Are Doing Full Body Workouts Pointless?

ArtemV

ArtemV

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Firstly, I don't have any idea, I want information.

I spoke with a friend who argued that it is better to spend a day on one part of your body, or two parts at most (arms, legs, back, body etc) in order to make it get bigger - faster. He told me that working out most muscles and body parts is useless.

My goal isn't to get really big, it is to help lose weight and become more toned. Right now I am 80kg and want to get down to 70kg (closer to my competition weight), so I am in no rush to lose weight asap. I am happy to take time doing it. My goal is just to get tone up.

My workout right now targets biceps, triceps, thighs, chest, traps, shoulders etc. A pretty good all-round workout imo.

Thoughts?

I don't want to get huge, just to lose weight and look toned (I already go to classes that help with cardio - reps and sparring).
 
I'd rethink your approach. I'm not trying to be a dick but most beginners make the mistake of thinking this is a one size fits all. A 10Kg loss in body weight is pretty significant and will only be more easily accomplished by focusing on big muscle groups like the biceps.
 
ArtemV said:
Firstly, I don't have any idea, I want information.

I spoke with a friend who argued that it is better to spend a day on one part of your body, or two parts at most (arms, legs, back, body etc) in order to make it get bigger - faster. He told me that working out most muscles and body parts is useless.

My goal isn't to get really big, it is to help lose weight and become more toned. Right now I am 80kg and want to get down to 70kg (closer to my competition weight), so I am in no rush to lose weight asap. I am happy to take time doing it. My goal is just to get tone up.

My workout right now targets biceps, triceps, thighs, chest, traps, shoulders etc. A pretty good all-round workout imo.

Thoughts?

I don't want to get huge, just to lose weight and look toned (I already go to classes that help with cardio - reps and sparring).
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What your friend is talking about is commonly referred to as a bodybuilder split. You lump each chain into it's own groups as in back/biceps, chest/triceps, and legs then was has their own day. For a beginner, these are absolutely shit programs.

Beginners are best served by a full body program where you do the three main lifts several times a week. Starting Strength and Stronglifts are two different free programs available online to follow. They even have a phone app you can get.

As a beginner, you want a high frequency of the main lifts: squat, deadlift, flat bench, standing press. And the major assistance exercises: weighted dips, weighted pullups/chinups, barbell rows, push press, pause bench to name a few.

You will be way better served doing a full body routine for a number of reasons. Doing a full body split allows you to have a higher frequency of the main lifts, which allows you to increase weight faster and get more practice with the repetitions. You're also burning more calories in a full body. Finally, full body routines cause more hormone production.

Doing a full body routine as a beginner, you'll gain more strength quicker, lose more bodyfat, produce more testosterone, and get more muscle if you want.

Split routines, as your friend likes, are generally bad for beginners. You don't get enough frequency with your main lifts. You don't increase in weight as often. You spent too much time doing suboptimal assistance exercises that cause no real gains in strength. Generally split routines are best for intermediate to advanced bodybuilders who need the extra recovery time for muscle groups.

I always recommend full body routines for athletes and beginner bodybuilders. For intermediate and advanced bodybuilders, split routines are worth looking at.
 
jgarner said:
What your friend is talking about is commonly referred to as a bodybuilder split. You lump each chain into it's own groups as in back/biceps, chest/triceps, and legs then was has their own day. For a beginner, these are absolutely shit programs.

Beginners are best served by a full body program where you do the three main lifts several times a week. Starting Strength and Stronglifts are two different free programs available online to follow. They even have a phone app you can get.

As a beginner, you want a high frequency of the main lifts: squat, deadlift, flat bench, standing press. And the major assistance exercises: weighted dips, weighted pullups/chinups, barbell rows, push press, pause bench to name a few.

You will be way better served doing a full body routine for a number of reasons. Doing a full body split allows you to have a higher frequency of the main lifts, which allows you to increase weight faster and get more practice with the repetitions. You're also burning more calories in a full body. Finally, full body routines cause more hormone production.

Doing a full body routine as a beginner, you'll gain more strength quicker, lose more bodyfat, produce more testosterone, and get more muscle if you want.

