A few questions, please help?!

Hi, my name is Adam and I am fairly new to using weights. I'm a SKINNY, 6'1 at 140 lbs. I obviously don't have much mass which is what I am trying to gain. I came across some dumbbells and weights for free about 2 months ago and have been using them three times a week since with ab work between days. As I said, I'm pretty new to this game and I have some questions on a few exercises with the dumbbells.

1) I feel like I'm not getting much contact with my upper-back while doing bent over rows.

2) I don't have a bench and have been doing floor chest presses. Same thing, I don't feel a whole lot going on for my chest and more for my arms. Should I continue to use this exercise, develop it, or try another one?

3) I'm doing dumbbell squats, but from what I've read squats effect the back as well. I'm just getting contact on my legs. I'm doing them with the dumbbells at my sides.

If anyone has any pointers for me I would really appreciate it. Again, my goal is to gain mass and weight, thus far these are the trouble areas I have been running into.

Thanks in advance
Adam

 

A few questions, please help?!

At your height and weight, I'd master the following workout first:

-pistol squat 3x12, each leg
-one arm push up, 3x10, each arm
-handstand push up, 3x10, narrow and wide grip
-dragon flag, 3x10
-3x10 of every main pullup variant (wide, normal, narrow, underhand)

Then, use the dumbbells for shrugs and deadlifting until you can get a barbell.

Eat protein like mad during this process.

Once you master that workout, you should worry about lifting weights. Until then, you don't even need to worry about equipment yet.

Edit: links go to pictures of the movements

 

A few questions, please help?!

Last edited by IDrinkBloodLOL; Today at 03:37 PM.

 

A few questions, please help?!

Eat protein like mad during this process.

It's crazy, I've been eating a ton, but not just crap food, good healthy food high in protein 4 or 5 times a day and am STILL having a hard time putting on weight. I think I have a metabolism like a freakin gold finch.

 

A few questions, please help?!

That or you aren't working out hard enough yet. How much do your weights weight and what are you doing with them?

 

A few questions, please help?!

I've been doing 15 reps of typically 3 sets. If I feel really good contact I'll do more sets, 4 or 5. Bent over rows at 25, curls 15/20/15, floor chest press 25, tricep kickback 15, squats 70, shoulder press 15, straight leg dead press 65. I follow those with 3 ab exercises x3 and pushups x3 till failure.

 

A few questions, please help?!

How much weight do you have available, then? What's the max you can load up on even one dumbbell?

 

A few questions, please help?!

Read the stickies

 

A few questions, please help?!

More than I need! Ha, I have about 200. I also DO have a bar, just not sure if I should be using it yet.

 

A few questions, please help?!

Thank you Jammy, I've been reading through this website for about two weeks before posing here. I haven't seen a whole lot on dumbbell stuff, maybe I'm not looking correctly. If you have any direction to a particular thread then I would gladly read it.