Full Body Workout: Training Effectively in Little Time

Monday chest, Tuesday back, Wednesday legs: you often see training splits like these among pros and ambitious strength athletes. For most people with a job, family and leisure activities, a full body workout is however the much more practical and often more effective solution. In every session you train all major muscle groups, and two to three workouts per week already take you a long way.

Full body training is by no means only for beginners. Advanced athletes also use it deliberately, for example when they want to combine strength, muscle building and fat loss or simply have little time. The trick lies in choosing the right exercises and progressing sensibly.

In this article you will learn why full body training works so well, which exercises belong in it and what a concrete plan for your week can look like.

What is full body training?

With full body training you load all major muscle groups in a single session: legs and glutes, back, chest, shoulders and the core. Instead of doing many isolated exercises for individual muscles, you focus mainly on multi-joint movements in which several muscles work together.

By contrast, a split training distributes the muscle groups across different days. This can make sense if you train four to six times per week. With two to three sessions, however, each muscle group in a split only gets one stimulus per week, whereas with full body training it gets two to three.

The benefits of full body training

• Time-efficient: With two to three sessions per week you train every muscle group several times.
• Flexible: If one workout is missed, you don't lose the entire "leg day".
• High energy expenditure: Large muscle groups and multi-joint exercises demand a lot of energy, which helps with losing weight.
• Close to everyday life: The exercises train movement patterns such as lifting, pulling, pushing and carrying.
• Good recovery: There is enough time between sessions for regeneration.

Especially if you want to lose fat, full body training combined with a moderate calorie deficit is particularly effective, because it preserves muscle mass and increases your energy expenditure.

The best exercises for your full body workout

A good full body workout covers the most important movement patterns. Choose at least one exercise from each category:

Legs and glutes

Squats, leg press, lunges or hip thrusts. The squat is considered the king of lower body exercises. To learn how to perform it with clean technique, read our article on the correct squat.

Hip hinge

Dumbbell deadlifts, Romanian deadlifts or back extensions. These exercises strengthen the entire posterior chain from the glutes to the upper back.

Pulling

Cable rows, dumbbell rows or lat pulldowns. Pulling exercises strengthen the back and counterbalance the amount of sitting.

Pushing

Chest press, bench press, push-ups or shoulder press. These train the chest, shoulders and triceps.

Core

Forearm plank, side plank or Pallof press. A stable midsection transfers force between the upper and lower body. If you also want to target your core specifically, you will find suitable Pilates exercises in our latest article.

You can learn more about the basic movements on which every good strength training is built in the article on basic exercises. Whether you perform these exercises on machines or with dumbbells and barbells depends on your experience and your goal. Both variants have their strengths, as we show in the comparison free weights or machines.

Your full body workout plan for the week

The following plan works with two alternating sessions, A and B. Train two to three times per week with at least one rest day in between, for example A – B – A in the first week and B – A – B in the second week.

Session A

1. Squat or leg press: 3 sets of 8 to 12 repetitions
2. Cable row: 3 sets of 10 to 12 repetitions
3. Chest press or bench press: 3 sets of 8 to 12 repetitions
4. Romanian deadlift with dumbbells: 3 sets of 10 to 12 repetitions
5. Forearm plank: 3 rounds of 30 to 45 seconds

Session B

1. Lunges: 3 sets of 10 repetitions per leg
2. Lat pulldown: 3 sets of 10 to 12 repetitions
3. Dumbbell shoulder press: 3 sets of 10 to 12 repetitions
4. Hip thrust: 3 sets of 12 to 15 repetitions
5. Side plank: 3 rounds of 20 to 30 seconds per side

Warm up for five to ten minutes before each session and do one to two light warm-up sets at the start of the first exercise. Rest 60 to 120 seconds between sets. If you are completely new to strength training, start with the easier beginner training plan and switch to this plan after a few weeks.

How to stay on track for progress

For your body to keep adapting, it needs new stimuli regularly. The principle is called progressive overload. If you manage the upper rep range in all sets of an exercise with clean technique, increase the weight slightly the next time. Note down your weights and repetitions so you can track your progress.

Sleep, a protein-rich diet and rest days are just as important. Muscles don't grow during training but in the recovery phase afterwards.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a full body workout take?

Including warm-up, expect about 45 to 60 minutes. If you have little time, you can also perform the exercises as a circuit.

Can I do full body training every day?

For intensive strength training this is not recommended. Give your muscles at least one day of rest between two sessions.

Is full body training suitable for muscle building?

Yes. Because of the higher training frequency per muscle group, it is a very effective method for many people to build muscle.

Conclusion: full body training for more strength in everyday life

Full body training is efficient, flexible and suitable for almost all goals, from building muscle and losing fat to gaining more strength in everyday life. With a few well-chosen basic exercises, clean technique and steady progression, you will make noticeable progress with two to three sessions per week.

Would you like to create your personal full body plan together with a professional? Book your free trial workout at update Fitness: a coach will show you the exercises on the equipment, check your technique and create your individual training plan.