Split routines, as your friend likes, are generally bad for beginners. You don't get enough frequency with your main lifts. You don't increase in weight as often. You spent too much time doing suboptimal assistance exercises that cause no real gains in strength. Generally split routines are best for intermediate to advanced bodybuilders who need the extra recovery time for muscle groups.

I always recommend full body routines for athletes and beginner bodybuilders. For intermediate and advanced bodybuilders, split routines are worth looking at.
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Thanks for the answer! I have been doing a full body routine for some time, but never questioned it. I will stick to it. I agree with the calorie part, that is my main problem now. I need to burn more calories than my intake.

Maybe I will look at split routines in the next year or so, but I like my workout now. I am looking to add new exercises to it, but thanks for this answer! It is good to hear feedback/criticism. Thanks!
 
ArtemV said:
Thanks for the answer! I have been doing a full body routine for some time, but never questioned it. I will stick to it. I agree with the calorie part, that is my main problem now. I need to burn more calories than my intake.

Maybe I will look at split routines in the next year or so, but I like my workout now. I am looking to add new exercises to it, but thanks for this answer! It is good to hear feedback/criticism. Thanks!
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I'm not sure what routine you're running right now, but I highly recommend you run something like Starting Strength until you hit a plateau and then move onto something more advanced like the Texas Method.

Body fat is 90% diet. Growing muscle if 70% diet. Getting strong is 90% exercise.

If you want to "tone" , what you really want to do is build muscle and lose fat. You're not really going to achieve those goals by lifting more weights. You need to take a real comprehensive look at your diet.

I'd start by doing a complete log for one month. Write down exactly what you eat and drink and at what time. Go online or read the lables and figure out exactly how much you're getting in calories, carbohydrates, fats, proteins, sugars. You need to be honest as fuck about this. Make sure you include drinks too. Sodas are huge killers of diets.

If you workout 3 times a week and have a stellar diet, you'll be in great shape regardless of the details of the workout program.
 
Well rounded? Is your body just the front half of a torso with arms?
 
ArtemV said:
Thanks for the answer! I have been doing a full body routine for some time, but never questioned it. I will stick to it. I agree with the calorie part, that is my main problem now. I need to burn more calories than my intake.

Maybe I will look at split routines in the next year or so, but I like my workout now. I am looking to add new exercises to it, but thanks for this answer! It is good to hear feedback/criticism. Thanks!
Click to expand...

Do not listen to gym bros. Most people are very un educated when it comes to gym culture, especially in Eastern Europe. From all the places I have been I have met very few people who know how to work out. One of them right now owns the most popular gym in Sofia and pays salaries to different coaches - conditioning, olympic weight lifting and etc. Which means he himself recognises that he is not very knowledgeable.

As mentioned here core lifts is what you need to go for, unless you are an advanced or at least intermediate body builder. I was also mistaken to follow a body building program, which actually was not that bad, but was taxing me a lot.

Regarding calories - myfitnesspal.com. I cant recommend that more. It changed my life. I lost 8kgs for 2-3 months. I am on my way to lose 8 more to reach 16% body fat (yeah I am fat and was even more fat). Then I will start a small and steady muscle bulk to get back to 85kg but more muscular. I am just not sure I can hold to 80kg or less, when being over 87-88 for years. Anyway - go for the app. It will educate you about the foot you eat.
 
Full body workouts are among the best workouts, imo. You only need to get strong at a few full-body movements to be be a strong motherfucker.
 
JosephDredd said:
Full body workouts are among the best workouts, imo. You only need to get strong at a few full-body movements to be be a strong motherfucker.
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Lots of old school lifters built rugged and strong bodies like this before drugs took over. As you progress you might want to prioritize, but as a beginner full body training is good stuff.

Deadlift, loaded carries, front squats, overhead presses, sled drags, etc... Move heavy things....some assistance = strong and you'll look strong.

Oh...and eat to suit your training / goals.
 
Mark Cutting said:
Lots of old school lifters built rugged and strong bodies like this before drugs took over. As you progress you might want to prioritize, but as a beginner full body training is good stuff.

Deadlift, loaded carries, front squats, overhead presses, sled drags, etc... Move heavy things....some assistance = strong and you'll look strong.

Oh...and eat to suit your training / goals.
Click to expand...


