full body workouts?

[zeb2520]

I've heard some good things about full body workouts. But I've also heard some good things about upper/lower splits. My question is which would be better to use to gain mass. I know mass has to do with eating but as far as a routine which would be better. A few things about me: I havent workout out for like a year. I used to workout for highschool football. I'm about 5'7 and weigh about 155-157 and have around 15% body fat. Give or take a few but a can still see somewhat of my abs which is good. Do you think it would be reasonable to get to 175 180 or is that a little to much for my height. If yall could answer my to questions it would be appreciated. Thanks

[Anthony]

Full body 3-4 days per week or a upper/lower 4 days per week would work well. I prefer to see full body simply because it increases frequency, forces focus on heavy compound movements, and reduces time in the gym (increases recovery).

5'7 and 180 sounds perfect to me ... that's where I am and I feel great.

[Anthony]

Well, if I had to pick a number for that height, I'd say 185-225 ... hahaha.

I wouldn't really worry about what you "should be" ... if your goal is strength and overall fitness, just focus on performance and your body will adapt to maximize those goals. What's ideal for you may not be ideal for someone else, even at the same height and body fat.

[zeb2520]

So if I pick like 5 or 6 compound exercises and do them 3 days a week like mon wed fri and i eat right i will get big. Does that mean do the same exercises each of the 3 days or like for example: for legs do squats monday then on wednesday do hack squats or do i jus do squats all three days.

[Anthony]

I would pick 2-5 exercises per day. 2 if you have low/normal work capacity and 5 if you have a high work capacity. If you don't know, stick with 2-3.

The lifts don't have to be the same each day, but try to incorporate similar movements each day.

For example, if you did 3 different exercises per day you could do:

squats, dips, rows
bench, chinups, lunges
deadlifts, overhead press, seated row

Each day has leg/posterior chain movement (squat/bench/dead), a pushing movement (dip, bench, overhead), and a pulling movement (row, chinup, seated row).

Quick, easy, balanced.

[zeb2520]

so day 1 would be the squat bench dead or the squat dip row.

by the way can i post two workouts i was thinkin of doin and see what u think of them

[ancom41]

Well, if I had to pick a number for that height, I'd say 185-225 ... hahaha.

You just ruined my day.

[zeb2520]

I was gunna do somethin like this:

Monday:
Bench Press
Pull - Up
Squat
SLDL
Military Press
Pendlay Rows


Wednesday:
DB Bench Press
Chin - Up
Front or Zercher Squat
Leg Curl
DB Press
Seated Cable Rows


Friday:
Bench Press
Pull - Up
Squat
SLDL
Military Press
Pendlay Rows

Or i was gunna try Defrancos program. Which one would be better and is mine okay or will it be over training.

[zeb2520]

anybody?

[Anthony]

In my previous post, Day 1 would have been squat, dip, row. Etc.

Your posted routine looks pretty good, but I think the volume would wear you out in a few weeks. Chop it down to 3-5 exercise per day and you'll be set.

Leg curls are bad. Do lunges instead.

What's defranco's program?

[Sleepy Guy]

I would put a hard exercise like squats first for the first few weeks then switch it up. It will put extra pressure on the other lifts.

I went full body and love it. It might take some time to find out a program that works for you but just play with it.

I got you beat Anthony at 5' 8" 178lbs :burger: Just kidding.. weight is just one peice of the whole.

[beatlesfreak]

Zeb,

Why make it more complicated than it has to be?

Just do Anthony's routine exactly as he wrote it, for three or four weeks faithfully and see how you feel. Odds are that you'll feel like the Jolly Green Giant if you put your heart into it and eat right. Full body 3xweek flat out works.

If you're looking for other examples of a good routine do a search here for Mark Rippetoe.

Full body workouts are great. I wish I had started earlier. With my work and family schedule these allow me to totally blast every muscle three times per week while spending less than an hour at a time in the gym. I just don't have the time go to the gym 4 or 5 times per week, even though the gym is only a few blocks away from my house. Life is busy sometimes.

Doing full body 3xweek means more time to recover and more time to follow other hobbies and interests without sacrificing growth opportunities.

Good luck in whatever you choose.

[zeb2520]

hey ant heres a link to defrancos program http://defrancostraining.com/articles/archive/articles_westside.htm

I just always felt that i needed to do more.That if i only did 3-5 exercise a day it was too little. Guess i was wrong. By the way what kind of sets and reps to you do for a full body workout.

[beatlesfreak]

I just always felt that i needed to do more.That if i only did 3-5 exercise a day it was too little. Guess i was wrong. By the way what kind of sets and reps to you do for a full body workout.

I stick with a typical 5x5 most days, except for my squats. On Wednesdays and Fridays I like to do 1x20 squats. They hurt like hell, but really work. Few lifts are more fun or more rewarding.

At the end of your 3 to 5 exercise routine if you still have time and still feel a need to do more, then by all means do more. But for the first couple of weeks, do the routine strictly. It may be that you find, as I did, that doing 3-5 big lifts will wear you out pretty good and you won't feel much need for extra work. The last thing you want to do on a full body routine is make yourself too worn out on day 1 to repeat the routine faithfully on days 2 and 3.

If you really dig in and grunt out some heavy weights on your squats, deads, etc. chances are you'll be too ragged by the end of the workout to wish for more exercises anyway.

Give it a try.

Good luck.

[zeb2520]

should i do squats, dead, bench, row, pull up. Also on day 2 and 3 do i do the exact same thing as day one. Sorry for all the questions.

[beatlesfreak]

First, never be sorry for asking questions.

A few posts earlier, Anthony recommended this:

squats, dips, rows
bench, chinups, lunges
deadlifts, overhead press, seated row

Not to put words into his mouth, but to flesh out the idea a bit for clarity's sake I'd make it look like this:

Monday: 5x5 squats, 5x5 dips, 5x5 rows
Wednesday: 5x5 bench, 5x5 chinups, 5x5 lunges
Friday: 5x5 deadlifts, 5x5 overhead press, 5x5 seated row

To add my own 2 cents to this routine I'd say the following, but remember, Anthony is waaay more experienced at this than I am so take his advice seriously:

1. Don't neglect the overhead press in order to squeak in another day of bench press. Overhead press is a great exercise that trains far more than just your deltoids.

2. If you are able to, squat at least twice per week. Many full body routines will have you squatting 3 times per week. Many Olympic lifters squat 5 times per week. Squat is king. Don't miss a chance to do it. Add a 1x20 set of squats as a substitute for lunges one day and see if you like it.

Good luck.

[Anthony]

DeFranco's "skinny bastard" program is good stuff. I think it's a little more complicated than most people need/want, but it would work.

There's a common misconception that you have to leave the gym completely exhausted in order to progress. Absolutely false. The only thing that matters is putting more weight on the bar each week. And if that means you need to cut back your work load, so be it.

As for rep schemes, I don't think it matters too much. If you're a beginner, your strength gains will progress at the same rate no matter what rep scheme you use (siff talks about this). 3 sets of 8 reps, 5 sets of 5 reps, 8 sets of 3 reps ... do whatever you want. And keep in mind that part of staying fresh means you should change your rep scheme once in awhile anyway (periodization), so don't marry yourself to one rule.