There are literally hundreds of different workout routines, created by fitness magazines, fitness professionals, intermediate & advanced weight lifters & athletes and even complete novices. Out of the hundreds of variations there are generally a few popular types of workout routine: Full Body workouts, Split Body workouts and Upper/Lower workouts.
There is continuing debate on which routine is best, some say that a full body routine is best, some say it’s a split routine, others say upper/lower split.
I am an advocate of the full body routine because it allows you to target the same muscle group two or three times per week, whereas the other workout types you would be lucky if you could fit in the same muscle group twice in one week. By working the same muscle group 2-3 times per weeks allows for optimal strength and size gains.
For the purpose of this document I am of course explaining the benefits of a full body workout in comparison to other workout routines. Below are the basic rules you should follow if you wish to perform a full body workout effectively.
1. Workout 2-3 Times per Week
There are several benefits to a full body workout, the first is training frequency, which is recommended at 2-3 times per week, great for those short of time. Because a full body workout is so intense and demanding on the body you should train 2 to 3 times per week maximum, any more than this and it could result in overtraining.
You must also make sure you have at least 24-48 hours rest between full body workouts, for example if you worked out on Monday you should not do another workout until Wednesday, the days in between your full body workouts can be used for light cardio work.
A full body workout is tough, I have been doing it for over 3 months and have only just started training 3 times per week, it’s taken me almost 3 months to increase my metabolism & energy levels to train 3 times a week, up until this point I was training twice per week every Monday and Thursday, but now I train every Monday, Wednesday & Friday.
2. Diet & Recovery
When I first read about full body workouts I didn’t realise how demanding they would be, before full body workouts I used to train with upper/lower split workouts 4 times per week, before this I did a split body workout routine 3 days per week.
Then I moved onto full body workouts training only 2 times a week, I must admit full body workouts takes a lot more out of me compared to all of the other workouts I have ever done.
To combat this I had to increase my caloric intake by 150-200 calories per day and also made sure I was getting enough rest (8-9 hours sleep every night). These 2 changes allowed me to perform a full body workout 3 times per week and have enough energy to complete each workout to the best of my ability.
3. Perform one Exercise per Muscle Group
A full body workout routine should comprise of compound moves, when you do compound moves a lot of secondary muscles are used to move the weight. Because of this you will not need to perform more than one exercise per body part during the workout.
I strongly recommend you perform one exercise for each muscle group (the exceptions to these are legs and abdominals), personally I stick to heavy compound movements for around 80% of my full body workout, it’s tough but I love it and can see the results of my hard labor in a matter of weeks.
Example of a full body workout routine (Note: you wouldn’t do all of these in one workout)
Chest: Barbell Bench Press
Upper Back: Wide Grip Pull Ups
Middle Back: Dumbbell Rows
Lower back: Deadlift
Triceps: Triceps Dips
Biceps: Barbell Biceps Curl
Shoulders: Dumbbell Shoulder Press
Quads, hamstrings & glutes: Full Barbell Squats
Quads: Barbell Lunges
Calves: Standing Calf Raises
Abdominals: sit-ups, leg raises & Crunches
4. Low Sets, Medium Reps
Depending on the exercises you perform depends on the number of sets you do, you should aim between 6-10 repetitions of any given exercise and a maximum of 5 sets. On compound movements such as the Barbell Bench Press, Barbell Squat or Deadlift I perform 1 working set of 6-8 repetitions. On normal isolation exercises such as Barbell Biceps Curls, I perform 2-3 sets of 6-10 repetitions.
5. Heavy Lifting
Some people assume that a full body workout consists of circuits and lifting light weights, but they couldn’t be more wrong!
Full body workouts require heavy lifting and like all workout routines you should aim to progressively increase the weight or number of repetitions every week, especially if you want to build muscle or get stronger as quickly as possible.
A full body workout is tough and a lot of energy is required to complete all the compound moves in one workout and then repeat it 2 or 3 times per week, every week, which is the sole reason I mention good diet & recovery as part of this routine!
6. Compound Movements
Any workout routine must consist of compound moves and a full body workout routine is no exception, in fact 80% of my full body routine consists of compound movements, and yours should as well.
Compound movements such as barbell bench press or barbell squat should be performed near the start of the workout, because you have the most energy at this point, as you become tired you can workout smaller muscle groups such as the biceps and triceps. Compound movements have shown to increase natural levels of testosterone, which means you build muscle faster doing these types of exercises, in comparison to load of isolation exercises.
