Full body workouts - experience.. thoughts?

SearMeCarefully · 09-07-2009, 10:52 AM

I often venture over to FigureAthlete from time to time and I came across this article
(link is to forum of discussion [many women there seem to like the routine etc] of said article and first post has link to the article)
http://figureathlete.tmuscle.com/fre...06280&pageNo=0

I've been doing a body part split for a long time and have considered trying this for a month to see the results.. but my boyfriend/gym partner said they're a waste of time and only for people that can only devote so much time for a workout (subpar workouts) (However I don't understand that since our current workout takes as long as this one is supposed to..)
*He (Wet Wolf, the author) also has an upper/lower body routine as well which I've considered too..

Any thoughts? Has anyone done full body workouts a few days a week? What were the results?

My goal = fat loss and maintain muscle. Eventually The goal is a figure competition.

*Here is a link to the half body if interested:
http://figureathlete.tmuscle.com/fre..._a_contest&cr=

VulcanFlame · 09-07-2009, 11:13 AM

I have tried 2 parts splits (chest/tri, back/bi, legs/shouldes) & full body workouts routines (somewhat similar to what we have on "Programming Strength").
Results:
6 months

Split routine
Time consumed per day: 1h30min => 2h
Lean mass gain: 3Kg
Days: 4 days a week

Full body routine
Time consumed per day: 50 min => 1h10min
Lean mass gain: 5Kg
Days: 3 days a week

Overall, the full body routine is a much better option. Less time per day, less days a week & more results. The only draw back is that it puts a lot more stress on your body (mainly because you will be doing at least 2 of the big compound movements in the same day (press, squats, bench & deadlift).
Full body workouts speed up your metabolism like no other exercise. 3x Full body workout + HIIT sessions on your rest days will bring the best results.

ilovethe80s · 09-07-2009, 12:29 PM

Not sure there is really a "right" answer to this. I think women in particular are urged to do FB routines because we do carry more fat, and the FB routine does help with that. IMO if you have been doing a split for a while, it might be beneficial to do full body for a while now.

I did a split for years, but got in the best shape of my life doing full body. So I vowed to never go back to a split. But in a few months, progress stalled. So I switched back to a split and saw amazing gains from a split again.

In my experience, each time I start a new routine I am quick to say how much better it is than my old routine. Then in a few months, when I am no longer making such strong gains from it, I go back to an old routine, and again see progress.

Keep in mind that with full body, you are not spending hours doing 4 sets of each exercise for every body part. You are going heavy for at most maybe 2 sets, and hitting the body part more often.

I really love HST and would highly recommend that. It got me ready for my first figure competition and I was not even aiming to do that. People at the gym started asking me if I was competing so I was like "hey you know what, I actually miight be able to complete!" lol. But yeah, in short I would recommend giving it a go. It should be fun for a change of pace

juliacheh · 09-07-2009, 12:31 PM

This article might be interesting to you.
http://www.tmuscle.com/free_online_a...lbody_training

BatsyWatsy · 09-07-2009, 04:24 PM

OP - I've been thinking about switching back to Full body routines as well. I took this past week off from the gym because I haven't had a week off since April, so I've been spending a lot of time on BB.com and FigureAthelete.com to get my fix. I saw the same article that you posted by Wet Wolf and I was sold. I was reading some of the posts by the other girls, and it seems to really be kicking their a**es. So I'm convinced! I'll be starting the routine when I return to the gym on Wednesday.

Haybales · 09-07-2009, 05:37 PM

looks interesting. im gonna give a full body thing a go for a month or so and see how i go!

MrsMandeeLei · 09-08-2009, 11:56 AM

I was doing a full body routine for several months and found myself neglecting certain muscles and over training others. I think that is because I designed the routine myself though. That routine looks badass. I just switched to a split again in the beginning of August so I will probably stick with it a few more weeks. I am seeing great results so far so no reason to go change something that's not broken yet! I am starting school again tomorrow and a full body routine does fit into my schedule much better. One other thing that did bother me about the FB workouts was that I felt sore all over after a workout instead of only sore in a few muscle groups lol :[

triangle · 09-08-2009, 12:15 PM

Full body FTW! I've pretty much exclusively used full body routines (self-designed) and that's how I got from there to here (s'in my progress pictures

) Did a push-pull split for a while.. and lost weight. Presumably muscle since I've never had much fat.

