Are Full Body Workouts Good For Muscle Growth?

The idea of exercising every muscle in your body during your strength training workouts may have you imagining hours spent in the gym. This does not have to be true. You can effectively strength train your muscles for growth with a full-body workout that you can perform in less than one hour.

Strength Training

The goals of strength training are to increase muscle strength, muscle mass and to improve your ability to perform daily tasks. According to the American Council on Exercise, exercises for your major muscle groups can be combined into one workout program. When you weight train, you need to allow time for muscle recovery. Your muscle tissue requires at least 48 hours to recover, so train your full body every other day or every third day.

Super Set

One of the ways to perform a full-body workout is to use a super set. A super set combines two exercises together to eliminate the rest period required between sets. For example, do one set of 10 pushups for your chest and then one set of 10 pullups for your back. Repeat that pattern according to how many sets you want to complete. Use a super set for your arms and before an arm curl and then an arm extension. The same is true for the legs when you strengthen the top of the front of your legs with a leg extension and the top of the back of your legs with a leg curl.

Factors

Your ability to develop muscle tissue and see muscle growth is affected by a number of factors. ACE lists gender as a factor and says that men typically have more muscle than women due to the presence of testosterone. Your age can affect your muscle size, as humans lose approximately 1/2 lb. of muscle each year after the age of 25. The length of your arms and legs will also influence the amount of weight you can lift. If you have a shorter arm, you will be able to lift heavier weight amounts. The length of your muscle determines your muscle size, and if you have long muscles, you will see greater size improvements.

Benefits

One of the benefits of using a full-body workout schedule is that you will improve your muscles equally. This type of schedule eliminates those days when you may only want to exercise the front of your arms or the front of your legs. A full-body workout ensures that you will train both the front and back of your body equally. This equal training will also help avoid posture problems that may result from ignoring the muscles in your core or your back.