Body Set

Body Set

Full Body Advantage

There's so much talk about it on the internet. Even holy wars. What's better full-body routines or splits? What's better for muscle gain? What's better for fat loss? Some people say full-body workouts are the ultimate way to train. Others disagree with the former and start arguing and proving their thoughts with some obscure researches. Then full-body fans say that all old-school bodybuilders used only full-body routines. Split fans say that all the modern bodybuilders use split routines. The debate goes nowhere and everybody stays unconvinced no matter what. That's how internet works (:

My Take

My take is simple. It's not a secret that there is no "ultimate" or "one-fits-all" approach to this subject. Different approaches work not the same for different people. Some people do better with full-body routines, some do better with splits. You need to find something that works for YOU. I know, it may be boring, hard, even frustrating. But you need to figure it out. How?

You have options. You can experiment and track things precisely. Or you can hire a professional and let him do this job. You can check out my personalized program design services here.

In my experience (as personal strength trainer and self-trainer) people do better on full-body routines. I'm not saying here that full-body routines forever and splits are crap. I'm saying that me and my clients made decent progress mainly on full-body routines. And here's why.

Full-Body Reasons

Here are some reasons why I prefer full-body routines and why I find them so effective.

1. You work your body as one unit.

It's quite obvious but it takes time to understand this. Our bodies were designed to work as one unit. There's more than enough evidence for that. If you still don't believe just look at your daily activities (besides sitting in front of the computer or lying on the sofa and watching TV). You walk and use your body as one unit, you run and use your body as one unit, you jump and use your body as one unit, you grab and lift something from the floor and use your body as one unit, you carry suitcase or heavy bag and use your body as one unit, heck, you drive a car and still use your body as one unit. You can't run or jump just using your legs. It contradicts with human physiology. So from here comes the next reason.

2. You can't totally isolate bodyparts in exercises.

You just can't. You're working every muscle in your body to some degree in any exercise. I strongly believe that there's no such thing as isolated exercises of course if you use decent (appropriate) poundages. Yes, for example, you can isolate your biceps to some degree on preacher curls with dumbbell attached with rope to your wrist (to take grip and forearms out of equation) but think again: "Is it worth be done? Will your biceps grow bigger from a set of this crap or from a set of weighted chin-ups?" You got the idea. Squats are not only for legs, deadlifts are not only for lower back, presses work not only chest and/or shoulders.

3. You'll have no time for isolation movements.

Think it's bad? What about your favorite curls and triceps kickbacks? Forget them, man. Who needs isolation anyway? Everybody knows that compound exercises build muscle, strength, endurance, even if your goal is fat loss you should go with compounds. But it seems that nobody wants to do them. The best training advice I was given in the beginning of my training was: "Dude, why you doin' all that curls and stuff? You should do only presses, squats and deadlifts for 5 years to be ready for curls". I regret that I understood that advice a bit later. So don't repeat this mistake. Isolation won't build anything if you have no foundation. You have to be a minimalist when you doing full-body routines. You should pick the most effective exercises that work your whole body (which are squats, deadlifts, presses and rows, nothing new). Some isolation is still acceptable for those who just don't believe that their biceps will grow without curls. But it should be very restricted.

4. You will build tremendous work capacity.

That's very important reason. One day my friend asked me what am I doing to get such results, what's my training program etc. You know. I said that I do full-body routines, squats, deadlifts, presses, rows. No secret exercises or routines. Everything that worked for millions of athletes and proven through time. And he said: "Squats and bench in one session. Oh no. It's too hard". The funny thing is that it's hard only for those who is used to train a bodypart once a week on dead split routines that use professional bodybuilders. Pros use this split for their reasons. The biggest mistake natural trainee can make is to follow that routines. If you don't inject what pros inject why do you  using their routines? A reasonable question that nobody seems to ask themselves. Splits are no-go for me because I simply don't feel that it is a workout. After so much full-body training I really don't understand how is it possible not to press and squat in one session? Work capacity is through the roof.

5. You will improve your recovery abilities.

Full-body routines demand greater recovery abilities from your body. And your body responds in increasing your recovery speed. Usually you are training your whole body 2-3 times per week on full-body routines. So every body part is worked 2-3 times per week which means greater anabolic response (if you support it with calorie surplus) and greater strength gains (because strength training is actually a skill that you need to train and support) on full-body routines.

6. Unconventional tools mix better with full-body routines.

Sandbags, kettlebells and bodyweightexercises mix much better with full-body routines rather than with splits. It's all about setup. You make lots of accessory work with these tools. I mean all the cleans and shouldering. No matter what your goal is you better do full-body routines with these tools.

7. Old-timers used full-body routines almost exclusively.

Remember beginning of the article (: Anyway, those guys undoubtedly knew what they were doing.

Where to start?

At first you need to pick exercises. Like I said in the first part, you need to pick compound exercises like squats or deadlifts. Usually the more weight you use the more this exercise is beneficial. For example, Military Press and Bench Press are more beneficial than flyes and triceps kickbacks. Squats and Deadlifts are more beneficial than leg extentions and leg curls. Pull-Ups and Bent-Over Rows are more beneficial than curls. You get the idea. But you may ask what about Military Presses vs Bench Presses? Or Squats vs Leg Presses? This is an issue for the whole article actually. But in two words, Military Presses are more beneficial than Bench Presses, and Squats will be more effective than Leg Presses. The issue here is that Military Presses and Squats are free-standing exercises. They involve much more muscles into action. They make greater impact on body composition. The most effective exercises on this planet are those where you standing on your feet. Pull-Ups, Dips and all the gymnastic exercises do count. Someone can disagree but it's rough reality.

