Hi, I'm new to this forum. I mainly lift in order to increase my metabolism so I lose weight. I used to have a rigorous strength training regimen while I was in school and I built up a lot of muscle, only problem was I ate poorly in school and so in addition to having a muscular chest and arms I also had a fat gut. Now that I've graduated from school and I'm no longer right next to a gym I've been doing cardio and eating right while only lifting with the dumb bells I had on hand, which were 25 pound ones.

Anyway, after a year I've lost over 20 pounds, which is good, though I think I may have lost a lot of muscle as well as fat. Nevertheless, I'm glad that my stomach is a lot skinnier than it was before, but after a huge initial loss I've noticed that I don't seem to be losing much weight anymore, so I figured it was time to increase the amount of weight I lifted, unfortunately I'm on a budget so I can't exactly buy a whole set of dumb bells. Anyway, I found this deal on amazon.com where you get free shipping if you buy a purchase of over $50. So, I bought a set of 40 and 55 lb weights, of course later I found out that it WASN'T a set and they only sent me ONE 40 lb weight and ONE 55 lb weight. What the hell am I supposed to do with one dumbbell? Anyway, after paying a lot more than I had to because of false advertising I now have one set of 25 lb dumbbells, one set of 40s, and one set of 55s.

Anyway, most of my muscles could handle the increase to 40 lbs, but my biceps cannot. I do simple bicep curls but I notice when I do the curls with 40 lb weights my back sticks out. In general I have bad posture so when I lift I have to kind of hold my back straight as my back naturally wants to stick out. My back is also a hell of a lot stronger than the rest of my body so I think my back wants to do all the work. Anyway, I assume it's bad to do curls with bad form, so what can I do to get my biceps in good enough shape to lift 40 lb weights without sacrificing form? Are there any other exercises I can do from home? I know it's bad to move from 25 lbs to 40 lbs, but I only did that so I could get the deal which turned into a ripoff anyway. Obviously if I had to do it over again I would have bought a set of 30 lb or 35 lb dumbbells. But, well, as I said before I can't afford to buy a whole set of weights. So, anyway, any advice you can give me will be most appreciated.

Oh, by the way, I'm currently about 152 pounds and my height is about 5 foot 7. I want to lose another 5-10 pounds or so.

You can try holding your 55 with both hands and curling it in front of your body. That'll be a little heavier than your 25's.

You can also do negatives. Use both arms to curl the 40 up and then slowly allow it to lower with one arm. Do this for each arm. Watch your form.

If you can do a few pull-ups, switch to chin-ups and incorporate more of them. If you can do multiple pull-ups, try weighted chin-ups, negatives, and holds.

You can also do a partial one-handed chin-up: put one hand on the bar, now grab your forearm below the wrist with your other arm, slightly chin so that you have tension on your bicep and hold that for time; repeat with the other arm, pulling up the same amount. Try not to use your non-working arm too much.

At 5'7" 152, you shouldn't be concerened about losing more weight otherwise you will become weaker still. Work your lower body with deadlifts and squats. This will eventually strengthen your system as a complete unit, thus bringing up your biceps. The upper body is basically built via the legs. Instead of losing 10 lbs, train with the focus of accruing 10 lbs. OF MUSCLE.

At 5'7" 152, you shouldn't be concerened about losing more weight otherwise you will become weaker still. Work your lower body with deadlifts and squats. This will eventually strengthen your system as a complete unit, thus bringing up your biceps. The upper body is basically built via the legs. Instead of losing 10 lbs, train with the focus of accruing 10 lbs. OF MUSCLE.

Thanks for the advice...that actually makes a lot of sense, as I have basically been completely ignoring my lower body. I guess I figured doing cardio would be enough to strengthen my legs, but I guess I was wrong. I have noticed that my but is getting way too skinny. I normally do biceps and back on Tuesday and chest, triceps, and shoulders on Friday, I guess I should add in lower body maybe...Sundays? So, squats would be done by raising the dumbbells above your shoulders and simply moving your but down as far as possible right? And I'm not sure what deadlifts are. Are deadlifts those things where you hold the weights on your side and raise your heels up?

Oh, and Chicanerous, thanks for your advice too, I'll try doing negatives and see if that helps.

Oh, by the way, I'm currently about 152 pounds and my height is about 5 foot 7. I want to lose another 5-10 pounds or so.

If a weight is too light, you add intensity by slowing down movement or time under load.

I throw this out also for those that want a cheap way out, Walmart sells the plastic covered weights for $20 for 110 set and a light barbell bar. OK, get 2 per 40. they have two dumbell handles for $5.50 a piece. So $51 you got 220 of plates and two barbells and a pair of dumbells. They might not last but a couple of years or so, but they will do the job if you need a cheap way out. And you can get a nice workout.

The amazon deal stunk. Read the small print. start thinking how you can make lemonade with them, sell them to someone who might need them, work up exercises you can use them in:

One legged squats and calf raise.

one dumbell tricep extension above head with 2 hands.

You get idea. :db:

If a weight is too light, you add intensity by slowing down movement or time under load.

I throw this out also for those that want a cheap way out, Walmart sells the plastic covered weights for $20 for 110 set and a light barbell bar. OK, get 2 per 40. they have two dumbell handles for $5.50 a piece. So $51 you got 220 of plates and two barbells and a pair of dumbells. They might not last but a couple of years or so, but they will do the job if you need a cheap way out. And you can get a nice workout.

The amazon deal stunk. Read the small print. start thinking how you can make lemonade with them, sell them to someone who might need them, work up exercises you can use them in:

One legged squats and calf raise.

one dumbell tricep extension above head with 2 hands.

You get idea. :db:

Just to clarify, I do now have two 40 lb dumbbells and two 55 lb dumbbells. See, after they sent me one of each, I naturally ordered another one of each, but this time they wouldn't give me the free shipping, so I ended up paying $30 in shipping. So, the total price was about $130. Which is way more than I wanted to pay. So, I would have been better off buying a less expensive set of 35 lb weights, but of course, I wanted it to be over $50 so I'd get free shipping, but in the end I didn't get free shipping...so, yeah...

Anyway, thanks for the advice, I actually do tricep extensions every Friday. My triceps are actually pretty big, I just hope they don't get too much bigger than my biceps as I wouldn't want my body to be terribly out of proportion.

I'll definitely start working my legs this week.

What exactly does time under load mean?