The Best Full-Body Workout to Lose Fat and Gain Muscle

If you can't devote a full hour at the gym each day to doing isolation arm workouts and leg workouts, or even a push day protocol like a chest and triceps or chest and back workout, embrace a full-body workout. Whether your goal is brute strength or a functional workout for longevity and injury prevention, this routine is for you.

We all come to a point in our lifting journey where ego takes a backseat in order to stay healthy. This full-body workout is suitable for experienced lifters and beginners. It consists of compound exercises as well as lower-impact moves that encourage muscle growth throughout your entire body without taking up hours of your week.

You'll need access to a full gym for this full-body workout routine to use barbells, dumbbells, a weight bench, Smith machine, parallel bars or a dip machine, and a Swiss ball. If you're traveling or working out at home, try our best full-body dumbbell workout, full-body kettlebell workout, full-body at-home workout, and full-body gym workout.

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The Best Full Body Workout Plan

1. Deadlift

How To

1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, with a barbell in front of you. To start, roll the barbell up to your shin.
2. Bend over to grip the bar on the outside of your knees.
3. Keeping your lower back in its natural arch, push through your heels and extend your hips until the bar rests in front of your thighs.
4. Be careful to keep the bar close to your body throughout the movement.
5. Perform 3 sets of 8 to 10 repetitions, resting 60 seconds between sets.

2. Neutral Grip Dumbbell Bench Press

How To

1. To start, sit back on a bench with a dumbbell in each hand and a neutral grip (palms facing each other).
2. Bend your back slightly and tighten your glutes and abdominal muscles.
3. Place your feet firmly on the ground.
4. Push your feet toward the floor while pressing the dumbbells overhead.
5. Complete 3 sets of 8 to 10 repetitions, resting 60 seconds between sets.

3. Bulgarian Split Squat

How To

1. To start, hold a dumbbell in each hand.
2. Place the top of your left foot on a bench or box behind you with your knee bent at 90 degrees.
3. Bend your hips and right knee to lower your body until your back knee almost touches the floor.
4. Keeping your torso upright, pass through your planted leg to rise.
5. This is 1 rep.
6. Perform 3 sets of 10 to 12 repetitions, resting 60 seconds between sets.

4. Reverse Row

How To

1. Place a barbell on the power rack at about hip height (or use a Smith machine).
2. Reach under and grasp your hands shoulder-width apart, with the bottoms of your heels on the floor.
3. Hang from the bar so that your body forms a straight line.
4. Bring your shoulder blades together and pull yourself up until your back is fully contracted.
5. Complete 3 sets of 10 to 12 repetitions, resting 60 seconds between sets.

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5. Immersion

How To

1. To start, keep your arms straight and hold your body over two parallel bars slightly wider than shoulder width.
2. Lower until your chest is roughly in line with your hands, then return to the starting position by locking your elbows.
3. This is 1 rep.
4. Perform 3 sets of 10 to 12 repetitions, resting 60 seconds between sets.

6. Seated Incline Dumbbell Curl

How To

1. To start, sit on an incline bench while holding a pair of dumbbells at your sides.
2. Keep your elbows close to your body as you lift the weight up.
3. Squeeze your biscuits from the top.
4. This is 1 rep.
5. Complete 3 sets of 10 to 12 repetitions, resting 60 seconds between sets.

7. The Debut of the Swiss Cannon

How To

1. To start, kneel on the floor and place your forearms on a Swiss ball.
2. The ball should be directly under your shoulders.
3. Roll the ball forward as you did with the ab roller until you just about lose tension in your abdominal muscles, and then roll back.
4. This is 1 rep.
5. Perform 3 sets of 10 to 12 repetitions, resting 60 seconds between sets.

8. Burpee

How To

1. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart.
2. When squatting, keep your back straight and place your hands on the floor.
3. Maintain your weight and return to the push-up position.
4. Keep your core tight as you hold the push-up, lowering your belly to the floor, or doing a real push-up, then jump your feet onto your hands and stand up.
5. Immediately jump as high as you can with your hands up and your hips extended.
6. This is 1 rep.
7. Complete 3 sets of 8 to 10 repetitions.

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What is a Full Body Workout?

If you have kids or a demanding job, a full-body workout plan is the key to building muscle and strength without having to hit the gym five to six days a week.

“I prefer the full-body split because I think sometimes when you do a specific body part program and you're sick for two days, you start to get a little off balance,” says Nike personal trainer Brian Kent.

Unlike a split workout that works individual body parts, a full-body workout plan works the entire body. While workout portions tend to use isolation movements and machines, the best full-body workouts include full-body exercises that work multiple muscles simultaneously. While many split routines include compound movements like deadlifts and back squats (or some form of squat variation), a full-body workout plan depends on them.

For the last few decades, bodybuilders have sworn by the use of split training to gain size and strength. However, research shows that full-body workouts are just as effective as split workouts at building muscle when given the same amount of exercise.

How Long Should a Full Body Workout Last?

As with any routine, the length of your full-body workout depends on your goals. While some people must spend hours at the gym to get an effective workout, others can build muscle with just a few full-body exercises per week. It's not really about the amount of time spent in the gym, but rather the number of sets and reps per week, says Pete Natasi, NASM-certified Sports Nutrition Coach and Personal Trainer and owner of Nastasi Nutrition.

“A full-body workout takes a little longer than a traditional bodybuilding workout, usually between one and two hours,” says Nastasi. “This is because you're targeting multiple muscle groups in a single session. Research shows that performing 12 to 20 sets per muscle group per week is ideal to maximize muscle hypertrophy. If you're following a full workout program three days a week, this is the bodybuilding routine I highly recommend.” aims to include 4 to 6 sets per session for each major muscle group, with weights between 60 and 80 percent of your 1-repetition maximum.

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