As a rule of thumb towards success– it’s usually the things we don’t do that would benefit us the most. There are many gym goers on split routines that would benefit from being on a more full-body program– and many who utilize full body programs that should be on splits. To understand both and find out which could be more beneficial for you– read on, my friend…
What is a full body workout?
A full body workout is at it sounds; each workout you are focused on working a little bit of everything. A few upper body exercises, a few lower, a little bit of core, and for those who understand the importance and make the time– a quick warm up and cool down as well. Kind of sounds like a lot to jam into one hour, wouldn’t you agree?
Why should I:
Here are a few good reasons why full-body workouts may be more beneficial to you than doing a split routine:
- you’re a beginner starting your workouts
- you’ve taken a long break from your workouts
- you workout 3 or less times per week
- your goal is more on the side of losing weight
In the first two scenarios, the reason full body is beneficial is because in both cases, your body’s ability to recover and remove lactic acid, is simply not there yet. If the first time in (or back to the gym after a layoff) you start off with a chest day only– you will get through the workout, yet you will absolutely regret it for the following days. This can not only lead to extended soreness, but also injury and/or nerve damage in some extreme cases. A second benefit for beginners starting with full-body workouts (especially if they are working with a coach on a properly prescribed program) is that they will utilize more exercises that will in turn teach their body how to move more efficiently on all planes.
You workout 3 or less time per week
For people working out 3 x per week, I have utilized splits, however, is there really much sense in getting a great workout for a specific muscle group if the next time you work that area is going to be 5 days or a week later? Did you know that after 72 hours your muscles start to go into atrophy? Knowing this, and knowing how difficult it is for me to keep mass on my legs for example, I plan my leg workouts with no more than 2 days in between my last lower body workout.
Your goal is to lose weight
I will start by saying, do not take this with 100 percent conviction as there are plenty of people who’s main goal is to lose weight and tone that can benefit highly from being on a customized split routine. However, when you work your full body, rather than focusing only on 1 or 2 muscle groups (especially if they are smaller muscle groups), you are more likely to keep up your heart rate, expend more energy, and thus burn more calories during the workout.
When should I
Since part of this was already covered, I’ll keep it simple: use full-body workouts when you are starting out your workouts, getting back from a hiatus from working out, or in layman’s terms, – whenever your ability to recover is shit.
How should I
Without going fully into customized programming and listing off exercises, a full body workout may look like the following: 2 pushing exercises for the upper body, 2 pulling exercises for the upper body, 3 lower body exercises, and a few abdominal exercises– after a 10 minute warmup and followed by a 5-10 minute cool-down; of course.
closing thoughts