may see some growth, but that’s just them noob gains.

Don’t forget about nutrition. Eat right to fuel your recovery and to keep from getting sore. Contrary to popular beliefs, you shouldn’t get sore after a strength training workout, and a proper diet helps.

Good luck!

Want a copy of Starting Strength OP?

Yours if you internet pinky swear to do it for two months.

Shit yeah!  I'd have already ordered it but grandkid is in the hospital for his appendix. I'll IM ya.

Good!

Read the book, learn the movements, do the program.  Give it eight weeks, then either thank the boys in here or tell them they're full of shit.  

DO NOT follow Rippetoe's nutrition advice, you're not 15 years old weighing 120lbs.......matter of fact, I'm going to tear those pages out and stick in the Renaissance Diet.

I like this.  Do the program exactly as written without missing any workouts and you will see results.  I disagree on the 8 weeks.  As a noob with proper diet and rest without adding in stupid junk volume accessory work you should be able to stick to the program much longer than 8 weeks even if you have to deload somewhere along the way.  

I'm one of the lucky ones at 50 years old I can still drink tons of milk every single day.  Maybe not a gallon, but definitely over a quart every day.  I agree though the OP doesn't need to do that.  The drink as much milk as you can every day is intended for the person that can't cook or plan a diet to make sure they hit their macros and get enough calories.  I'm lucky enough to have a fridge and micro wave right at my desk in my office so I take milk to work every day.  I also eat lots of oatmeal and even cheerios and make scrambled eggs in the microwave.  It's not ideal, but far better than most eat during their working hours.  Most people blow their diet during working hours either eating shit or not eating enough protein due to the inconvenience of trying to eat well during work hours.  Do what ever it takes to stick to your diet and macro goals during work hours.

Small steps Lefty!  Give him a little taste, first taste is free....but then, he gets his squat down, deadlift is coming up quick, and then he starts power cleans.  Next thing you know, he's looking at snatches on youtube in bed, and then he's watching the 2014 World Weightlifting Championship.

Makes me remember my first time.......

Just a dumb kid looking to get stronger (I was 30).  Found SS, bought a piece of shit #300 barbell set from Sports Authority (bar turned out to be like 32lbs, when I thought it was 45.  All my PR's were LIES!) and a rack.  Was doing martial arts 3 times a week and then strength training another 3.  By week 9 I was fucking wrekt.  

Sounds good man. Appreciate the book and the knowledge going on in this thread.

I don't eat much at work. Usually just an apple, some beef sticks and string cheese. Then back at it

If starting strength gets boring try out Greyskull LP. Same reps and sets, but with secondary progression built in by repping out your last set.

This will need to change.  This is where most adults fail...diet at work.  Do some research and watch some videos on meal prep.  There isn't a single correct answer here as far as what you should pack for lunch so watch/read several sources to get ideas.  

Obviously, you need to choose things you can stomach, are capable of being packed to work, and quick enough to prepare you can eat them during your break.  Protein shakes can help fill the gap although real foods are preferred, they may not always be possible.

Another thing I'll add...

You are better off to play the "long game".  Everyone wants immediate results, and this is understandable, but often leads to long term difficulty or even ending up worse than where they started.  

Don't try to cut during starting strength.  You don't need to go crazy with trying to bulk either.  Just keep in mind a slight surplus of calories and slow steady weight gain over the next 12 weeks of starting strength would be ideal imo.  Also limit your cardio activity.  Do things you enjoy even if they are a cardio workout, but just don't go crazy with cardio.  The idea is to gain as much strength as possible during this minimum of 12 weeks on starting strength.  Other goals can wait as trying to obtain multiple things at once will only limit your progress on the primary goal of this first phase (getting as strong as possible working as many muscles with each movement as possible).  


What this will do...

It will make your goal of getting "toned" and "fit" looking that much easier later while also making it easier to maintain long term.


When I do a clean bulk, I focus on heavy compounds and reduce my cardio workouts way down.  I will do this for at least 12 weeks preferably 16+ obviously with a deload in there somewhere.  Then it makes cutting easier for a few reasons.  

1)  You have added a little muscle over this time.  This raises your maintenance calories.  Since your maintenance calories are now higher than they were before you started the 12+ week bulk you don't have to cut calories as far down to cut making cutting easier.

