I’m a 38-year-old male, and I’ve tried multiple times to work out consistently, but I’ve never managed to stick with it for more than 2-3 weeks due to various reasons like two jobs, family, and other commitments. Now, I have access to a small gym that’s just a 5-minute walk away. It’s far from a full gym and lacks many pieces of equipment and cardio machines. However, it does have dumbbells, treadmills, step machines, a few flat and incline benches, and some basic upper and lower cable machines—no bars, free weights, or any fancy equipment.
Given my age and the limited equipment available, is it possible to achieve good results with this setup?
You can achieve good results even with just resistance bands. Building muscle is more of a marathon than a sprint—many people treat it like a sprint, burn out, and then quit, finding it too hard to start again. The key is to start with the right approach. I suggest a maximum of 3 training days per week to allow sufficient recovery time. You could focus on full-body workouts for 1 hour or do 30-minute half-body workouts each week. This is manageable if you use circuit training, as you don’t have to wait between exercises, and you can quickly adjust weights with bands or machines. I’ve been using bands consistently for the past 1.5 years.
In my opinion, resistance bands offer just as much versatility as any gym equipment. I find that the workouts can be even more effective and help build a leaner muscle physique. Full-body workouts can turn a 45-minute session into something truly incredible.
I also believe that bands deliver better results; I’ve used them before, and they offer a unique challenge. I’m thinking of getting a new set to ensure I can target all my muscles, especially if I’m missing certain machines.
I started working out at 40 using only dumbbells at home and have seen solid gains. I’d likely have seen even more progress with access to a gym or heavier dumbbells, but it’s definitely possible. Just stay consistent!
It took me a while because I hadn’t figured things out at first. I was resting 2 minutes between sets, which was too long—now I wait 45 seconds to 1 minute. I was also running 2 to 4 miles a day when I started, which I think hindered some of my gains. Now, I cycle for 30 minutes daily, which burns fewer calories. Additionally, I wasn’t consuming enough protein initially.
Once I adjusted these things, I felt like the gains came pretty quickly. I did face some setbacks, like increasing the weight too fast and straining my wrists, which took some time to heal. Life also got in the way—kids, commitments, and other things caused me to miss a week or two occasionally, which slowed down progress. Without these setbacks, I’d probably be where I am now, or further along, after about 2 years.
My biggest limitation now is access to heavier weights. I’m pressing two 50 lb dumbbells, 3 sets of 10. I feel ready to move up to 55 lbs, maybe 60, but that’s over $150. I’m curling 30 lbs each for 3 sets of 10. I have 40 lb dumbbells, but it’s too big of a jump, so I need 35s, which cost around $120. Now that I’m writing this, I realize I should probably just bite the bullet and buy them—I’m not getting any younger.
One last thing: I had almost no muscle mass when I started. Even when I was younger, I didn’t have much, and all the running burned off whatever muscle I didn’t use regularly. It might be easier for you if you already have some muscle mass.