I do two a week, one exercise per bodypart. Takes an hour, tops. I'm about 20lbs heavier than I used to be and suitably lean, without much cardio at all.

Absolutely not a waste of time if you train hard enough.

SearMeCarefully · 09-08-2009, 10:53 PM

Wow thank you everyone for the feedback. I think I'll give the full body workout a try, if anything my progress will just stay the same and I will have learned how my body reacts to this. I'll be starting this next week - although I'll miss working out with my partner =s

Ilovethe80s - That is what I was thinking as well. I've been doing body part splits for so long I think my body could use a change for optimal results, I'll try this for a month - see how it works out then asses from there.

Haybales and batsywatsy - I would love to hear some updates to see how this is working out for you too =]

Juliacheh - thanks, I'm off to read this right now, always love reading articles

VulcanFlame - Thank you so much for the thorough feedback, I hope I get similar results

Mindi911 · 09-09-2009, 01:38 AM

I lost all my weight doing a fullbody routine. It worked for me.

Euqinom · 09-09-2009, 03:35 AM

I Agree.

I love fullbody workouts, and the rougher the split the better it worked for me.

I even did fullbody circuits, consisting of three exercises ( squat, bench, row, or Deadlift, pull ups and shoulder presses), 5 rounds, and I never got in shape that fast, ever.

princessTiffany · 09-09-2009, 04:29 AM

I think full body work outs are great for absolute beginners who need to get our concentration, balance and coordination up.

juliacheh · 09-09-2009, 07:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by princessTiffany

I think full body work outs are great for absolute beginners who need to get our concentration, balance and coordination up.

It's not true that full-body work-outs are good only for beginners. Steeve Reeves and John Grimek, for example, trained that way. Splits were introduced in the 1950s by Weider brothers who were in competition with Bob Hoffman.

CharliC · 09-09-2009, 09:08 AM

The upper/lower body looks a lot like the routine I've just switched back to. I changed to a three day split for a couple of months but feel I was progressing at a better rate on the upper/lower (in terms of hypertrophy and strength gains). So my preference is definitely hitting each muscle group twice/week, through whatever means.

princessTiffany · 09-09-2009, 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by juliacheh

It's not true that full-body work-outs are good only for beginners. Steeve Reeves and John Grimek, for example, trained that way. Splits were introduced in the 1950s by Weider brothers who were in competition with Bob Hoffman.

I didn't mean that's who they were only good for. I just think they're better for getting a beginner in shape.

SearMeCarefully · 09-15-2009, 09:11 AM

Well I started this yesterday. And wow it was a good workout - those single leg deadlifts WHEW! the burn.. and I just tried the anaerobic workout (30s jumping jacks, 30s mtn clilmbers 30s rest) and I didn't last more than a few rounds eesh. I think those will be my punishment if I sleep in for my morning cardio. They're fast but brutal!

genia824 · 09-17-2009, 10:46 AM

I just finished my first week of the workout the OP posted! I was skeptical given I was finished each day in 30 - 40 mins. (not counting my 10 min. warm-up). Today I did the "endurance" workout and I am sitting at my desk 3 hours later feeling shredded! I'm excited about this workout and will try to post some before & after pictures in about 6 weeks.

jackie423 · 09-18-2009, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by genia824

I just finished my first week of the workout the OP posted! I was skeptical given I was finished each day in 30 - 40 mins. (not counting my 10 min. warm-up). Today I did the "endurance" workout and I am sitting at my desk 3 hours later feeling shredded! I'm excited about this workout and will try to post some before & after pictures in about 6 weeks.

I felt wierd having shorter work-outs too... this has been my first week on the same workout. We'll see... :-)

dvsness · 09-18-2009, 12:10 PM

I'm not a fan of full body routines and tend to adhere to a more typical BB body part split. If you wan to burn fat, do it with your diet. Time in the weight room is for building, or retaining (if you're in caloric deficit) muscle.

I have never felt that I have really killed it in the gym without completely laying waste to a specific muscle group.

SearMeCarefully · 09-20-2009, 07:46 PM

The only time I felt weird time wise was on the endurance type work out - that went by pretty fast (although I am feeling it now, the next day..)

And wow - those plate drags/crocs whew!

genia824 · 09-26-2009, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SearMeCarefully

The only time I felt weird time wise was on the endurance type work out - that went by pretty fast (although I am feeling it now, the next day..)

And wow - those plate drags/crocs whew!

