thoughts on full body workouts...

i want to know if any of you do a full body workout. i have been lifting for about 8 years now and have gotten results out of the plan that i have always used. however, i do not have the time to do it.

also, i am in the police academy right now and have really gotten interested in doing some mma training and realize the difference between my "bodybuilding" plan and a strength building plan.

so, with only a POS hoist machine, like a bowflex, and dumbells, what do you think of doing a full body routine 2 times a week? i am also running 3-4 times a week, both on my own, and some mandatory for the academy.

here is what i was thinking. in superset form:

seated bench/dumbell squat or the squat curl
lat pulls/lunges
military press/seated row
incline dumbell bench/skullcrushers
upright row/barbell curl
tri. ext./lateral-front raises
abs/leg curls

what do you think? like i said, i have been on a pretty basic plan with lots of isolation and basic exercises.

i wish i could do dead lift but i dont have a barbell, but may buy one soon.

 

and i like to superset for both time and cardio reasons.

 

$150 will net you an olympic barbell and 300 lbs. do it. do it now.

 

I like full body workouts. But I do not like that one. Also rEmY gave you some good advice

 

Circuit training (like one giant set including exercises for entire body). Good for retaining mass while doing cardio. Really don't find full-body great from building mass or strength. Would advise a program to look like this:

DB Bench Press
Bent-Over DB Row
Front Pulldown/Weighted Chin
Seated DB Press
DB Upright Row
Hammer Curl
Seated Two-Arm Dumbbell Extension
Twisting Crunch (use a cable from your bowflex to add resistnance if you like)
DB Deadlift (a barbell is way better for this...)
DB Walking Lunges (once again, barbell...)
Leg Curl
Standing Calf Raise (a barbell would also be nice here)

That's 12 exercises, you should be able to complete that 4 or 5 times in a hour if you bust ass. No part of your body is ever very sore from this type of training, so a day or two later you can do it again.

 

then what is a good one?

 

For two days a week?

 

yeah, 2-3.

 

dont worry about it he doesnt know what hes talking about....the more frequently you can work a muscle without overtraining it the better....you can avoid overtraining the same muscle by changing the plane on which it works.....for example if you did flat bench press this time go for incline or decline press this time.....or if you did side lunges last workout go for front or back squat this time.....

 

would you do it though as one big circuit? or supersets of two exercises at a time?

 

that's just plain stupid.

 

why?

 

12 exercises per session? 4-5 sets of each? Done in circuits? no... that's just stupid. Yeah, you may build a little endurance, but why the fuck would you want that kind of endurance anyways? It's the second most ridiculous routine ever. Look keep your shit simple:
1) buy an olympic barbell and 300+ lbs of weights that will set you back 200 dollars.
2) if you don't have 200 dollars, make a sandbag. That'll cost you less than 50 easily. Sandbags are a remarkable tool. Shoulder that sucker 50 times in 20 minutes, do overhead presses with it, carry it, do turkish gettups, zercher squats, etc. etc. in the cost : benefit ratio a sandbag gets more bang for your buck than anything else.
3) take your piece of shit machine and melt it down into something usefull... like a gun to go shoot the people that invented it and sold it to you. Then take the remaining scraps and beat the holy hell out of everyone producing those fucking things.
4) read the stickies.

 

That was pretty funny, although you should probably use the [sarcasm] and [/sarcasm] tags next time to make it obvious.

 

These are two plans, the rowers at "my gym" do in season for muscleendurance:

- Bench press - Chest supported Rows

- Squat - Curls

- Lat pulldowns (or pull ups iof you do it with lower reps) - Tricep extension

- Abs - Hypers




- Incline Bench - Seated cable rows

- Front Squat - upright rows

- Lat pulldown (differnt grip) - Tricep extension

- Abs - Hypers



They do 4x20-30 reps. No breaks at all. The two plans are used in an alternating manner.
You can also arrange the exercises in a circuit style instead of supersets.
I used to do those plans as well when i was a rower myself. If you really go for it (no breaks) this plan will make you (almost) puke the first few times. But after a while you will be in a really great condition cardio and endurancewise.

 

thanks, endurance isnt important anyway.

 

How heavy do your dumbells go? And what are your main goals?

 

First off, circuits are the only way to train your full body in one day. Otherwise, you'll start off doing everything nice and heavy, getting a 365lb bench for 6 reps, then about 15 minutes later not being able to squat 225. You can do the same curcuit EVERYONE does, or you can try some variety. And you can talk shit about my plan but I gained 50lb to all my core lifts in 12 weeks on that plan, even though that wasn't the goal (was trying to cut weight). And why you have to go and talk shit about a plan given to me by someone who is much more educated (with regards to exercise science) than you is beyond me.