By Tony Wagner Special to Solares Hill

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Dear Mr. Fitness:

For Christmas I got a weight set. I'm a 19-year-old guy and have wanted to lift weights for a long time now. I just don't know where to start. I got a bench, a barbell with 150 lbs., and two dumbbell handles with plates. I realize that it's not a lot of gear, but can I still get good workouts with it? I'm 5 feet 10 inches tall and I weigh 143 pounds. I want to get bigger. Thanks for all of the help.

-- Thin

Dear Thin:

Merry Christmas! What a great gift you received. You have more than enough gear to get started on gaining muscle. I had to make my own exercise equipment when I was your age, and my homemade stuff worked pretty good. I imagine with the real stuff you have, it will prove to be a cinch.

This is what I would do. First, check with your doctor to make sure it's OK to exercise. After that, I would have you train on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Pick a time of day that allows you at least an hour of uninterrupted time. The very first item on your training day would be a warm-up. You could accomplish this by doing jumping jacks for two to three minutes straight. I don't know if you've ever done any exercise program before, so I will assume you're a beginner. This is why I limit it to three minutes of warm-up.

Next, find a two-by-four about two feet long. You will use this to place your heels on when doing your first exercise with your empty barbell. This exercise is the squat. The barbell should be placed on your upper back with your head up. Feet should be widely spaced. Squat up and down twelve times. Rest one minute, then do it again. Remember, we must start out with light weights. No injuries here. Next, take the barbell and do two sets of twelve reps of dead lifts. That's where we hold the bar at our thighs and simply bend over and straighten out. Now, grab one of your dumbbells with 10 pounds on it and find some stairs. Proceed to do two sets of calf raises.

Let's move on to the upper body exercises now. Taking your barbell with two five pound weights on it, let's do a back exercise. It's called a bent-over row. You bend over and grab the bar with a shoulder-width grip and pull the bar up to your stomach and then extend it down. As with the others, stay with two sets of twelve reps. Next, let's do bench presses. Load the bar with a light weight so that you can easily perform two sets of twelve reps. Adjust the bench to incline slightly. Grab two dumbbells with 10 pounds on them and do incline presses. This will hammer your upper chest muscles.

Lower the bench. Let's work the shoulders next. Grabbing the same dumbbells, do seated presses. You extend your arms straight up over the head and bring them together. Two sets. Place the barbell across the bench. Stand up and do barbell curls. Keep your grip on the bar slightly narrower than your shoulders for maximum results. Let's finish the major body parts with a triceps exercise. Lying on your bench, grab the unloaded barbell and do lying triceps extensions. With a close grip, lower the bar down to your forehead then extend it all of the way up. Two sets.

Now all that is left is for you to work your abs. Let's lie on the bench and do crunches. Placing your hands behind your head, cross your legs and hold your feet off of the bench. Lift your shoulders and head completely off of the bench as high as you can. Lower yourself down only three inches and then come right back up. Do this twenty times. Rest one minute and do it again. That's it! You're done. Stick with the two sets for two weeks, then add a third set starting on your third week. Slowly add weight to the exercises. Don't try to add weight too quickly. Slow and steady will produce fabulous results in only a few short weeks. Get going and let us know how that Christmas gift works out.

Mr. Fitness

Tony Wagner, aka Mr. Fitness, has over 30 years of fitness and nutritional expertise. A certified personal trainer and former professional bodybuilder, he has helped thousands get into and stay in shape. His work has been published in numerous fitness journals. Contact him at: mrfitness1@aol.com and Bodyzone Fitness Center, 2740 N. Roosevelt Blvd., 305-292-2930.