Here in the gym we utilize a full body training approach.
This means that in each workout we are training a variety of muscle groups. We are not spending much time isolating individual muscles or movements in a given workout.
I like to check off most, if not all, of these boxes in each training session for the members here at Brick By Brick Training.
push (bench press, pushups, overhead press etc)
pull (rows, pullups etc)
squat (squat lunch single and double leg etc.)
hinge (rdl, swing, snatch etc)
abs (anti movement, flexion, extension, twisting etc)
carries (just like it sounds)
flexibility (hit problem areas and/or areas that deal with the day’s exercises)
This is a basic breakdown of the ‘WHAT’….but what about the ‘WHY’?
I have many reasons… but we will focus on the two big ones.
It is incredibly sustainable
It is way more fun
The way I view sustainability in the context of physical training is whether this is a method of training a person can do for a long period of time with little to no adjusting or downsides.
The answer is an overwhelming yes in this case… but let’s try to understand why that is.
You can train full body for a long period of time because it is much easier to partition workload on any muscle over multiple workouts. This means instead of beating the piss out of your quads in one day you can work them more efficiently in each workout but more frequently as well. If you like thinking in numbers just think of how much it would suck to squat 4x10, do 3x8 RDLs, do 2x20 leg extensions and hamstring curls all on the same day. Now what if we prioritized the squats and RDLs and did them with half of the volume and did it 2 or 3 times a week? You can push harder and recover faster.
Look this is a VERY simplistic way of looking at training but this is all you need to know… you want to be able to push your body close to failure then back off. Anything extra on top of that is (almost) always a waste of time.
Now what about the fun factor?
I think this style of training is much more fun because it is more reminiscent of playing sports which many of us can connect back to childhood and having fun with friends on the baseball, soccer, football field etc.
When you play sports you are moving in a variety of directions and intensities.
When you train full body you are more free to move in a variety of ways and intensities.
Instead of being locked into crushing your legs for an hour on Wednesday you can squat a bit, do some pushups, practice some split mobility, and do some heavy ass carries.
This ends up being more fun because you have more opportunities to see improvement due to the fact that you are working on more than just a single skill or two at a time.
Now let me caution anyone reading this.
Full body training does not mean show up at the gym and do random shit for an hour.
That will get you absolutely nowhere fast.
Full body training should still follow the same principles as any other method of successful training.
progressive overload (doing more reps/weight/sets/mechanical tension over time)
repetition (doing the same or similar movements often enough to make physiological AND neurological adaptations)
recovery (sleep, hydration, nutrition… this is what success hinges on)
This was a very succinct breakdown of why I like Full Body Training for myself as well as my clients.
Next time I may dive a bit more into examples of programming full body training over multiple months so you can get a fuller picture of what this actually looks like in practice.
Until then…
Take Action, Believe
— Coach Dill