2)  Since you weren't doing a bunch of cardio during the bulk adding it in during the cut will be more effective.  Think about it if you were already running two miles a day during a bulk in order to burn more calories than you already were you have to run at least 3 miles.  If you weren't running at all during your bulk cutting calories a bit and adding in some running will have a bigger impact on fat loss.  Also as you get further in just like weight training you need to add more to continue to see results.  If you stall out on fat loss and are already cutting calories as far down as you can and killing yourself with cardio you have no more cards to play.  You can't add more to continue progress if you've already played all of those cards.  

You will see similar, but obviously different thought process with professional athletes.  In the offseason they work to get stronger doing weight training with zero focus on things specifically used in their sport.  As they get closer to the season they start transitioning to weight training with emphasis on sport specific movements.  Once they get to the season, they transition to only enough weight training to try to maintain while most of their work is cardio and sport specific movements.

Thanks for the advice.
I'll start looking into better fuel type foods throughout the day.

It's gonna vary by person and goal.

I try to really focus on quality of each rep.  Slow, stable eccentrics. I leave my rep range kind of wide.

Depending on lift and load, my reps schemes are either:

3 sets of 8-12

3 sets of 5-8

Once I hit the upper number on the first 2 sets, I move up in weight 5 pounds. If I fail to hit the bottom of the rep range on any of the sets, I stay at that weight until i'm withing the rep range on all 3.


The rep range lets me focus on quality of every rep instead of just trying to hit a number in my head.  Rep ranges around the 5-12 number allows me to use sufficient weight while still maintaining the form and control for my reps.

I'm going to go in a slightly different direction.

You ever heard of the Fire Triangle?  In order to have fire you need three things; fuel, oxygen, and heat.  Remove any of those three and the fire goes out.  Let it burn and eventually the fuel is used up and the fire goes out.  Smothering it with a blanket or dirt removes the oxygen and the fire goes out.  Dousing it with water removes the heat and the fire goes out.  

Building muscle has the exact same principal.  You HAVE to have three things; a stimulus (working out), fuel (protein), and rest.  If you don't work your muscles hard enough they have no reason to get stronger.  If you don't feed them enough protein and total calories they won't have the fuel necessary to repair themselves and get stronger after the workout.  If you don't give them enough rest between workouts they won't have the time necessary to repair themselves and get stronger.  

Most everybody concentrates on the workout.  They think that if they're not making progress there must be something wrong with their routine.  In reality most mistakes are made with nutrition.  (That's my opinion, not documented fact.) I don't think many people over train to the point they're not giving their muscles enough time to get stronger, but it's something to be aware of.

I say all this as a caution to not focus solely on your workout.

So, reading back through the thread, there seems to be a common theme happening that I think I'm doing wrong.
It seems like I should probably up the weight amount and intake more protein.
The last post made sense with the trifecta needed.

This is true for almost everyone. Most people don't lift heavy enough and don't eat enough protein.

1 gram of protein per pound of target body weight. (the science number is a bit lower than that, but it's a good general target)

Above you mentioned adjustable dumbells, and I agree. Watch Woot! - I've been seeing some Powerblock deals there, and the Powerblocks are nice because you can buy a smaller set and then add expansion packs as you get stronger. (I personally have Bowflex 1090's and have had them a long time - but for that money, there's better out there today)

If you want to try to go cheap cheap, look at what plates you can find on Craigslist/FB Marketplace/etc, and buy loadable handles. I did that for a while; I have fixed Hex's up to 35#, and if I had a lift heavier than that, it was standard (1") sand-filled plates on a handle. But they're sllllooooow to load; so eventually I sprung for the bowflex's. (And a barbell. And a rack. And an olympic barbell and plates. And... this can get expensive. It's like guns. )

The positive/negative thing is I'm very limited on space so I think those powerblocks would be right up my alley.
I started taking my protein powder again and plan to get some higher protein foods from the store tomorrow, so I think I'm on track so far.

I'm going to throw out another nugget for you to be aware of.  Take 100 people that are trying to build muscle and ask them why they go to the gym.  99 of them will say to lift weights and they'll all be wrong.  No, you go to the gym to work your muscles.  The weights are just the tools you use to do that.  Yes, using enough weight is important, but it's not as important as working the muscles.  If you haven't already heard of it you need to be aware of the mind/muscle connection.  When you've properly developed that connection you can feel each target muscle working through the entire range of motion.  You should feel that in every repetition of every set.  If you loose that connection you need to change something.  Most likely you need to back off the weight a bit.  Don't increase the weight you're using simply for the sake of lifting more weight.  That does you absolutely no good if you're cheating the weight up instead of lifting it with your muscles. That's also a recipe for injury. Leave your ego at the door.  Don't worry about what other people can lift.  There will ALWAYS be somebody stronger than you and besides, you're not competing for World's Strongest Man.......................................yet.

