The Full Body Workout
There’s hundreds of different styles of workout regimes in existence, it comes to me as no surprise that the majority of newcomers give up before they even do their first workout – with magazines, websites, books and trainers all preaching and recommending completely different workout styles for the same end goal.
To build muscle mass and get strong,
The full body workout is one time-tested style of training among the hundreds of different options out there.
Fitness magazines and personal trainers prescribe full body workouts to newbies to the gym because they're basic, easy to follow and leave little room for confusion or paralysis by analysis.
That said, there's 5 full body workout mistakes I see and hear being made time and time again, if you're following a full body workout ensure you're not falling victim to the following 5 progress halting mistakes...
5 Full Body Workout Mistakes That'll Sabotage Your Gains
1 - Insufficient Rest Between Workouts
If you're following a full body workout regime you're not going to be training two consecutive days in a row, regardless of whether you're a newcomer or a seasoned gym-goer.
Size and strength are gained during your downtime, hitting each and every muscle group day after day is a sure-fire way to increase your risk of injury and see minimal progress, this is a classic case of over-training.
Should you choose to follow a 3 day split, 5 day split or push/pull/legs style regime training consecutive days is expected, as you're hitting opposing muscle groups each workout.
Ensure you're getting at least 48 hours rest between workouts.
2 - Poor Scheduling Of Exercises
Start big and hone in later on in your full body workout, don't start with biceps curls and triceps extensions - you'll be shooting yourself in the foot by as you're essentially pre-fatiguing and weakening the secondary muscle group when it comes time to hit your back and chest exercises.
Compounds come first during a full body workout as they're going to get you the best results.
The squat, the bench press and the overhead press.
Once you've got those out the way you can expend your remaining time and energy hitting some isolation if you wish, e.g. biceps, triceps and calves.
3 - Poor Choice Of Exercises (Too Much Isolation!)
If you’re able to hit 15 exercises per workout for multiple sets you’re not lifting heavy enough, you’re not pushing yourself hard enough and you'll be spending half the day in the gym.
Each workout should consist of roughly 6 exercises, with the majority of your lifts being performed in the single digit rep range.
4 – 6 reps.
3 – 4 sets.
1 - 2 exercises per body part.
If you want size and strength focus on your compound movements and focus on applying progressive overload with heavy weight.
Start with the corresponding mass mover exercise for each body part:
- Chest – Barbell Bench Press
- Back – Weighted Pull-Ups
- Shoulders – Military Press
- Arms – Barbell Curls/Triceps Dips
- Legs – Barbell Squats
4 - Neglecting Weak Points
Your weak points should be prioritized.
A jaw dropping physique isn’t necessarily huge, it’s proportionate and symmetrical – without bringing your lagging muscle groups and weak points up to scratch with priority training you’re not going to achieve this.
Train your weak points early in your workout while both your willpower and energy are at their highest.
If your chest is your strongest muscle group and your legs are lagging far behind your first targeted muscle group should undoubtedly be legs.
5 - Lack Of Consistency (Shiny Object Syndrome)
I highly recommend customizing your rest days and workout days to suit your schedule to ensure you’re consistent.
If you train hard but you’re inconsistent you won’t see the progress you’re after.
If you train inconsistently you won’t see anything.
Set your full body workout schedule and follow it for at least 12 weeks before making any adjustments.
Follow the regime, gauge your results and make the necessary pivots, if you’re chopping and changing exercises, scheduling and workouts all the time you’re not going to be able to gauge what is actually working and what isn’t.
Don’t fall victim to shiny object syndrome.