7. Keep it Short
A full body workout should last about 60-90 minutes, whilst this may seem like an unachievable amount of time (and for the first couple of months it might be) keeping your workouts to under 90 minutes will vastly improve your cardio vascular levels and endurance, but don’t try and rush your workouts, take as much rest as you need, especially when you first start doing them.
If you want to start improving cardiovascular then the best thing to do is reduce your rest time between sets and making sure you know the order of exercises when you walk into the gym, I find quickly reading through my workout routine before I enter the gym helps refresh my memory and prepare me for the workout.
On the full body workout routine you have (3X10) or (2X10) after the name on the workouts. What does this figure refer to? Thanks for your help. Your website is the best I’ve seen.
Hi Michael Thanks for the kind comments. The 3×10 and the 2×10 refer to the sets and the reps, so for example if an exercise shows (3×10) this means 3 sets of 10 reps. Hope this helps
so for the example above for a full body workout I would do that 2-3 times a week and thats it would i have to swich it up or anything
Hi Jonathan, there is no real need to switch it up. As long as you are making progression in the weight you lift or the number of reps you complete you wouldn’t see any benefits from switching it up.
The main problem is people start to make progression, then when it slows or stops they change too many variables (such as adding or removing exercises or trying a completely different workout) thinking they need to do something else, this can sometimes be the case but very rarely it is.
The best way to switch it up: add an exercise, add a set, increase the weight, lower the weight, reduce the sets, add another workout day etc. These are the best ways as they don’t interfere too much with your workout routine.
Sorry for the long answer
but hope that helped
it did thank you
thanks for your great tips your a star, if i was to train 3 times per week full body workout, i also like to get in a few runs one or two 3milers in the week, but at 53 i feel i would be over doing it and my body would need more time to recover what would your programme be if you was 16stone bit heavy around the belly but fairly fit otherwise when i say go for a run i mean a jog about 10.30 per mile but my heart rate goes right up when i run, about 170per beats according to my h/rate monitor.
Hi Tim
Glad you like the website, I would suggest if you are aiming to get your weight down perform mainly compound movements: bench press, deadlift, squat, pullups, presses etc. I would aim for 10-15 repetitions as this will allow you to recover quicker compared to lifting heavy, it will also allow you to burn more calories with this rep range. Also make sure you keep rest between sets low (60 seconds or less). Keep doing your runs, dont worry about speed, concentrate more on keeping the intensity moderate for a longer duration as this will burn fat rather than improve endurance.
of course this is just a quick response, I would be happy to help further via email, just let me know if you need anything else.
Kind regards
John
I’ve been working out twice a week for three weeks after switching from 5 days a week And with proper nutrition rest and supplements I’ve gained 10 pounds in 2 weeks of muscle and lost weight off my stomach full body is the best bulking and strength gaining routine you can possibly do it let’s your testi flow like crazy because your targeting large muscle groups throughout your whole body which utilizes all your testi do a 5/5 cadence to keep the load constant 5 second up 5 down be safe keep your sets consistent and proper avoid injury work at your own pace start slow….. Dead lift and grow people
Hi Steven
Totally agree, if you want to put on size then full body is certainly the way to go, congratulations on gaining 10 pounds in 2 weeks. Also worth mentioning the importance of full barbell squats for releasing natural growth hormone.
When doing a full body workout, should you complete all sets for the specified muscle group before moving on to the next muscle group? Or should you switch from one group to the next after a set is completed and just repeat?
-Colin
Hi Colin
You should really complete your sets for that muscle group before moving onto the next one, some exercise will overlap muscles but in general tire one muscle before targeting the next. If you do a full body workout properly you should only perform one exercise per body part and have compound moves as part of your routine.
My routines consists of: deadlift alternated with cleans, full squat, bench press, push presses, and narrow pullups alternated with wide grip pullups. Once I have finished these I don’t have the energy to complete anything else
so working the same muscle with a different exercise would be counterproductive to my training.
When doing a full body workout alone, should you still try to lift until you fully fatigue your muscles or take a quick pause within that set? Especially when doing squats and bench presses, when the weight just brutal sometimes. If so how quick of a pause should you take? If not, is that a complete set.
Hi Brandon
You can train to complete failure on your own providing you have safety catchers for bench and squat, most commercial gyms in the United Stated have power racks with spotter catchers. If you train at home and don’t have a power rack I suggest you get one.
I assume you mean “pause” as in pause at the bottom of the movement? If so NEVER pause at the bottom of a squat, as soon as you reach the bottom of a squat begin to lift back up immediately, with regards to the bench press, the bar should touch your chest momentarily, NEVER bounce off your chest. The trick I use is imagine a delicate object on your chest (such as a piece of glass) the bar should touch the glass momentarily without breaking it.