Ok...I am entering week 3 of this workout. Today was the "strength" workout. It calls for 5 sets of 5 chin-ups. I'm not able to knock out 5 yet (usually do 2 in the 1st 2 sets, then the remainder are negatives), but today I was able to do 3 chin-ups in my first 3 sets before switching to negs!

As I said previously, I was quite skeptical of this workout plan, but after today's workout, I was wasted and right now I am sore everywhere!

I've also cutback on my cardio: 1 of HIIT and 1- 2 days either hike or mountain bike ride.

Has anyone completed a full 6-9 weeks? If so, I'd appreciate your input!
Thanks!

brooke08 · 09-27-2009, 04:16 PM

i am going to start this workout tomorrow, and ditch the split i've been working on the past couple months. so glad to hear you guys like it!

i'm not sure i understand the "crocs". can someone give me a better idea of what these look like? thanks!

TheAmazon · 09-27-2009, 05:00 PM

my only beef with this article is lack of descrptions on the movement, like the "crocs" where the hell is the picture!

seriously guys!!!

I dunno, i kinda like a split routinue, the current one i would do, i wouldn't rest the whole time inbetween sets.

I could give this one a try out, but honestly i throw alot of what she was talking about in my routinue sometimes.

*le sigh*

i dunno it feels like in the fitness world you'll get people saying up and down, right and left, black and white...but in the end alot of it is subjective and is what works best for the person.

Then i was kinda offended this chick who wrote the article assumed most chicks were born with no natural strength.....we do exist

/end rant.

SearMeCarefully · 09-27-2009, 05:36 PM

It was a guy that wrote that article

If you youtube crocs or plate drags it'll show you. The guy who wrote teh article also has a youtube channel showing a lot of the moves

basically crocs/plate drags is where you put a shirt/rag around a weight (like a 25 plate) then you put your toes on it and go into a plank position - then you proceed to walk with your hands dragging the plate with you (still in plank position)
Hopefully that helps

TheAmazon · 09-27-2009, 06:05 PM

Thanks for clarifying.

1995lora · 09-29-2009, 01:17 PM

Could you send me the link for this Routine you are talking about? I used to do Full body. I switched a while ago to do doing different ones a day, but this sounds interesting to me

Quote:

Originally Posted by genia824

Ok...I am entering week 3 of this workout. Today was the "strength" workout. It calls for 5 sets of 5 chin-ups. I'm not able to knock out 5 yet (usually do 2 in the 1st 2 sets, then the remainder are negatives), but today I was able to do 3 chin-ups in my first 3 sets before switching to negs!

As I said previously, I was quite skeptical of this workout plan, but after today's workout, I was wasted and right now I am sore everywhere!

I've also cutback on my cardio: 1 of HIIT and 1- 2 days either hike or mountain bike ride.

Has anyone completed a full 6-9 weeks? If so, I'd appreciate your input!
Thanks!

genia824 · 09-29-2009, 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1995lora

Could you send me the link for this Routine you are talking about? I used to do Full body. I switched a while ago to do doing different ones a day, but this sounds interesting to me

Here you go!

http://figureathlete.tmuscle.com/fre...rkouts_goodbye

TheAmazon · 09-30-2009, 02:52 PM

okay ladies, it's kicking by butt, after monday workout...i had NO WANT to go into the gym tuesday to do cardio. I went in today for Wednesday, and i was still sore from Tuesday

going to plan for cardio day Thur.

brooke08 · 09-30-2009, 10:25 PM

ok, i have another question... i just did the day with the crocs. it says to do 3 sets of 9 reps.. what the heck counts as a rep when doing crocs? lol.. i just did them until i collapsed, X3 sets

genia824 · 10-01-2009, 07:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brooke08

ok, i have another question... i just did the day with the crocs. it says to do 3 sets of 9 reps.. what the heck counts as a rep when doing crocs? lol.. i just did them until i collapsed, X3 sets

The OP included a link to a thread involving this workout. It's quite lengthy, and I seem to think the author answered that question by saying one length of the room is one set. I'm not sure. Unfortunately, my gym doesn't have space for these so I've been doing planks. I have polished concrete at home, so I'm going to start incorporating these once I get home from the gym. They do kinda scare me though! ;o)

I just got home from doing the "endurance" workout and it is the one that leaves me feeling like a limp noodle! For a short workout, it really kicks my butt! LOVE IT!