When choosing a Workout Plan it's important to know what you want to achieve. Previously we spoke about the benefits of "body-part" split training, which was to develop or cultivate your physique, but if you don't have 3-6 days to work on a strict gym plan, Full-Body Training might be more up your street. Full-Body Workouts allow you to train every major muscle group in your body, all in one session and therefore can give you more 'Bang For Your Buck' while also allowing you to be more flexible with your training plans and training frequency.
1. Saves time
Depending on work, family commitments, and/or sport, you might only be able to do one gym session per week. If this is the case, Full-body Workouts are perfect for you. Having one Full-Body session per week will allow you to hit ALL your target muscles in one go. You can easily program in Legs, Upper Body & Core Exercises into the one training day as you know you will have 7 days to recover. If you are doing no other training for the rest of the week bar maybe a walk or cycle, you can work on heavy compound movements like Bench, Deadlift, Back Squat, or even include RDL's or Shoulder Pressing.
If however you are playing a lot of GAA, Soccer or Basketball you may want to lean towards moderate weights and having some more stability & flexibility exercises dotted into the plan while still working both upper and lower body in the one session. All-in-all, as you only have to commit to one gym session per week you can easily make time for it and won't get stressed out if something comes up during the week and you have to reschedule or change the day you train.
2. great for losing weight
One of the best ways to lose weight is to train the upper and lower body in the one session. The reason for this is if we work our upper body doing push ups, our heart pumps as much blood as possible to our chest and arms so that our Pec Major and Triceps have enough energy to perform the exercise. If we are to follow this with a leg press or squat, our body is now required to pump as much blood as possible into the muscles in our legs. The effect of this is that our heart rate remains elevated during the changeover, while also allowing our upper body muscles to recover. This is an excellent form of training for anyone looking to lose weight, especially if you are a beginner.
3. improves strength
If however you are NOT looking to lose weight, but want to improve your strength, Full-Body Workouts are perfect for this too as they allow you to train 2-3 times per week hitting all the major muscles in the body several times. It is very common for powerlifters to bench, deadlift, and squat twice a week over a 3 day plan in order to maximize their strength. To get the best possible results from this you will need to work off a structured plan over 6-12 weeks periodised appropriately so that you peak at the right time and then allow a deload or rest week.
This form of training can also be useful for GAA or Rugby players during the off-season if players need to gain 6-10 pounds over a few months or improve strength for a particular position (It can be very difficult to do this mid-season as the demands on pitch training & matches doesn't always allow the body to make strength gains as recovery is normally the main focus).
4. provides greater flexibility
If flexibility, or sports specific improvement is your primary aim, then Full-Body is the way to go. Working muscles front and back, or upper and lower in the one session allows for a better balance overall in your body. By making sure all muscles are worked evenly in the session, we can reduce the occurrence of stiffness and help prevent injuries.
You will also have less occurrences of DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) by doing Full-Body as we haven't been working specific muscle groups to fatigue, which in turn leaves the body feeling 'free', 'loose' or just less rigid/stiff.
5. perfect for home workouts
During lockdowns, most of us are doing our workouts at home with little or no equipment. Full-Body Workouts allow us to do this using just bodyweight exercises, or with just a Kettlebell or one set of Dumbbells.
Dumbbells can be used to perform walking lunges, deadlifts, lying chest presses, shoulder presses, bent over rows, lateral raises, biceps curls, and overhead triceps extensions, which, when done in combination together, will make up a complete full body workout.
If you would like help putting together your home workout plan or gym plan feel free to email us on scullyfitness@gmail.com
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