Pretty much! Split routines got really popular when steroids became standard in the industry.
 
jgarner said:
Curlz for the gurlz!

Brad Castleberry is my hero. He breaks all the world records and he doesn't even need to compete.
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Ha... Fake weights guy ?? We had some juiced up 03's at Pendleton
 
Mark Cutting said:
Ha... Fake weights guy ?? We had some juiced up 03's at Pendleton
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Haha yeah he's Mr. World record with fake weights. He's been called out by a few different people . At one point Beat was telling people he had been to the NFL combine twice lol . He's a fucking joke.

Most 03s are big into working out but it's hard to get bodybuilder large when you're in the field several weeks out of the month. I do remember this one guy who was with 2/8 I think named Jimmy. He was a legit bodybuilder. He was like 6'2 and 265lbs. Seriously fucking jacked. In fact, I'm pretty sure he was a Muscle and Fitness cover. Last I saw it Jimmy was that he went to Afghanistan in 09 and lost like 50lbs.

As a general rule, if you see massive guys in the military they are most likely POGs. Combat arms guys just aren't in the rest enough to lift weights like that and really get big. I was strong not I wasn't huge .It's hard to be huge when you're running around all the time on 1 MRE a day.
 
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jgarner said:
Haha yeah he's Mr. World record with fake weights. He's been called out by a few different people . At one point Beat was telling people he had been to the NFL combine twice lol . He's a fucking joke.

Most 03s are big into working out but it's hard to get bodybuilder large when you're in the field several weeks out of the month. I do remember this one guy who was with 2/8 I think named Jimmy. He was a legit bodybuilder. He was like 6'2 and 265lbs. Seriously fucking jacked. In fact, I'm pretty sure he was a Muscle and Fitness cover. Last I saw it Jimmy was that he went to Afghanistan in 09 and lost like 50lbs.

As a general rule, if you see massive guys in the monsterm they are most likely POGs. Combat arms guys just aren't in the rest enough to lift weights like that and really get big. I was strong not I wasn't huge .It's hard to be huge when you're running around all the time on 1 MRE a day.
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At Pendelton we had easy access to "supplements" from Tijuana :) A couple of 03's that worked at the gym at Horno were in Muscle and Fitness. I was still a 165 pound worm.

I always packed protein bars, tuna, weight gainer drinks, etc...In my ALICE pack for the field.
 
Mark Cutting said:
At Pendelton we had easy access to "supplements" from Tijuana :) A couple of 03's that worked at the gym at Horno were in Muscle and Fitness. I was still a 165 pound worm.

I always packed protein bars, tuna, weight gainer drinks, etc...In my ALICE pack for the field.
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Oh yeah we had access to plenty of that sauce. Over my enlistment I took Deca and Anavar over a few different periods in the rear echelon. Got me pretty strong despite my poor weight lifting program (chest/Tris, back/biceps, Do-I-really-need-a-leg-day?). The only issue is everyone that could get sauce would look at me sideways if i asked them about post-cycle therapy. So Id have a good cycle, but at the end I'd lose everything and wind up worse than before. And I took testosterone enanthate for most of deployment to Iraq. Found a supply in Kuwait at Camp Victory (I think?) and carried it in my medical bag lol. Didn't have a great diet, sleep, or real weights most of the time but I did have a bunch of bodyweight stuff weighted with sandbags and packs filled with M2 receivers lol .
 
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jgarner said:
Oh yeah we had access to plenty of that sauce. Over my enlistment I took Deca and Anavar over a few different periods in the rear echelon. Got me pretty strong despite my poor weight lifting program (chest/Tris, back/biceps, Do-I-really-need-a-leg-day?). The only issue is everyone that could get sauce would look at me sideways if i asked them about post-cycle therapy. So Id have a good cycle, but at the end I'd lose everything and wind up worse than before. And I took testosterone enanthate for most of deployment to Iraq. Found a supply in Kuwait at Camp Victory (I think?) and carried it in my medical bag lol. Didn't have a great diet, sleep, or real weights most of the time but I did have a bunch of bodyweight stuff weighted with sandbags and packs filled with M2 receivers lol .
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Guys were buying gear in Qatar. We had some good make shift gyms.
 
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