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You’re a person who lives a full, busy life. So, when you step into the gym, you want to make the most of the time you have.
There are lots of discussions and opinions about how best to split up your workouts – should you do legs one day, then back the next? But, if you’re new to the gym or only have 2-3 days you can train per week, you might not have the time or endurance to focus on individual muscle groups. And, based on studies that prove the effectiveness of full-body workouts, you don’t have to.
Total body workouts are a fun and effective way to train, whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned athlete. They’re a great way to build strength, improve your fitness, and burn calories so you get the most value for your time and effort. Let’s look at the benefits of a full-body gym workout – and how you can build it into your gym routine.
The benefits of a full-body workout
A full-body workout involves exercises that engage all your muscles in one session instead of isolating a single muscle. It generally focuses on functional movements, including core stabilisation and posture movements. You’ll find full-body workouts in most training styles – gym workouts, bodyweight workouts, conventional weightlifting, and high-intensity interval or resistance training.
These are some of the key benefits of a full-body workout:
Muscular strength and endurance
With full-body strength training, you target all muscle groups simultaneously for a longer period, which helps develop muscle strength and endurance.
More muscle recovery time
You’re less likely to overload specific muscles when you train all your muscle groups in one workout. This means you won’t need as much recovery time between exercises, and you’ll be able to do the same workout multiple times per week. You’ll also avoid overtraining and reduce the risk of injury.
Increase metabolism
Studies show that full-body workouts typically burn more calories per session while still allowing you to build lean muscle mass. This is essential for boosting your metabolism, allowing you to burn more calories throughout the day.
Structuring full-body gym workouts
A popular structure within full-body training is the upper-lower combination. This method allows shorter rest periods between exercises as you alternate between upper and lower body movements. The shorter rest periods keep the heart rate elevated, which helps with fat loss. The prolonged time under tension stimulates muscle growth.
For example, a workout pairing (A1 and A2) could be structured like this:
A1: Cable split squats – 10 reps on each side with a 3010 tempo
A2: Push-ups – 12 reps with the same 3010 tempo
Tempo: 3010 (3 seconds lowering (eccentric), no pause at the bottom, 1 second rising (concentric), no pause at the top).
This combination involves upper and lower body muscles and takes about 128 seconds under tension per set, making it a highly efficient workout for fat loss and muscle endurance.
Sample full-body workout
This workout structure prioritises multi-joint (compound) exercises first, which are more challenging and require more energy. Perform the exercises in an A1, A2 sequence with a short rest (10 seconds) between each, followed by a longer rest (45-90 seconds) after completing a full set.
A1: RDL – 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps tempo 3010
A2: Push Up – 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps tempo 3010
Rest 45 seconds
B1: Split Squats – 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps tempo 2010
B2: Pull-ups – 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps tempo 3010
Rest 45 seconds
C1: Hip Thrusts – 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps tempo 3010
C2: DB Overhead Press – 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps tempo 3010
Rest 45 seconds
D1: Fitball Rollouts – 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps tempo 3010
D2: Rev Curls – 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps tempo 3010
D3: Tricep Rope – 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps tempo 3010
Get lasting results with full-body training
Full-body workouts are an excellent option for people of all fitness levels, particularly if you’re short on time during the week and your goals are centred around general health and fitness.
Looking for a workout space that fits you? Sign up for a free trial today.
Les Mills 30-minute full-body workouts
At Les Mills, we offer an extensive range of group fitness classes with full-body, functional programming.
Here are some of our most popular 30-minute workouts:
• GRIT Cardio
• BODYPUMP
• GRIT Strength
Or, you can try a 30-minute full-body workout at home. Check out Les Mills at Home.
Full-body workout FAQs
- Can you do full-body workouts every day?
You can do full-body workouts every day. However, you can get great results doing a full-body workout 2-4 times per week alongside good nutrition.
- Can you build muscle with a full-body workout?
You sure can! Full-body workouts are super effective for building lean muscle (with the proper nutrition) because they stimulate hypertrophy (increasing muscle tone, size and mass). With full-body workouts, you can train each muscle more frequently – rather than once a week – with optimal time between sessions to promote muscle recovery.
- How long should full-body workouts be?
Full-body workouts can take anywhere between 30-90 minutes to complete. It comes down to your workout programming and other factors like weight, rep tempo, rest times and number of reps and sets.
- Are full-body workouts or splits better?
The answer to this question depends on your individual goal and experience level. For beginners and people with busy schedules, full-body workouts encourage muscle growth and body fat loss without having to dedicate time every day to the gym. If you’re training for a specific event or reason, you may require more stimulus to achieve the results you want.