John, would it be acceptable to do a different exercize for each particular body part per day such as: Monday: Flat Bench Press, Wednsday: Incline Bench, Friday: Incline Flys?
Hi Kim
Yes it would be acceptable, just make sure you keep to these exercises week after week so that you can accurately gauge improvements. don’t keep changing exercises as its hard to track progress.
John, is there an alternative exercise to Barbell Squat? Due to old surgery I have limited mobility in my shoulders and cannot get the bar behind my head. No other restrictions.
Hi Kim
Would you be able to do front squats with a bar? The other option could be squatting with the bar above your head (overhead squats), you will have to use a low weight for these. Failing that you could try dumbbell squats as its better than not squatting at all.
If you cant do front squats or overhead squats, then perform high reps dumbbell squatting – 50-75 reps per set, this is because dumbbells will be fairly light, so anything less than 10 reps is a waste of time!
Hope this helps!
Hi john, So far i have found your website really useful and helping so many thanks.
would just like to ask i am ideally wanting to start adding loads of mass and at the same time have RAW strength like as in the strongman athletes. Ideally the three times a week mark for me training is more than enough as long as i am pushing myself but at the same time i would like to be able to train all seven body parts being traps, shoulders, triceps, biceps, chest, back and legs within the three training sessions per week. To achieve possible goals as such what would you recommend.
Also one final question that has really been bugging me, is if i was to train incline chest heavy, is it possible for the body to cope with if you are to train heavy shoulders or flat bench press for chest as all these three exercises are strongly using the same muscle being the shoulder.
Many thanks and sorry for the long question John. Many thanks and hope you can understand wot i am trying to ask you. Thanks.
Hi James
Thanks for the kind comment.
Its a difficult one because you want size but you want strength. I believe mass seems to be your primary goal so I would focus more on 10-12 rep ranges for 3 sets. Remember strongman training is generally heavy lifting for 1-5 reps. 3 times per week is adequate enough, what I think you should do is train two out of the 3 days for size, 10-12 reps for 2 sets each exercise, then one day per week you train for strength (one heavy set of 1-5 reps).
If it was me I would train: Mon,Wed,Fri – making my heavy day Wednesday. I would also do full body workouts that cover all those muscles every time I workout, the problem with a split routine is there is usually too much of a gap before you train the same muscle again, but with full body you can workout the same muscle 3 times per week.
So, here is the plan I would do to target the muscle groups you mentioned:
traps: barbell shrugs
shoulders: push press
Triceps: close grip bench press
Biceps: chin ups or barbell curls
Chest: flat barbell bench press
Back: deadlift alternated with bent over rows or seated rows.
legs: full barbell squats
Because there is 7 exercises I would suggest 2 sets for each one the Monday/Friday and then on the Wednesday go heavy for one set for the same exercises. You will of course need more rest between sets on the Wednesday/heavy workout compared to the lighter Monday/Friday one.
Regarding your question about incline bench, don’t bother. If you do flat barbell bench this reduces the amount of work for the shoulders and places more emphasis on the chest anyway. Work your shoulders with push presses, don’t be tempted to do 3-4 different exercises for one muscle group, if you stick to the compound moves I have recommend above you will increase size and strength in a matter of months trust me!
To give you an idea I was benching 205lbs for 3 sets of 10 before Christmas, now I’m benching 220lbs for 3 sets of 10. I’m getting stronger but also notice a good increase in muscle mass, and I owe it all to the full body workout and compound exercises!
Hope this helps answer your questions
Hi John,
Your website and workout plan seems very informative and beneficial (i.e. I know what most of your exercises actually are…). With that said, I remember a few years back that there was a program/calculator of sorts that after establishing a baseline (i.e. max weight) that it generated your work-out regimen for you. Basically, it had upper/lower days (MWF, and Tues/Thurs, respectively) all based off of your initial max. For example, it generated upper body work-outs (bench, curls, pull-ups, etc.) and told you how many reps, at what weight, on what day. The same for lower body. In short, I’m horrible at creating my own plan and have not been able to find anything like that since (it was in HS and the coaches used this program). Where can I find this or something similiar? I love lifting and running, but can’t seem to find a comprehensive plan that allows me to just glance and execute…
Any help you could provide would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. –Brian
Hi Brian
Thanks for the kind comment, sorry I have not heard of such a program that works off 1RM.
To be honest making a program should be simple, you firstly need to access what you want to achieve: size, strength, power, endurance?
Then you need to ask how many days per week you can dedicate: 3,4, 5+?
