Full Body Workout Plans

Full-body workouts are an efficient way to work out your body. In an hour-long workout, three times per week, a complete, whole body workout can improve your strength, body composition and overall conditioning.

The 5X5 Program

The 5X5 sets and reps scheme has been known and used for years in competitive bodybuilding and strength training. It is typically used with isolation-type bodybuilding exercises. Fitness author Bill Starr developed the concept of the “Big Three” exercises in the 5X5 scheme. Using the barbell squat, bench press and power clean, Starr was able to help athletes exercise the entire body. The program's name derives from performing five sets of five repetitions for each exercise. Performed two to three times per week, the program is a splendid full-body workout for building strength and muscle mass. A NFL strength and conditioning coach in the 1970s, Starr was interested in efficiency and effectiveness. His version of the 5X5 program is still in use by strength athletes and bodybuilders interested in a full-body workout plan.

Beyond Brawn

Stuart McRoberts, an English-born bodybuilding coach and writer, is the author of “Beyond Brawn.” It is a program designed for the average athlete interested in building a muscular, fit physique. McRoberts explains that the efficiency involved in using simple barbell-based, multijoint, compound movement exercises means that an athlete has more time to recover after a workout. Because muscle is built during the post-workout recovery period rather than the weightlifting itself, this means that you can gain a large amount of muscle quickly. McRoberts program involves exercising no more than three times per week, and typically twice a week. Performing no more than four to five exercises per workout allows for a more intense workout, leading to the need for longer recovery.

Starting Strength

Too often, novice athletes are stuck using the same workouts used by experienced, professional strength athletes. While this is not inherently wrong, it is inefficient. Because the experienced athlete has developed a much greater work capacity than the novice, his workouts are generally too much for the novice. Mark Rippetoe, with 30 years of experience as a strength coach, recognized that. Rippetoe developed the “Starting Strength” program. Based on the multijoint compound movement exercises and two to three workouts per week, it allows the novice to develop her work capacity while increasing strength and muscle mass.