Whole body or full body training refers to training the entire body in one workout. This means targeting the legs, glutes, arms, chest, back, shoulders and even forearms and calves all in one training session.
BENEFITS
- Fat Loss
Research has shown that whole body training can improve your fat loss when compared to the typical body split routine where lifters would train Chest and arms one day followed by legs and back the next etc.. One of the main ways that whole body style training appears to influence fat loss is through Gene activation. This process is critical for results in muscle mass and fat loss.
- Greater Muscle Mass
Using multiple muscles in one single workout session will also increase your testosterone to cortisol ratio. Increased Testosterone is required to build muscle mass and cortisol breaks down cells and tissues as it is a stress hormone. When working out with resistance you cause micro-damage to muscle fibres this is needed for growth of new tissue, ( larger muscles ).
- Gain More Strength.
To many Sport and Fitness professionals, Strength is considered a skill. The more frequently an athlete trains the better his or her movement patterns become. This is especially true for strength athletes such as Olympic Weight Lifters, Strongmen competitors and powerlifters. In scientific terms, strength is known as central nervous system conditioning and neural adaptations. In otherwise the more frequently you train the more rapidly and efficiently your brain can send signals to the muscles to perform a lift. This can be more easily achieved during Full Body Workouts as one can for example squat 3 times per week as opposed to once per week on the more traditional body part split routine.
- More Time Convenient
Less time at the gym! Another appealing aspect of Full Body Workouts is that you can train roughly around 3 hours per week and drastically change your Fitness Levels. This is great news for people with a busy lifestyle who cannot commit to many days at the gym. In one workout a person can Squat, Press, Pull, curl, Train abs. and even do a few minutes of cardio within an hour or less. This is because you will be performing fewer sets per body parts, (2-3 sets) then moving on to the next muscle group until you have hit the entire body. You can even add supersets and for example, perform 1 set of squats and immediately do 1 set of push-ups. That way in one short set you are hitting Quads, Glutes, Pecs, Deltoids, and triceps. A very efficient way to work out both for building muscle and shedding fat!
CONCLUSION
When programmed properly, Full Body Workouts can be used to build muscle, shed fat and increase overall Fitness and Athleticism. Many people seem to stick to ‘Fancier looking’ more complex and usually less effective body part split. So be sure to give Full Body Workouts a try, if you are looking to maximise your Fitness Levels.