Also, how long have you been lifting weights, whats your current age, height, weight etc.
If you want I can setup a program for you, just drop me a more detailed email to john@greatweightlifting.com answering the questions above
Question I currently follow 5 x 6 routine 3 times a week at 45 I’m making great gains most suggest for better gains do the one body part a week routine I trained steadily from the age of 13 to 42 taking time off from the gym due to $$$ problems but we that been hitting weights with anytime under are belt knows the weights always call us back
been back at it since DEC 9th just wanted another prospective on this thx Pastor Greg
Hi John
Just a note I have a Endomorph/Mesomorph type build thxs Pastor Greg
Hi Peter
I am a firm believer in the full body routine and that’s because it allows you to workout the same muscle group more than once per week. That is the disadvantage of the split routine, whereby you train different muscles on different workouts and mainly work one muscle group per week, which I feel is enough for a novice to see strength gains, but not enough for the intermediate and advanced lifters.
For me personally I have seen greater gains with full body workouts, but bear in mind I perform heavy compound moves with every workout. However I have spoken to friends in the gym and they swear they have had better success with split routines, so the only way to really know is you trying both and see which one yields the best results.
One more thing I always say: Do what you enjoy, If you don’t enjoy full body workouts and love split routines, then do split routines. I believe the hardest part of all this is persistence!
Hope this helps
Hi John
Thxs it did & the old saying you can’t teach a old dog new tricks is a lie brother I liked how you said you make very seldom changes to your routine, such as a variation of the exercise or different rep range
Thxs again for the help & the great website
hi john i train thursday sat and sunday. trying to build muscle then get toned. lifting heavy weights every session but im not sure if this will work looking for advice wether to do pyramids or stay at the same weight for each rep. doing 3×8 heavy for evey exercise and doing 2 exercises for each muscle. dont have gr8 free weights so using machines. appreciate any advice.
Hi Bobby
The first thing I would suggest is to change your workout days, you are not getting enough rest between workouts between Thursday & Sunday and then too much rest after Sunday. Make sure you have 48 hours rest between workouts, could you not do Thursday, Saturday, Monday, or something to that effect?
Regarding pyramid lifting, this is fine providing you are making progress in weight, make sure you keep a record, once you hit 8 reps on all 3 sets go up in weigh. However it is easier to track progress when you keep the weight the same.
Lastly, if you want to put on size you need to do compound moves, I suggest you include the following exercises into your routine: barbell bench press, back squats, deadlift, pull ups (wide grip & narrow grip), barbell shoulder press.
There is no need to do 2 exercises per muscle group, to give you an idea my full body workout consists of: bench press, back squat, standing press, pull ups & cleans. I do this 3 times per week and am getting fantastic results, getting stronger every week!
hope this helps
hi john,
love this website for gr8 ideas. always been looking for this sort of stuff for advice. thx ill give it a go, ill have to miss out some of they exercise’s tho as i dont have a bench or bar. dumbells are poor too so need to refer to machines. will give ur ideas a go. can only train thursday sat and sun thts the only problem, also do u recommend protein supplements? im using usn mass the now to get more carbs and tht.
Hi Bobby, I use unflavored protein from myprotein.com, because its cheap and its unflavored, which means it has 2-3% more protein per serving compared to flavored proteins. I can’t really recommend anything else because I don’t really take much protein, I try to get most of my proteins from quality meats.
I do think you are being limited by the days you train, try your best to get 48 hours rest between workouts, you’ll thank me for it, trust me
hi john changed my gym so i have access to free weights now so much better see the difference within a few months almost put 1 stone on of muscle. Been lifting heavy 3 sets of 8 with 2 muscle groups per training maybe 3-4 dif exercises per muscle group but was thinking of going back to a full body workout 3 times a week including cardio before workout. Want to start ctting and was just wondering if you had any preferd workouts to do so? just to give them a try and see how i go thx again
Hi Bobby, sorry for the late reply, you could use the upper/lower workout routines, which are recommended for intermediates. How long have you been lifting weights?
Dear John,
Hello, I have recently stumbled upon this website and after reading your awesome answers to your readers, I am totally impressed. If I may, I’d like to ask for your advice. I am trying to increase in both Strength and Conditioning. Hopefully, with your help, I can achieve my fitness goals. I am 20, 142lbs with body fat calculated at 5%.
I do the full body workout routine on Tues, Thurs, and Saturdays.
Barbell Bench press
Barbell Squats
Curls
Leg Press . . . etc.
Then, I do cardio Mondays, Weds, and Fridays.
Treadmill 2-3 miles
pull-ups
abdominals
push ups etc.
