Those of you who read my last post will know I have been training for more than 10 years. In that time I have tried various workout routines and have certainly learnt a lot, I know what works well for me and what doesn’t work so well.
I am seeing some good size and strength gains with my full body workout routine and wanted to share with you why I believe it’s such a great routine that will suit most lifters.
The Routine
I train 3 times per week, every Monday, Wednesday & Friday. My primary goal is to build muscle size and my secondary goal is strength, so the rep ranges & weight percentages change depending on the workout day. I perform 3 working sets of each exercise, well apart from deadlift where I perform one working set.
On Mondays and Fridays I lift lighter, approximately 70-75% of my one rep max for 10-12 reps until form failure, my rest times between sets is 3-4 minutes, depending on the exercise. On Wednesday I lift approximately 80-85% of my one rep max for 8-10 reps until momentary muscular failure. My rest times on Wednesday’s are between 4-5 minutes, depending on the exercise.
Mondays
Deadlift: 1 set x 10-12 reps
Bench Press: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
Squat: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
Chin Ups 3 sets x 10-12 reps
Mid Rows 3 sets x 10-12 reps
Standing Push Presses 3 sets x 10-12 reps
Wednesdays
Romanian Deadlift: 3 set x 8-10 reps
Bench Press: 3 sets x 8-10 reps
Chin Ups 3 sets x 8-10 reps
Mid Rows 3 sets x 8-10 reps
Standing Push Presses 3 sets x 8-10 reps
Fridays
Deadlift: 1 set x 10-12 reps
Bench Press: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
Squat: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
Chin Ups 3 sets x 10-12 reps
Mid Rows 3 sets x 10-12 reps
Standing Push Presses 3 sets x 10-12 reps
I have an old lower back injury, so I squat and deadlift on Mondays and Fridays, on Wednesday’s I give my back a little rest and only perform 3 sets of Romanian deadlifts, this is good because it keeps me fresh and stops me from burning out, which used to happen when I deadlifted & squatted 3 times per week.
As you can see from my routine I perform only compound exercises, which I believe is such an important step when trying to put on size or increase strength. By working the body as a unit, smaller individual muscles get the same attention as bigger muscle groups, without the need for isolation exercises. I strongly feel there is generally no need for isolation exercises unless you are injured, performing a pre-exhaust set or trying to improve a weak area of the body.
The good thing about the above routine is that I complete it in approximately 90 minutes, due to the small number of exercises performed. I also feel good when I leave the gym knowing I worked harder than most gym goers who do bicep curls and triceps pushdowns. I am also safe in the knowledge that I am working the same muscle groups 3 times per week, which is essential for the adaption process to take place. Those people who do split routines will probably work the same muscle only once per week, which unfortunately isn’t enough to sustain muscle growth/strength.
The primary reason this routine works so well is because I use progressive resistance, whereby, as soon as I can complete the weight for the given number of reps across all 3 sets I increase the weight by a small percentage, the percentage increase depends on the exercise, but generally its between 2.5% – 5%.
I hope this has given you a good insight into why I feel a full body routine is worth utilizing, if you have any questions/comments or opinions on full body routines they are most certainly welcomed.
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