If you want to get in shape in a hurry, then full-body training is the way to go!
Full-Body Blitz is a program which is close to my heart, because it takes all the lessons I learned reading countless old fitness magazines and workout programs as a kid, and combines them with the knowledge I have accumulated on full-body training by training 1000s of male and female clients as a personal trainer over the the last 22 years.
The end result is something which is both old and new… beginner and advanced… tried and tested!
Program length: 6 weeks.
Frequency: 5 workouts per week.
Session breakdown: Each week gives you 3 full-body workouts, each using a different rep range (power, hypertrophy, and endurance) plus 2 days of fat-melting cardio.
Rep ranges used: Low, moderate, and high.
Muscle buster techniques: Supersets.
Workout Calendar
This is a 6-week program, and you’ll be hitting the gym x5 days per week:
- Monday: Full-body
- Tuesday: Calorie burning cardio
- Wednesday: Full-body
- Thursday: Calorie burning cardio
- Friday: Full-body
- Saturday: Off
- Sunday: Off
NOTE: If you ever end up in a situation where you need to skip a workout (God forbid!), I recommend prioritizing your weights sessions.
Why Full-Body Training Works So Well
People often underestimate the power of full-body training.
The masses tend to gravitate towards ever more complicated and convoluted training styles, perhaps believe that it’s “too basic” to achieve great results with, but that’s DEAD WRONG!
This training style dates all the way back to the 1940s, when it was the “go to” choice for the strength athletes and bodybuilders of the time.
I first read about it as a 10 year old kid, when my Granda bought me a book by Joe Weider to keep my mind occupied while I was living in hospital without access to a TV (yep, I know). It put me on this journey to becoming a personal trainer, and in many ways his “Weider Full-Body Builder” (1983) is as relevant today as it was way beck when, because several of the health benefits which Weider spoke about have since been proven correct via scientific studies which arrived years after the book was published.
For example, a 2016 study from Biology of Sport showed is that moving trainees from a 3-day split to a full-body split led to an additional 4% fat loss boost, even though the trainees were performing the exact same total number of sets and reps per week! They put this down to the fact that the trainees were able to work harder because each muscle felt fresher – just like Weider had suggested all those decades ago! (1)
Another of his old theories, this time about the muscle recovery process, was proven correct in 2012 by Norwegian researchers who showed that a group of elite powerlifters boosted their muscle mass by an astonishing 10% when they spread their weekly volume across more frequent, shorter, more intense workouts. A 10% improvement is insane considering the trainees were already experienced, and it shows you the huge potential within full-body training when it’s structured correctly! (2)
Now, I’ve been making full-body programs for my PT clients for the last 22 years, and I can say with confidence that this method ALWAYS gets great results. Over the years I’ve found that it’s a particularly useful training method for newbie lifters (people with under 2 years experience) because, in addition to all the benefits we’ve already discussed, it can also be a great way to improve consistency because 1) you never blast a muscle so much that you can’t walk, and 2) every workout contains plenty of variety to keep things interesting.
What Are Calorie Burn Days?
These so-called “calorie burn days” sit between your weights workouts.
They give your muscles a chance to recover from the previous day’s weights session, while also helping you to shred even more fat.
You can select your preferred “calorie burn days” from three options:
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