So i guess my question is this: Am I doing too much for my body to recover?
Thank You,
Michael
Hi Michael
Thanks for the kind words.
I guess from your body fat & weight you are a naturally lean person, so performing compound moves on a full body workout is a great way for anyone to put on size & strength.
How many sets and reps do you perform for each exercise?
Also why do you do pull ups & push ups on the cardio days? If I were you I would stick to strictly cardio on your rest days to prevent over-training.
The first indication that you are doing too much is when you stop seeing progress in either the weight or the number of reps performed for a given exercise over a period of 2-3 weeks. The biggest mistake people make (and I am no exception
) is trying to do too much, if you are performing 4 or 5 compound moves per exercise that is plenty to increase muscular strength and conditioning. The cardio days will help force blood into the sore muscles and help with your weight training, providing its kept to a moderate intensity.
I am at the intermediate level of training and know I’m at my genetic potential, so my goal at the moment is to hit my desired rep range, rather than increase the weight on most exercises!
P.S – there is no need to use the leg press machine, stick to squats for your legs and hit them hard!
Hope this helps
Hi john
Already learned a lot from your website!
Only question left on my mind though is how long should I rest in between exercises and sets?
Thanks a lot!
Aki
Hi Aki, I have a page about rest between sets, see here: http://www.greatweightlifting.com/rest-between-sets
Hi John,
Thank you very much for your advice and time. When I’m using the barbell I usually do 3-4 sets of 7-10 reps. Everything else is only 2-3 sets of 10. You’re right, I’m going to do pushups and pullups on the days I lift. As much as I hate it, I’m thinking about doing the split routine: Legs one day then upper body the next. Only because my workouts aren’t under 2 hours. What do you think?
Thanks again for your advice John!
John, I enjoued your article and would like to use it to loose weight. I have some questions. How many times a week can I do this Mon-Wen-Fri? Then add Cardio on the Tue-Thur-Sat. Keeping the reps at 12-15 and 4-5 sets?
Hi CJV
Yes that will be fine, sticking to that rep range should burn a good amount of calories, personally I would go a little lower (10-12 reps) but if you are a novice at lifting weights its best to keep it light (12-15 reps) until you learn correct technique.
Keep cardio moderate on your CV days, if you do too much cardio this can have a negative impact on your lifting.
Just make sure you stick to compound movements for the majority of your workout.
Hello again john yeah that sounds spot on! much appreciated getting back in touch with you help and support and yeah tbh i think i was trying to put to much into the mix as in to much volume cramming to many exercises into a session along with rep ranges etc so i would like to say a big thanks for your comment john and im now on the right path for training and putting a quality programme together so once again a big thanks and hope you carry on adding plates to the bar aswell!
Your welcome James, good luck in your quest to pack on muscle and add plates to the bar
Hi john sorry for popping up for the third time as reguarding my training plan as i know you will be a buisy guy but would just like to ask it has just dawned on me that i have slightly lost you as in am i to train
.
shoulders: push press
Traps: Barbell shrugs
Triceps: close grip bench press
Biceps: chin ups or barbell curls
Chest: flat barbell bench press
Back: deadlift alternated with bent over rows or seated rows.
legs: full barbell squats
all on the same one session being Mondays ,Wednesday and Fridays sessions?. Also on my strength day do i train ALL the above body parts on the same training day aswell (being the Wednesday)?. Thanks for your time john much appreciated
Hi James
Sorry for the delay in replying, yes that should work. The only thing I would change is:
1. ignore shrugs, you hit the traps with push press.
2. Maybe don’t squat or deadlift on wednesday, too much squatting and deadlifting will tax your central nervous system, do these no more than twice a week.
Hope this helps
Hi John,
Great website, really informative giving me some really useful insight.
I’m looking to lose the love handles but also build up muscle. Have read your comments and have an idea of the weekly work outs required but was wondering if you could suggest a sensible meal plan. I currently use a selction of supplements. Breakfast is whey protein and oats and 2 omega 3 capsules, pre work out again whey protein and oats. Post work out is whey protein, dextrose and createin and also a daily vitamin tablet. Could you suggest some sort of meal plan to complement this. Many Thanks
Hi Ryan
Thanks for the comment, I would suggest reading my section on bodybuilding diet. Essentially you need a good mix of various foods. Meats, vegetables, fruits, dairy and grains. To lose weight you need to consume fewer calories, so I also recommend reading my section on weight loss.
I am looking to write some meal plans some time in the near future, so I will try and email you when I have created some.
Hope this helps
John,
Can you please describe the Push Press. Thank you
John