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 begin to throw crap at 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 on Full Body Fitness
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.
Why Use Full Body Fitness?
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 body parts 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 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? 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 body part 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 bodyweight exercises 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 post (: Anyway, those guys undoubtedly knew what they were doing.
That's it for now. Stay tuned for The Full Body Training Advantage (Part 2) where I'll explain how to make your own full-body routines.
Play rough!
Contributor Information:
Alex Zinchenko is a personal strength trainer, strength athlete, fitness information provider, founder and owner of RoughStrength.com. The goal of Rough Strength is to provide fitness information and help other people in reaching their health and fitness goals rough. And by 'rough' I mean without any luxuries and conveniences. Pure raw strength is of course the number one priority. Find out more.
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I to struggle with understanding the reasons to do full body routine and how to get bigger using them. We are hit with the only ways to get bigger is to do splits method out there. Perhaps getting a clean caloric surplus while doing a full body routine might be better.