Don't worry about implements. You can mix them as you wish. If you like sandbag training you can do it exclusively. If you prefer kettlebells and bodyweight over sandbags. No big deal. Work with those implements. Like barbells and dumbbells? No problem. Do what you like.

Ok, I got it. What's next?

Mix and match. There are lots of opinions on how to structure a full-body routine but I like to keep it simple.

Upper Body Push + Upper Body Pull + Lower Body Movement = Full-Body Workout

It's the combination that brought me the best results. It is a combination that many fitness and strength experts preach, including Brooks Kubik and Chad Waterbury.

Here's a sample full-body routine:

Workout A:

A1) Kettlebell Double Military Press 5x5

A2) Pull-Ups 5x5

A3) Barbell Deadlifts 5x5

Perform all sets in circuit fashion. Rest no more than 2 minutes between sets. Start with your seven rep max. Use the same weight for all sets. When you will be able to finish all sets and all reps add weight or cut the rest periods.

Workout B:

A) Sandbag Floor Press 3x8

B) Kettlebell One-Arm Bent-Over Row 3x8 (each hand)

C) Barbell Squats 3x8

Perform all sets in straight fashion. Rest no more than 2 minutes between sets. Start with your ten rep max. Use the same weight for all sets. When you will be able to finish all sets and all reps add weight or cut the rest periods.

Workout C:

A1) Dips 2x12

A2) Kettlebell Alternating Renegade Row 2x12

Perform all sets in alternating fashion. Rest no more than 2 minutes between sets. Start with your fourteen rep max. Use the same weight for all sets. When you will be able to finish all sets and all reps add weight or cut the rest periods. Finish all the sets and then move on to the next exercise.

B) Sandbag Zercher Squat 2x12

Rest no more than 2 minutes between sets. Start with your fourteen rep max. Use the same weight for all sets. When you will be able to finish all sets and all reps add weight or cut the rest periods.

Try to follow this routine on a 3-day-a-week schedule. For example, Monday-Wednesday-Friday of Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday. Pick any combination you will be able to follow. Just make sure that there's at least one full day of rest between workouts. If it is too much try 2-day-a-week schedule. For example, Monday-Thursday or Tuesday-Friday. It will look like this:

Monday: Workout A

Thursday: Workout B

Monday: Workout C

Generally speaking you should get stronger almost every workout. Don't worry about curls and core work. Your guns will grow like weed and with proper diet your abs will be ripped as hell (:

Here you go. Now you have a simple ready-to-go full-body routine that you can use to gain strength, build muscle and lose fat. But what about splits?

Splits

I'd like to say some words here on splits actually. If for some reason you don't like full-body routines or simply like splits so much that you won't even try full-body routine it's ok. But you need to understand that your body is like a machine. It always works as a whole unit. So when you will be designing your split let your logic be the guide. Sometimes people follow hilarious splits and don't even analyze what they are doing. As a result they build tremendous muscle imbalances instead of harmonic body. You know, people tend to work what they like more instead of what needs to be worked. That's why you see people benching and curling instead of squatting and deadlifting. So if you are fond of splits make them well-balanced. How to do it? The easiest way is to split upper body and lower body into two sessions. That's how you will save balance and find time for your precious isolation.

Here's a sample split routine:

Workout A - Upper Body

A1) Barbell Bench Press 5x5

A2) Weighted Pull-Ups 5x5

Perform all sets in alternating fashion. Rest no more than 2 minutes between sets. Start with your seven rep max. Use the same weight for all sets. When you will be able to finish all sets and all reps add weight or cut the rest periods. Finish all the sets and then move on to the next exercises.

B1) Barbell Standing Curls 2x6

B2) Lying Triceps Extentions 2x6

Same directions as above except when you will be able to finish all sets and all reps add reps until you hit 12 with this weight. Then add weight.

Workout B - Lower Body

A) Front Squats 5x5

B) Deadlift 3x5

C) Calf Raises 3x10-12

Perform all sets in straight fashion. Rest no more than 2 minutes between sets. When you will be able to finish all sets and all reps add weight or cut the rest periods. Feel free to add some core work in the end but don't get too carried away.

Perform workouts back-to-back. For example:

Monday: Workout A

Wednesday: Workout B

Friday: Workout A

Monday: Workout B

Wednesday: Workout A

Friday: Workout B

Repeat.

If it's too easy for you then try this approach:

Monday/Thursday: Workout A

Tuesday/Friday: Workout B

I think it's no-brainer that you should use perfect technique on every rep. Try one of these routines and e-mail me on how they worked for you to roughstrength@yahoo.com

Play Rough!

Alex Zinchenko

About the Author

Alex Zinchenko is a personal strength trainer, fitness information provider, founder and owner of Rough Strength. For more information on Rough Strength training and Alex Zinchenko visit RoughStrength.com. You check out Alex' online Personalized Program Design services at http://roughstrength.com/personalized-program-design/.

Any body know how to set up a singer sewing machine model 1725?

I really need help setting this machine. I lost the instructions and i need help and directions on to set it up. I tried the website it doesn't help.
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Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

Let the Body set the Flow - Drowning Pool