Full body program

While training time matters, it matters less than simply getting to the gym in the first place. As far as cardio is concerned, you can do some on your rest days. Focus mainly on low-impact cardio, such as cycling, rowing or even incline treadmill walking, rather than running. On the diet side of things, maximizing your rate of muscle growth requires eating more calories than you need to maintain your weight, as well as a sufficient amount of protein.

In practical terms, that means consuming between extra calories per day over and above your maintenance requirements. Aim for around 0. Let me talk a bit more about the science behind this full body workout plan, and explain why the program is set up the way it is.

First up, we have training frequency, which refers to the number of times you train a muscle group each week. Training each muscle once a week can and will make that muscle bigger. In most cases, working a muscle group times per week will produce a faster rate of hypertrophy than training it once a week.

You also vary your reps from workout to workout. That is, alternating between low, medium and high reps will build muscle faster than sticking to the same number of reps all the time. The program also involves different exercises for each muscle group, which has a number of benefits.

Second, maximizing the development of a given muscle group requires the use of several exercises, and not just one. The quadriceps, for example, is made up of four different muscles. In one study, a training program that included several exercises for the quads — the leg press, squat and lunge — led to muscle hypertrophy in all heads of the quadriceps, while a squat-only program did not [ 4 ].

While the squat leads to high levels of muscle activation in vastus lateralis and vastus medialis, the leg extension preferentially recruits rectus femoris — the large muscle that runs down the middle of the front of your thigh [ 5 , 6 , 7 ]. While the potential shape and size of each muscle is determined by the genetic blueprint you were handed at birth, you can make the most of that potential by using different exercises to emphasize different regions of a muscle group. It works your muscles often enough to make them grow.

It can be used by beginner and intermediate lifters alike. If you're overwhelmed and confused by all the conflicting advice out there, then check out The Muscle Building Cheat Sheet.

It's a quick guide to building muscle, which you can read online or keep as a PDF, that shows you exactly how to put on muscle. You can unsubscribe quickly and easily if you ever want to. MX4 was designed to help you build muscle as fast as humanly possible without wrecking your joints.

Continue Reading about MX4. Muscle Evo is a proven training program for people who want to focus on gaining muscle while minimizing fat gain. It combines the latest muscle-building science with old-school training principles to get you lean, mean and strong.

Continue Reading about Muscle Evo. Continue Reading about Gutless. Skip to content Skip to primary sidebar Skip to footer. Before you continue, I do want to point out a few things. All of these things can have a big impact on the speed at which muscle is built. Full Body Workout 1 Bench Press 3 sets x reps Reverse Grip Lat Pulldown 3 sets x reps Squat 3 sets x reps Leg Curl 3 sets x reps Dumbbell Shoulder Press 2 sets x reps Incline Curl 2 sets x reps Triceps Pressdown 2 sets x reps Bench Press Sets 3 Reps Rest 2 minutes The first upper body exercise is the bench press, which is a highly effective way to build size and strength in your chest, shoulders and arms.

Full body workouts are often more physically and mentally taxing than workouts which divide the body up in some way. And even when you reduce the volume per body part in each workout and use the higher frequency to make up the difference and still get the same total weekly volume in , you still need to take into account the quality of that volume and your level of performance for body parts being trained in the second half of a full body workout.

Granted, this sort of thing will vary by person based on a variety of factors age, genetics, experience level, strength levels, injury history, etc. So if you compare doing 6 sets twice per week for a body part vs doing 4 sets 3 times per week or 3 sets 4 times per week for that same body part, the latter two approaches would come with a higher risk of joint or tendon issues. Sources here and here.

Especially when you take into account the three potential issues listed above? And so on. For additional details about this program and another version of it, check out The Beginner Weight Training Workout Routine. And you can rest about 2 minutes between each set. This is a simple and effective full body routine aimed at intermediates with the primary goal of building muscle.

Just like the beginner routine we covered a minute ago, it also uses the 3-day version of the split in the same alternating A-B-A — B-A-B format.

And you can rest about minutes between sets of compound exercises, and minutes between sets of isolation exercises. There are a handful of benefits to this style of training, but I consider these to be the three most significant: Simplicity. While no training split is really that complex e. Convenience and scheduling.

I personally used this progression scheme to regain my strength in the gym after an extended break from lifting due to COVID related gym closures in Greyskull LP is another excellent full body training program for novice lifters. You can find a helpful overview of Greyskull LP below. I personally prefer Ivysaur to Greyskull because Ivysaur calls for bench press and overhead press in every training session, whereas Greyskull alternates them.

I have found that more volume is better for my pressing movements, so I like training both lifts 3 times per week. If you do not want to train both bench press and OHP in each workout, then Greyskull is a good choice.

Thousands of people have still made excellent progress on Greyskull. A true beginner could flip a coin and see great results with either training program. Strong Curves is a beginner-friendly, effective full body workout targeted towards women and those looking to focus on glute hypertrophy. It has also been run successfully by thousands of people who have seen excellent results.

You will notice its set up is familiar: alternating training sessions, each featuring compounds lifts that target the entire body, getting progressively heavier after each successful training session. GZCLP progresses on a weekly basis, making it a great choice for intermediate lifters.

GZCLP is available in three day and four day versions, both of which are in the embedded spreadsheet. While GZCLP programs extensively for the big four compound lifts squat, bench press, deadlift, and overhead press , it also calls for variations and accessory exercises to be performed.

These are organized into Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 lifts. Each progress a bit differently, but use simple rules to let you know how to progress each lift. Additionally, there is helpful information to know how to change the rep schemes when reps start to inevitably be missed after continually adding weight each week. Heavy, Light, Medium HLM training is a simple method for organizing training so that gradual progress can be made each week.

As the name suggests, this type of training consists of three training sessions per week: a heavy training session, a light training session, and a medium training session. These are manipulated to stimulate growth and allow for recovery within a given training week. There are many, many ways to organize HLM training. The program presented within the spreadsheet is just one example of how the training can be organized. The spreadsheet was purposefully made to be flexible enough to accommodate other HLM training configurations.

It is for lifters that can no longer achieve weekly progress and squeezes out gains on a monthly basis. As long as equipment is not a limiting factor, these exercises should be the bread and butter of any effective full body workout program. The squat is one of the most effective compound exercises for your lower body and core muscles. From your upper back and lats all the way down to your lower back and calves, the squat engages your body in a way that few other exercises can.

Deadlifts are right up there with the squat in terms of the number of muscles engaged in each rep. It truly is one of the best exercises for engaging nearly every muscle of the body. For boulder shoulders, look no further than the overhead press.