Why does everyone shake their head at Full Body routine?

[Wass1985]

I'm a relative newcomer to working out and on here and on most web sites a full body routine is recommended. But if I show anyone at the gym, that includes personal trainers and gym owners as well as lads who are in good condition a full body routine they just shake their heads and laugh. They say to grow you have to hit your muscles hard and advise me to do splits. When I then go on to explain why full body routines are best and where I get the advice from, the response is don't listen to folk on forums, take a look at the guys who look well and listen to them.

I'm confused as to what to do and who to believe, I'm being honest when I say after a full body routine I feel like I've done nothing but if I do a spilt I feel like I've really hit the body parts.

[Partyrocking]

Not everyone does. The sample size at your gym is small. It doesn’t represent the vast majority of lifters. It may seem like everyone because they’re all in one place, but they’re lots of lifters, in lots of gyms, that train lots of different ways. Also, you don’t have to justify your routine to anyone else. If you want to do a fb program, just do it. What matters are the results you get, not what some other person thinks of the program

Also, your feeling about how hard you hit your muscles are not necessarily dispositive of how beneficial the training was. What matters is are you seeing progress? Are your lifts going up? Are you adding lean mass (if you’re bulking) Are you losing fat (if you’re cutting)?

I can go running for an hour and my legs will burn. I could also do heavy squats and my legs don’t burn. It doesn’t mean that running is putting on the leg mass while squats don’t do ****. That would be a silly conclusion to draw.

[ironwill2008]

I'm confused as to what to do and who to believe, I'm being honest when I say after a full body routine I feel like I've done nothing but if I do a spilt I feel like I've really hit the body parts.

Then train on your split. It's your physique and your progress that's at stake.


See where you're at in 6 months and evaluate whether or not you've made satisfactory progress.

[sebatu]

Ask your bros if they have scientific evidence that support their claims.

Here's an article that explains why high frequency training is more beneficial: http://www.strengtheory.com/high-fre...-powerlifters/.

[Wass1985]

That's the thing, I haven't got a prefered method. I'm 30 and I'm a beginner, I want the best routine for me. I read on the internet go full body, but then I hear off people at the gym do splits, they look at a full body routine and say you're hardly doing anything there. For me it's all about the physique, if strength comes without then that's a plus.

[Wass1985]

Ask your bros if they have scientific evidence that support their claims.

Here's an article that explains why high frequency training is more beneficial: http://www.strengtheory.com/high-fre...-powerlifters/.

Now that is very interesting....

That's basically a finger up to most people on here who claim low volume high intensity is best.

[RoyalBuilder]

The main factor is consistency. Do your own routine and don't be a afraid to switch it up.

[Wass1985]

The main factor is consistency. Do your own routine and don't be a afraid to switch it up.

That's the thing I've only just started so I don't know which route to take, some say one thing then others say another. I mean who the hell am I supposed to believe? Ha.

[nigeltheoutlaw]

If you don't like full body routines then don't do it man. I was in a similar situation when I started a long time ago and tried a 3 day a week full body; my upper body felt insufficiently worked while my lower body was too wrecked to be hit three times a week. Switching to an upper/lower split helped me really pound the upper body (and upped the numbers faster) while giving my lower body much more rest time, and I haven't looked back since.

At the end of the day, do what works for you and do it consistently. If you make good gains and add weight to the bars on a PROVEN split then do a split. If you aren't seeing results from that, then do a PROVEN full body and stick with it. This is a pretty subjective and personal topic, so you have to listen to your body as well as others and the science.

[mikschu]

On the surface it looks like you're hardly doing anything, but once you get into it you realize where the results are coming from. Most full body routines allow you to squat/bench twice a week, whereas a split only hits those once. You can progress twice as fast.

[fairbjosh]

That's the thing I've only just started so I don't know which route to take, some say one thing then others say another. I mean who the hell am I supposed to believe? Ha.

I think your just overthinking everything and getting overloaded by what somebody at the gym is telling you and what you read on here. Personally for me I have had great success following a full body routine doing it on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. My routine looks like this below.

Bench 3x10
Squat 3x10
Military Press 3x10
Barbell Row 3x10
Landmine 180 3x12
Barbell Curls 3x10
Dips 3x10

I look to increase my weight by 5lbs each week so far I have had success and in 6 weeks increased each of my lifts by 30lbs. Main thing is to stick to one routine follow that routine as long as your making steady goals. I was in your same shoes 6 weeks ago and just finally stopped reading and stuck to a routine and have found success.

[scullin]

IMO either can work, you need to decide for yourself what works for you and your lifestyle. Lifestyle makes a big difference IMO since you need to fit whatever training your doing into your schedule. I would also say you may find that you need to do one or the other based on what's going on in your life.

A few varying opinions on the matter:

[Wass1985]

I think your just overthinking everything and getting overloaded by what somebody at the gym is telling you and what you read on here. Personally for me I have had great success following a full body routine doing it on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. My routine looks like this below.

