<\/p>\n
You\u2019ve got a full body and it\u2019s probably a good idea to train all of it: nobody wants to be accused of skipping leg day or lacking in the \u2018guns\u2019 department.<\/strong><\/p>\n There\u2019s been a lot of debate surrounding full body training, how to do it, and whether or not you should. Today we\u2019re going to drop some knowledge bombs on you so that you can train for your goals and do what\u2019s right\u00a0for you<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Grab a\u00a0protein shake<\/a>, strap in and prepare to learn some stuff.<\/p>\n You can\u2019t talk about full body training without comparing it to training splits. Training splits are pretty much everyone\u2019s first way of training and they basically break the body down into movements or body parts to train each day.<\/p>\n Splits are a hallmark of old-school bodybuilding and there are a whole bunch: upper\/lower, push\/pull or even assigning a body part to each day (can\u2019t forget serratus anterior day, bro). They\u2019re used for comparison because they\u2019re so popular and so different from full-body training.<\/strong><\/p>\n A training split might look like this:<\/p>\n Flyes (Slow):<\/strong> 3 sets of 12<\/p>\n Bench Press:<\/strong> 3 sets of 8<\/p>\n Decline Press:<\/strong> 3 sets of 8<\/p>\n Seated DB Incline Press:<\/strong> 3 sets of 12<\/p>\n Skullcrusher:<\/strong> 4 sets of 12<\/p>\n Cable Tricep Extension:<\/strong> 4 sets to failure<\/p>\n Romanian Deadlift (slow):<\/strong> 3 sets of 6<\/p>\n Deadlift:<\/strong> 2 sets of 5<\/p>\n Pull-Up:<\/strong> 3 sets to failure<\/p>\n DB Row:<\/strong> 4 sets of 12<\/p>\n Lat Pulldown:<\/strong> 4 sets of 15<\/p>\n Straight Bar Curl:<\/strong> 4 sets of 21s (7 bottom-half\/7 top-half\/7 full curls)<\/p>\n Squats (Slow):<\/strong> 3 sets of 3<\/p>\n Squats:<\/strong> 2 sets of 8<\/p>\n Lateral Squat:<\/strong> 3 sets of 6<\/p>\n Bulgarian split squat:<\/strong> 4 sets of 8<\/p>\n Single-Leg Leg Press:<\/strong> 4 sets of 15<\/p>\n Superset \u2013 Overhead Press and Lu Raises:<\/strong> 4 sets of 10 (each)<\/p>\n Seated DB shoulder Press:<\/strong> 4 sets of 10<\/p>\n Calf Raises:<\/strong> 4 sets of 15<\/p>\n Deadbug:<\/strong> 3 sets of 5<\/p>\n Plank:<\/strong> 3 sets of 15 seconds (squeeze harder!)<\/p>\n Weighted Pike:<\/strong> 3 sets of 12<\/p>\n V-Up:<\/strong> 4 sets to failure<\/p>\n Flyes (Slow):<\/strong> 3 sets of 12Bench Press: 3 sets of 8<\/p>\n Decline Press<\/strong>: 3 sets of 8<\/p>\n Seated DB Incline Press:<\/strong> 3 sets of 12<\/p>\n Skullcrusher:<\/strong> 4 sets of 12<\/p>\n Cable Tricep Extension:<\/strong> 4 sets to failure<\/p>\n Romanian Deadlift (slow):<\/strong> 3 sets of 6<\/p>\n Deadlift:<\/strong> 2 sets of 5<\/p>\n Pull-Up:<\/strong> 3 sets to failure<\/p>\n DB Row:<\/strong> 4 sets of 12<\/p>\n Lat Pulldown:<\/strong> 4 sets of 15<\/p>\n Straight Bar Curl<\/strong>: 4 sets of 21s (7 bottom-half\/7 top-half\/7 full curls)<\/p>\n This is what you\u2019re here for: why full body training is awesome.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n To start off with, I\u2019d love to be able to train 6 hours every day and never run out of money or get injured. However, these are two of\u00a0many\u00a0reasons why training time is limited. Full-body training is great because it allows you to get a lot of bang for your buck.<\/strong><\/p>\n If you have time commitments \u2013 studies, family, work, bee-keeping \u2013 then you need to make your time in the gym count.<\/p>\n Full-body workouts mean you can perform 4-5 exercises and get a huge effect, whereas training splits are going to have you perform a whole bunch of exercises for just one body part.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re a professional bodybuilder this might not matter, but most of us aren\u2019t and full body training makes it possible to see huge results with comparatively little time. Stack your full-body training with plenty of big compound movements:<\/strong><\/p>\n These use muscle groups, not single muscles, and you\u2019ll see comparable results with less time.<\/p>\n While you might see more muscle-size gains if you give biceps 2 days a week, what you\u2019re not going to see is appreciable strength or technique progress.<\/strong><\/p>\n If you\u2019re looking to get strong and develop great technique on key lifts (like the squat or bench), training them once a week just isn\u2019t going to cut it. These are complicated movements and you need to learn the technique.<\/p>\n Practising once a week on a body part split isn\u2019t going to be as effective at improving your movement patterns or strength.\u00a0You can make good gains with them<\/a>, but the full-body program is going to prioritise practice and progression on these movements.<\/p>\n This also means\u00a0progressing your strength lifts more quickly and sustainably<\/a>. If you\u2019re squatting 3 times a week, you can add a little bit of weight each session and improve rapidly, but once a week is going to mean slow progress at best. The alternative is trying (and failing) to take big jobs once a week \u2013 not a good way to train!<\/p>\n If your split has you training certain muscles once a week, you\u2019re going to experience some\u00a0serious\u00a0soreness. We\u2019ve all heard the stories of leg days that left you with wobbly legs, or ab sessions that turned your core into searing lava-jelly the next day.<\/strong><\/p>\n The reason this happens is because you\u2019re not training the muscles (or movement patterns) often enough. You learn to deal with exercise-stress by doing it and recovering from it, so your body gets better \u2013 just in case you feel like doing it again.<\/p>\n If you only train once a week your body doesn\u2019t adapt to the stimulus and you start de-training. Full-body training helps you acclimatise to these training stresses and reduces your DOMS but\u00a0this\u00a0doesn\u2019t<\/strong>\u00a0reduce results!<\/a><\/p>\nBASICS: FULL BODY TRAINING VS. TRAINING SPLITS<\/h2>\n
MONDAY: CHEST\/TRIS<\/strong><\/h3>\n
TUESDAY: BACK\/BIS<\/strong><\/h3>\n
WEDNESDAY: LEGS<\/strong><\/h3>\n
THURSDAY: SHOULDERS\/ABS\/CALVES<\/strong><\/h3>\n
FRIDAY: REST<\/strong><\/h3>\n
SATURDAY: CHEST\/TRIS<\/strong><\/h3>\n
SUNDAY: BACK\/BIS<\/strong><\/h3>\n
BENEFITS OF FULL-BODY TRAINING<\/h2>\n
1: TIME WAITS FOR NO SCHEDULE<\/h2>\n
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2: STRENGTH AND TECHNIQUE<\/h2>\n
3: BEING ABLE TO WALK<\/h2>\n