Is this enough?

Question

So recently I started working out in the mornings at home. I'm wondering what kind of "gains" I will be able to witness from these types of workouts, if any. and not "witness" as in aesthetic necessarily but "witness" as in functional strength perhaps, aesthetics, health, etc...

Background

Worked out for a couple years prior, 1 year consistently. 5x5 program was most recent where I hit some PRs:

• Deadlift - 325lb
• Bench - 225lb
• Squat 245lb

Went on vacation came back and started a new job that requires additional travel time, which keeps me out of the gym. put about a month in between my "real" workouts and any strength training

I decided to start building up my home gym. Here's what I have:

• 25lb Dumbbells
• 2x 45lb Plates
• Long ez-curl bar (I know some people see the really curved one, this one is not like that it's longer and not as dramatic curves) Total weight with plates = 125lbs
• Pull-up bar

So a typical workout consists of about 15-20 minutes:

I am doing something like

• 5 x 10 pushups// superset 5 x 5 pullups as a warmup to get the blood flowing
• 4 sets of 25 dumbbell curls one side at a time.
• 4 sets of 10 bent over rows
• 4 sets of 10 deadlifts
• 4 sets of 10 floor press
• 1 set of 12-15 clean and press
• 3 mile jog/run

I mean Idk.. I generally pick like 3-4 of these aforementioned exercises and break a sweat. keep in mind this is between 5:30am and 6 so my time is limited. I'll work out like this 3 times a week

So my question is:

• Am I going to see any benefits from this?
• Specifically with the compound movements will this keep me in good enough shape to go back to the gym and hit my previous PRs?
• Should I increase the amount of workouts I do per week?
• Is there any other good exercises I'm not taking advantage of with the equipment I have?

Thanks in advance guys, really appreciate it!

and for all you goal-chasers out there. My main goal would probably be to just drop body fat, lean out, stay lean for the summer, and then get back in the gym or get a power rack and more weights this winter.

Answer 1

If I get you right, you can't go to the studio, don't have much time but want to keep as much in form as possible. Also, your equipment is quite sub-optimal. But let's look at the workout first.

Workout:
To stay in form and keep your strength you need intensity (and consistency) much more than volume. So your lack of time isn't really a concern right now. You would want to do big weigths at low reps, so you're at maximum intensity. You'd probably lose some strength and muscle, especially if losing weight/fat at the same time. But if the overall intensity is still high, you should keep a good level of strength. A simple (and time effective) full body workout I would propose would look like this:

• (Front) Squats: 3x5 (3 sets of 5 repetitions). Back Squats would be better, but you'd need a rack to load substantial weight.
• Floor Press/Shoulder Press: 3x5, do either/or and alternate the next time.
• Deadlift: 1x5

That's the minimum I would do, three times per week (every week, as consistency matters). Those four lifts train your whole body in as short a time as possible. But they will be difficult to do without the right equipment...

Equipment:
The first and most important thing for a home gym (imho) is a barbell (second is a power rack). The barbell enables you to do all of the compound lifts in their regular form, without compensating for dumbbell-wobble or weird wrist angles (looking at you, ez-bar). I'd strongly recommend you to get a barbell as soon as possible and a power rack next, as you'll have a hard time to do any meaningful squat and/or deadlift work without one. If you absolutely have to, sell your other equipment or trade it in, as you'll get a much better 'bang for your buck' from a barbell.

Should you for some reason not be willing/able to get your hands on a barbell, you can try to compensate for the low weights by doing harder variants of the exercises. The Clean and Press is already a good start, the Snatch would probably also work (if you can get the form right). For Squats, you could try one-legged variants, while a wider grip makes the Deadlift harder to perform. If you're able to max out on these exercises with your current equipment you can still raise the repetitions per set to work your muscles harder.

Answer 2

You have an inconsistent program, vague goals, and not enough weights to challenge your old strength levels. So...no, you won't be able to match your old PRs.

Is there any benefit? Sure, any activity is beneficial.

With this gear, I'd focus on clean-and-presses and seeing how much improvement I could make in how many pull-ups I could do in one set. Since you can't really do true non-gymnastic strength work, I'd work out a lot more frequently than 3 times a week.