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Anonymous
I struggle with 20 pound dumbbells /fit/, should I feel bad?

I'm 15 (turning 16 soon. I realize the underage b& thing and all, but come on I'm a child who actually cares about his health!) I've been on a diet for a few months now, and have lost about 20 pounds. Leaving me at 160 lb and 6'1" (Obviously was 180 lb before).

Now I'm not too interested in losing anymore weight, but actually getting in shape.I've found I have trouble with doing just a few reps with 15 pound dumbbells, is this really bad? When should I expect to be able to move up from 10 pounds to 15 then 20, and so on?
I've started on going on very slow, 40 minute walks every other day (I'd do more, but my brother walks with me and he is a huge fatty, I just go in when he does. I'll start jogging soon though) On the other days I'm doing weigh lifting. I'm using the dumbbells, and a cheap weight machine I have. (The pulleys on it are messed up though, so I can't tell you how much I'm truly lifting with it.)

Will I get into shape like this, are there any tips you can give me? How about abs, I find that they hurt my neck and back to hell (past injuries). Is there any other way to get toned abs? Does my age have anything to do with how I should work-out.

P.S
I'm home schooled, so no gym or sports. I used to play lot of sports, but when middle school came around all the fun went away from them. I'm sorry for the poorly formatted and typed stuff, I'm stupid and tired.
>> Anonymous
>homeschooled
>stupid

ITT: redundancy
>> Anonymous
>I'm sorry for the poorly formatted and typed stuff

WELCOME TO THE INTERNET
>> Anonymous
>I struggle with 20 pound dumbbells /fit/, should I feel bad?

No. What matters is putting a little bit on the bar each week, not the actual number. If you keep challenging and beating your personal records you're making progress even if it's not impressive by anybody else's standards.

Shit, I remember when I was benching 75lbs and squatting with 50lbs.
>> Anonymous
How long have you been working with the dumbbells? In all honestly, I don’t think you should really feel bad for struggling with 20 pounders especially if you are just starting out. When I began, I had trouble with just 5lb (I’m female btw so it is slightly different). I was skinny but had no muscle and I was really, really weak. What I do is 12 reps with each arm (like count 1-1, 2-2 all the way up to twelve) and I do 4 sets of these with about a minute break in between. It’s really up to you and how comfortable you feel after a while with using more weight. When you do go up to a higher weight, don’t exude yourself to the point where it starts to feel painful. A little muscle soreness is good, but when it starts feeling painful…drop back down to the lighter weights. There is no shame in this. I’ve seen idiots in the gym seriously hurt themselves because they were trying to be all macho and impressive…and they pretty much failed because they used weight that they couldn’t handle. Also, remember that you need to vary your arm exercises with dumbbells. Doing curls only works certain muscles…but you want to work your entire arm. You should also try doing side shoulder raises, front shoulder raises, and so forth. Do a little research for difference exercises; I’m sure you’ll find some very good but very simple ones.
As for the equipment you have, I have to say that using faulty or equipment that is broken in some way is probably a bad idea. I’ve seen many home-gyms fall apart on people and they get hurt because of it.It’s a shame you can’t get your parents to allow you to go to a gym. A small local one would probably be best for someone your age with the proper spotter to watch out for you just in case.
>> Anonymous
Hey, underage faggot, get out.
Oh, and do push-ups. Same practical workout and anybody can do them.
>> Anonymous
>>135360
I've been working with them for a few weeks, and thanks for the advice! That helps out a lot. I usually do 5 sets of 10 reps for whatever I do, with about 45 seconds of rest inbetween.
>> Anonymous
>>135381
You probably could move up a size unless you're really struggling with the 20s.
To build endurance, use a weight you can do 10-15 reps of 3-5 sets. To build muscle, you physically shouldn't be able to do more than 6 reps of 3-5 sets. When you can do more than that, give it a week and move up a few pounds.