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[52Paddy]

3-4 sets would suit very well. There are also ways to exercise your bicep without any additional equipment.

Great, will work for that when I get the heavier weights.

Yes, there are. Here is one I can recommend that is very easy. Put your hands in front of you so that the left hand's fingers are pointing towards the right and right hand pointing towards the left. One hand has the palm downwards, the other upwards. Then just start putting together the palms of the hands so that 1 rep is with the right hand being on top, then changing so that left hand is on top. Keep your biceps tight and do 200 reps of that. And keep a slow and steady pace and your biceps tight.

That's a cool alternative - never heard of that exercise before. I will work on that in the meantime.

What stopped you from doing nr 1 and nr.3? Could you do any reps with them?

Reading back on your instructions, I realise that I can do numbers 1 and 3. I had misread them. I thought, with number 1, your arse had to be off the ground too and your whole body weight be held up on your elbows. Assuming that arse remains on the floor, this is indeed a simple exercise and I can feel work going on with the abs. Number 3, I had a problem balancing but now it's ok - perhaps it was just a bad day. I will bring these exercises into my exercise routine.

As for back pain in that exercise, I haven't had it myself, but I guess for example you could do this very simple one - simply bend over and touch your toes with your fingers and let the back relax. You can bend your knees a little.

I've found a few stretches online which have helped and I use that stretch which you mentioned regularly. For the record, I'm convinced this isn't an abnormal pain - more like a light strain which just needs some light attention after a workout.