Bench 3x10
Squat 3x10
Military Press 3x10
Barbell Row 3x10
Landmine 180 3x12
Barbell Curls 3x10
Dips 3x10

I look to increase my weight by 5lbs each week so far I have had success and in 6 weeks increased each of my lifts by 30lbs. Main thing is to stick to one routine follow that routine as long as your making steady goals. I was in your same shoes 6 weeks ago and just finally stopped reading and stuck to a routine and have found success.

So you do that one routine 3 times a week? Don't you deadlift? Looks a good routine for me.

[Wass1985]

What upper/lower split did you use? I'd prefer to really hit my top half as I'm bottom heavy. Wide hips and a big ass, I want to widen my shoulders and get a good chest.

[DirtyTrickster]

What upper/lower split did you use? I'd prefer to really hit my top half as I'm bottom heavy. Wide hips and a big ass, I want to widen my shoulders and get a good chest.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=162916931

[fairbjosh]

So you do that one routine 3 times a week? Don't you deadlift? Looks a good routine for me.

I wish I could do deadlift's but I messed my back up when I was younger from doing deadlifts with an arched back. Yeah I do this routine 3 times a week.

[Squid24]

I think your just overthinking everything and getting overloaded by what somebody at the gym is telling you and what you read on here. Personally for me I have had great success following a full body routine doing it on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

I look to increase my weight by 5lbs each week so far I have had success and in 6 weeks increased each of my lifts by 30lbs. Main thing is to stick to one routine follow that routine as long as your making steady goals. I was in your same shoes 6 weeks ago and just finally stopped reading and stuck to a routine and have found success.

This ^^^ In the same 6 weeks of doing Fierce 5, I increased my upper body 30lbs and my lower body 60lbs.

Ask your buddies at the gym how much they progressed in their 1st 6 weeks for both upper and lower body. You might be surprised how little compared to what we did.

[Squid24]

Here was the routine I did for 12 weeks:

The Original Fierce %
Workout A
Squat 3x5
Bench 3x5
Pendlay Rows 3x8
Reverse Flies 3x10
Calf raises 2x15/Tricep pressdowns 2x10 Superset

Workout B
Deadlift 3x5
Incline Bench 3x5
Leg Curls 3x8
Pullups 3x8 or as many reps as I could get on some days
Ab work 2x15/Curls 2x10 Superset (I don’t care what ab work you do)

Mon - A, Wed - B, Fri - A, Mon - B, Wed - A, Fri - B. Rest days were Tue, Thur, Sat and Sundays

[Wass1985]

I've just seen Reg Park's full body routine he used as a beginner, can't argue with the master.

https://www.muscleandstrength.com/wo...r-workout.html

[GymFreak25]

A full body routine is a great option for beginners, but so are some splits like upper/lower, what matters is the frequency at which you work out muscle groups, you should aim for 2-3x a week, anything less should be left for more advanced lifters imo.

[davisj3537]

Now that is very interesting....

That's basically a finger up to most people on here who claim low volume high intensity is best.

The article's entire point was that high intensity low volume is more effective.

[NinjaBody]

Tell your buddies at the gym they should have checked the internet, because bro splits stopped being cool about 7 or 8 years ago.

[sooby]

U/L splits actually aren't bad for beginners either. Full body is just one way to get to the goal. Even PPL can be good. The key is that if they are programmed well IMO for the most part and that there is some sort of progression. And of course has you doing compound lifts.

Beginner programs tend to have high frequency, few exercises not only because they can recover from it easy but also to get the motor patterns ingrained in their system and to keep it simple for a beginner and have them focus mostly on the compound lifts.

Next time somebody laughs tell them that Arnold started on a full body routine 3x a week. I've seen people at my gym that were stronger than me when I first started and 8 months later they still inclining 105 lbs while I am at around 160 x 5.

[Jasonk282]

whereas a split only hits those once. You can progress twice as fast.

lol wut? U/L and ppl are splits and you hit squats and bench 2 times a week...

[davisj3537]

lol wut? U/L and ppl are splits and you hit squats and bench 2 times a week...

Technically they are splits, but you're no stranger to most people around here saying split and meaning brogram 5 day bodypart split.

[Jasonk282]

Technically they are splits, but you're no stranger to most people around here saying split and meaning brogram 5 day bodypart split.

I know, just pointing out that there are splits that hit everything 2x a week.

a brogram is not bad if that's what you want to do and will consistently get you in the gym over half assing something that someone say s you must do.

[mikschu]

Technically they are splits, but you're no stranger to most people around here saying split and meaning brogram 5 day bodypart split.

what he said.

[Wass1985]

What do you guys reckon to Reg Park's beginner programme?

[blue9steel]

Tell us about your gym. Do you work out with powerlifters, bodybuilders and strongmen or is it just a regular retail gym? If you're in a dungeon where people can move serious amounts of weight then listen to them instead of the forum, if you're going to LA Fitness then listen to the forum because they don't know what the hell they're talking about. FYI, the trainer job at a normal retail gym is entry level work for trainers, they're not going to be high quality for the most part.

[davisj3537]

I know, just pointing out that there are splits that hit everything 2x a week.

a brogram is not bad if that's what you want to do and will consistently get you in the gym over half assing something that someone say s you must do.

Completely agreed