PrinzII- OK, first day's workout noted. You're on your way. Let's see..I AM all for brief, intense workouts, but yours sounds a bit TOO brief. I wonder if your blood pressure meds are cutting down on your stamina (some do, some don't). Just something you might have to work around. Armchair-personal-trainer $0.02 follows:
You did the elliptical (good choice, easy on the knees!) first for 5 minutes- good. I ASSUME that was five pretty tough minutes. Every minute seems like FOREVER when you're starting out, I know! At some point it REALLY does get easier, I promise! Try adding something sorta easy like an extra 15 seconds (even if you have to lower the intensity some) next time and see what happens. But DON'T push yourself too hard. You don't want to burn out and get to where you're just DREADING doing your cardio. Cardio is a life-long thing, so you want to (almost) enjoy it.
On the ab machine, how many reps did you do? Most people do too many and too easy repetitions for abs. Oh, and I'd DEFINITELY do your ab work last. Your abs support you during all your other lifts so you don't want them to poop out on you when you might need them. Think of ab work as the finishing touch, like a
Souveran topper (couldn't resist the detailing analogy
).
Bench press: Your pecs/delts/tris are gonna need more than one set/rep. If I misunderstood, please clarify. Try two LIGHT warm-up sets (and I mean light!! Even a bare bar!) of 5-7 reps to warm up your chest and especially your shoulders. Avoiding injury is always my first priority, so you just GOTTA warm up. Then, instead of 1 rep at 155, do a few (as many as you can) at about 120 or less. Rest 2.5 minutes. Do as many as you can again. If it's less than 3, you should've dropped the weight down lower (you'll learn through experience how to change the weight as you go). Eventually you'll want to try to rest 3 minutes and do it again (a third work set). The general goal will be two warm-up sets and three work sets. The work sets should consist of 5-10 reps each. The muscles you're working will respond best to that number of reps. Singles (1 rep) and doubles (2 reps) will build a certain specific kind of strength, but not what you're after. BTW, I do 99% of my presses with dumbbells. It means using lighter weights, but I like the results better (and so do my shoulders!). If you want to try it that way, use LIGHT dumbbels.
Pulldown: Again, too few reps. Lower the amount of weight you're using so that you can do the same set/rep pattern I listed for benchpresses. For form, DON'T lean back, DON'T let your arms do the work instead of your back, DON'T let your shoulders go "slack" at the top (when your arms are nearly straight), DO imagine trying to touch your elbows together behind your back, DO grip the bar pretty hard to keep tension (the good, joint-protecting kind) on your elbows and shoulders.
Even when you're just starting out, you want to do MULTIPLE sets of MULTIPLE reps, even if it means using the lightest weights in the gym. This approach will help with the weight loss, the muscle growth, the stamina-building, your sense of balance, everything.
Other tips: Keep a training log. I record every rep I do and everything I feel (good/bad/strong/weak). Also record if you get sore and how long it lasts (some muscular soreness is desireable). As well as keeping track of your weight loss, see if someone can test your bodyfat % for a reasonable fee (around here it's $10). It's sorta gratifying to watch that particular number go down.
If the elliptical work seems to tire you out, either do it on another day or do your weight work first. Maybe try doing a big muscle group (like chest, back, or legs) combined with a small muscle group (like biceps, triceps, or deltoids) instead of two big ones like chest and back. Remember, you're an almost-codger of 35 (heh heh, at 43 I can tease anyone younger!) and you're a big guy. You don't want to try to do too much each time. BTW, don't worry about how heavy/light the weights you use are for now. Go for good form. After you get experienced, you're gonna be one STRONG guy, so stay patient.
BTW, I hope I don't come across as some egomaniacal know-it-all. I've really STUDIED this stuff for years and everyone I've trained/trained with has done well, from young guys to my wife to my late father (who didn't start lifting until he was in his 80's). I hope I can sorta "cut to the chase" for people who don't want/need to read everything out there and sort the good from the bull. And there's just SOOO much bull out there...