OP, read the Renaissance Diet when you get it, then you can make an informed nutrition plan.

"You should feel that in every repetition of every set."

This line is the part I'm not feeling with only the 20lb dumbbells.
The 20 pounders seem fine for the bicep curls but for the rows and presses I believe I need more.
I do have a pretty physical job but when I'm doing the curls I can completely tell that my left side is weaker than my right.
That's weird because I'm left handed but it's probably from the work I do that it's uneven.
I'm seriously not trying to injure myself, but I feel I can lift more than I'm currently at comfortably enough without injury for certain sections of the workout.

I'll look into it.
Thanks.

Kinda overwhelming isn't it OP?

But this thread has some common points.

#1 push yourself harder. Add weight until your form breaks down and then back off a bit. When those last few reps get easy, time to add weight. Form is critical.

#2 Diet: eat more protein.  Drink your shake before or immediately after a gym session. Try to hit 1g per lb of body weight. You will not grow without adequate fuel.

#3 Consistency: pick a plan and stick to it.  

#4 Volume: 12-15 sets per muscle group.  Whether you're strength training (high weight, few reps) or looking for hypertrophy (moderate weight, more reps) volume is critical.


It's all actually very simple.  It's just not easy.  

Remember, it's a marathon not a sprint.

1.  Every body is different.  What works for one person does not necessarily work for some one else.
2.  Find a low impact exercise you enjoy, e.g. walking, biking, swimming.  Start there.
3.  Find a local gym you like.  Not all gym's are the same.
4.  Go to some group exercise activities, find something you like then stick with it.  Don't give up.
5.  Expect some discomfort and soreness.  
6.  Apply basic discipline in what you eat, when you eat, how much you eat.  In general, most people over eat and eat too often.
7.  Cut back on alcohol consumption and get good rest.

I know guys that do the individual workout routine and see results.  I know guys that do the group exercise and see results.  The key is finding something you enjoy doing and stick with it.  Don't expect results overnight.

My personal story.  I thought I was in reasonable shape, I walked 1-2 miles ever day and was active; then I joined a local gym.  Started lifting some weights, jogging on a treadmill etc... One day I saw a Les Mills Body Pump class going on in the group exercise room.  I thought that doesn't look so bad, I'll try that tomorrow.  That first class kicked my ass hard.  Then and there I realized I was lying to myself - I was not in any kind of shape.  I started going to that class M-W-F.  It took about 3-4 months before I wasn't beatdown and sore the day after.  Now a few years later I'm down 15 lbs, lot's of solid muscle on my frame, resting heart rate in the mid 50's, feel great, sleep like a baby every night, can crank out beau coup pushups/pullups.  Llife is good.

Take this for what it's worth. I've been a competitive athlete since about 10 years old, and as such have had a ton of access to highly educated professionals, and have tried literally hundreds of different workouts. My advice is:

Workout until failure or near failure, and you'll get results.

It doesn't matter if you do high reps and low weight or high weight and low reps or whatever fad is popular. If you workout until failure, you're going to build muscle - end of story. For 99% of the population, as long as you don't do stupid lifts and get yourself injured, you'll see good results in terms of strength...assuming.....

The hard part of a good physique and being healthy isn't working out, it's diet and sleep and moderating "extracurricular" activities like boozing, etc.

In your case, first, get some actual weights. If you like dumbbells, get a set of adjustable ones (yeah, they look crazy expensive at first, but you'll save a lot of $ in the long run). Next, get a squat/bench rack and at least 225lbs of weights. All in, you're looking at around $1-1.5k if you are economical (and can live with chinese steel.)

Also, also, my suggestion is that if you are starting out, high reps and lower weights at first is a good thing. There are tons of body parts that also need conditioning, regardless of how much weight your muscles can handle. Blowing out a ligament or something will put a dent in your progress faster and worse than anything else.

^This X 1,000!!!

It got quite overwhelming once I understood you don't just pick up a set of dumbbells and then you get stronger.
I've learned a lot in this thread alone!
Those tips are so good I'm going to add that to my workout sheet for the moment.
Good advice!

More good tips.

So I've already seen improvements in how many of the certain exercises I can do. It's encouraging seeing that.
I noticed that I don't get as sore the next when intaking more protein.

The boozing part isn't really a thing.
I only drink about once a month, if that.
I was looking at getting a set of proform adjustable dumbbells.
Does anyone have experience with these?
Dumbbells