Full Body Workout Tips

Full body workouts make a great way to build muscle and burn fat in a time-efficient manner. Optimize your results by using targeted training techniques. The order in which you do your exercises, when do cardiovascular training and which days you choose to work out can all affect your results.

Warm-Ups

Proper warm-ups prevent muscle pulls and injuries. Start by walking on the treadmill or doing another form of light cardio for five to 10 minutes. Do not go high-intensity, but rather work up a slight sweat to get the muscles warm. Once you begin your resistance training, do one to two light warm up sets before using heavy weights on any compound exercise, such as bench presses.

Largest to Smallest

Training your muscles from largest to smallest allows you to put the necessary energy into working larger muscles, such as the legs and back. If you start by training the small muscles of the arms, you will likely have nothing left by the time you get to your leg exercises. For example, do legs, back, chest, shoulders and then arms to work largest to smallest.

Compound then Isolation

Doing compound exercises first allows you to put the most effort into the movements that are most effective. Compound exercises engage the most muscle fibers, according to the book "3-D Muscle Building." Examples of these include squats and deadlifts, pull-ups, bench presses, military presses, bar curls and triceps dips. Once you do the compound movement for any muscle group, proceed to isolation exercises, such as concentration curls or dumbbell flyes.

Rest Periods

Timing your rest periods between sets can help you keep the intensity up, burn more fat and get a quick and efficient workout, according to the book "Optimum Anabolics." Start with 60-second rests between sets and reduce to 45 or 30 seconds as you progress from week to week.

Timing Cardio

You may be doing your cardiovascular training before you hit the weights. While this does burn calories, it can be somewhat counterproductive, according to the book "Xtreme Lean." Muscles use glycogen or stored carbohydrates to fuel the anaerobic contractions that allow the body to lift weights. Doing your cardio first drains these fuel tanks, which may force your body to break down more muscle than necessary. Do your resistance training first, and then your cardio to build more muscle and burn fat more efficiently.

Every Other Day

According to "The Abs Diet," full body workouts can elevate metabolic rate for up to 48 hours or more. Train every other day to allow plenty of recovery time and keep your body burning fat all week. For example, work out on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

References

• "The Abs Diet"; David Zinczenko; 2004
• "3D Muscle Building"; Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson; 2007
• "Optimum Anabolics"; Jeff Anderson; 2004
• "Xtreme Lean"; Jonathan Lawson and Steve Holman; 2005