Switching programs mid-program

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Ok, so I am 2 weeks into a program (just started 10s today [15,10,5]) and think I've been doing this all wrong.

by "this" I mean choosing exercises.

I am doing:

leg lifts, reverse leg lifts (on back), dumbbell curls, dumbbell hammer curls, crunches, reverse crunches (leg-ups or whatever) and skull crushers.

now I just kinda realized that I won't get any very good results (correct me if I'm wrong here) because I'm not doing big compound movements/lifts.

So I want to add dead lifts and bench press, but problem: i don't know my maxes.

So what do I do.. if I found them out I would have to decondition again, and waste lots of time etc. Otherwise, is what I'm doing even going to help me gain weight?

Understand please, I am pretty underweight/skinny and want to gain weight asap, even if it's not 100% muscle.

So what is my best route to go here? stick to plan, slowly incorporate compound lifts.. stop completely? help me out.

thanks.
 
start over completely! If you want to add size forget all those baby exercises for little muscles like abs and arms!

This is all you need....
Squats/deadlifts for legs and core,
Pulldowns/rows for back and biceps,
Bench press/dips for chest and triceps,
overhead press for delts.

90% of size gains will come from these core lifts, once you are already huge and strong, you can add little stuff like curls and abs, etc.
 
<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Squats/deadlifts for legs and core,
Pulldowns/rows for back and biceps,
Bench press/dips for chest and triceps,
overhead press for delts.</div>

Ok, so looking at that:

should i choose between the A/B's, or just do A and B?

is it ok if i spend a lot of time moving weights around while working out.. i feel like there will be a minute break between each lift because of switching weights..
 
That's only 7 exersizes. Do them all every workout; it's not very much. And moving the weights is your breaktime, so enjoy and don't worry. Just don't forget to eat. And eat and eat and eat and eat....
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Do A on monday, B on wednesday, A on Friday, etc.  It doesn't matter that much for a beginner.  Even if you just did squats, bench presses, close-grip underhand pulldowns and overhead presses 3 times/week you will grow fine.  The main thing is to stick with basic compound movements and develop strength in the whole body this way. You could probably do them all each workout also, as Quadancer said.
 
Well the other's beat me to it but here's what I thought:

Depending on your strength levels right now you might find that all the exercises Sci suggested are fine in a single workout (particularly during 15s and 10s) but if you find it all a bit much just split it into A &amp; B and alternate, but do overhead presses each time.

If you are not already, get familiar with squatting, deadlifting and the other big compounds for at least a few weeks before starting a new cycle. Then finding your RMs will make more a bit more sense.

Don't worry about moving weights about or a minute break! It's all part of the fun. What's wrong with a minute break anyway? During 5s you will need at least a minute between sets to recover your strength. You can always superset if you want to keep rest to a minimum.

Oh, exercise won't help you gain weight unless your calorie intake is sufficient.
 
<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Depending on your strength levels right now you might find that all the exercises Sci suggested are fine in a single workout (particularly during 15s and 10s) but if you find it all a bit much just split it into A &amp; B and alternate, but do overhead presses each time.</div>

LOL is right on, follow the advice mate, Sci-Muscle hass given you the exact recipe for mass gains, whilst I can agree qith Quad, Lol is a little more corrcet as he expanded on the strength gains etc, etc.

Good advice guys, keep it going...I have the FDA on my ass for this whole week, so I'll be very skimpy
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I wouldn't find maxes and SD again if that's what has been implied. I would use the A&amp;B workouts as suggested, just start light and add weight every workout, 5 pounds upper body, 10-15 squats and deads. What's important is increasing the load over time, not rigidly sticking to 2 weeks of 10's, 2 weeks of 5's etc.

Besides, it's heresy to limit the 5's to only 2-4 weeks anyway.
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5's rule, I hit 2 PR's in the past week, standing OH press 150 for 3x5 and Pendlay rows 260 5x5.
 
A trick I use at home as well, you may not be able to do always in a gym, but in between sets I begin to set up my next exersize while I'm resting. I may not finish setting up, but I'll at least have some or all of it done. This shortens the workout time.

In a crowded gym it could get you hated.
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ok guys, wow, thanks for all responses.

so i have come to this conclusion:

i need to be eating 150 g's of protein daily with 6 meals, working out mon wed and fri and doing those lifts sci muscle said to bulk.

however, a prob: i don't have the equipment. i basically have this: basic workout bench

so i dont see how i can do dips, pulldowns, squats, and are seated rows even possible?

what big compound lifts can i do with the equipment i showed you?

thanks again.
 
Ooooops....I see.

Well, lets see...

Bench press
Pendlay rows
Military Press
Squats will eventually become a problem...so Deadlifts would be good + Leg extensions or split squats with D/B's

I'll look up some others with time.
 
Buy a used power rack. Squats and chin-ups are essential movements, and without a rack or chin-up bar they are hard to do! If you don't have the space for a rack then join a gym that has decent free-weights.

With what you have you can still do bench press, barbell rows, military press, dea-lifts. Squats and chins are essential though. I haven't been doing dips, but I am currently constructing a dip-station for my rack.
 
here are my exercises so far.

# Deadlifts
# Rows
# Bench Press
# Military Press

hmm... anything else that can be done with the equipment i showed?
 
Even though you only have 4 exercises, you are covering the basic muscle groups for now. Eventually you will need more equipment. To hit your quadriceps with what you have, you could try lunges, sissy squats or hacksquats.
Go to exrx and look at the exercises.
 
<div>
(g1c9 @ Nov. 03 2006,16:16)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">here are my exercises so far.

# Deadlifts
# Rows
# Bench Press
# Military Press

hmm... anything else that can be done with the equipment i showed?</div>
Full squat cleans and OH squats.
 
I've added hack squats; think I am covering all the muscle groups now.

thank you for all the help. I will lift using 2 sets 10 reps of all these lifts mon, wed, fri, while getting ~150 g's protein every day and let you guys know what's happening in ~3 weeks.

I'ma go try to gain 10 pounds.
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<div>
(Fausto @ Oct. 31 2006,01:53)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">
I have the FDA on my ass for this whole week, so I'll be very skimpy
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What is the FDA in your country Fausto and why would they be on your ass? In the US it stands for the Food and Drug Administration and having them on your case is not usually a good thing.
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