Guys!

is there a method to the madness here.. coz im still dallying in all this info... what do you think a beginner's workout week should look like. I cant seem to settle on a plan for myself. Im pretty happy with my meal plan (thanks guava, savyart ;) , but my workout! I workout every other day and i feel like oh blah!! I need a direction and i need to make it challenging. Is there anyone who can make me a good plan upper/lower split ... with a dash of cardio. Goal: build muscle overall, not to lose an ounce of weight.

I only have dumbells to work with. .. but ill make it my religion, i promise :D

sorry that should be hero/heroine

You can make the dumbbells work for you, as well as bodyweight exercises (like push-ups).

So, we're talking a total beginner? You want to throw together something that takes about 45-60 minutes.

Warm up for 5 minutes (jogging, jumping jacks, blaring out music and discoing,whatever :D ) then stretch for a couple minutes.

(w) = weights

Upper:
Push-ups (all sorts of kinds)
planks
(w) overhead tricep raises
(w) tricep kick backs
(w) bicep curls
(w) hammer curls
(w) rows
side-tricept-raises (lay on your side, one hand flat on the floor at your armpit, other arm resting on your chest - push until arm is straight)
Pull-ups (if you have a place, chin up bars are CHEAP at walmart and those places)
(w) lat raises
Cobras
Tables
Core/abwork

Really you can just go on and on here....

Lower:
squats
lunges
wall squats (1 & 2 leg)
(w) calf raises
(w) weighted curling lunges
plyometric exercises work well for lower body too - lots of power jumping type moves.
Hip raises


The list is really endless. What you want to do is schedule the time to warm up, stretch, and about a 5 minute cooldown stretch, then fill the time left with the moves and improve on them for 4 weeks, then change it all up. You want to hit all the muscle groups on the split at least once.

You can find some reccomendations for some exercises at some of these sites :

http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html

http://www.ast-ss.com/training/exercises/eow-intro.asp