Full-Body Workout Plan

Traditional workout programs are set up so that you're isolating different muscles every other day, giving muscle groups plenty of time to rest while keeping you active. For example, you might perform lifts that isolate your shoulder and biceps muscles one day, and then focus on the chest and triceps the next. The idea behind alternating muscle groups is to allow your muscles ample time to rest --- since rest and recovery is a key component to muscle-building --- but you can accomplish this same goal, and spend fewer days in the gym, with a full-body workout plan.

Features

Full-body workout plans are constructed so that you work every major muscle group in a single weightlifting session, and get in cardiovascular exercise at the same time. You can vary your cardio workout each session, opting for a treadmill workout one day, and perhaps a stationary bike or elliptical machine another. You'll perform one exercise for each major muscle group, and most plans will have you rotate this exercise from one session to the next as well. For example, you might perform squats one session to isolate your upper leg and gluteal muscles, and then do lunges to isolate the same muscle groups during the next session.

Tips

As with any exercise routine, it's important to drink plenty of water while tackling a full-body workout plan. You should drink at least eight to 10 glasses of water a day, and consume water during your workouts as well, to help keep your muscles hydrated and ready to work out. You'll also want to be more diligent than usual about warming up before beginning a full-body workout session. Since you'll be isolating all your major muscle groups and performing cardio exercise, it's important to be warmed up and to stretch out your muscles before you begin to reduce the risk of injury and to prepare your body for an intense workout.

Considerations

When choosing or constructing a full-body workout plan, consider exercises and lifts that target more than one particular muscle at a time. This will help you be more efficient in the gym, and since most fitness experts suggest you limit your workout sessions to an hour or less --- to avoid boosting the catabolic hormone cortisol --- efficiency is key in full-body routines. Cortisol can work against you when it comes to building muscle tissue since, in catabolism, your body begins tearing down and burning muscle tissue to use as energy.

Benefits

The biggest benefit of a full-body workout plan is that you can work out your entire body without hitting the gym every day of the week. You can perform a full-body workout three days a week, giving your body a full day of rest between each session and freeing you up for more time spent away from the weight room. With most full-body workout plans, you'll hit all the major muscle groups, as well as your cardiovascular exercise, on the same day.

Effects

As with any regular exercise, a full-body workout plan can provide you with a number of positive effects. Exercise improves mood, helps you manage your weight and can help combat some diseases, such as osteoporosis and heart disease. One of the biggest effects a full-body workout routine will have on you, however, is that it will make you tired and sore, all over. A benefit of weightlifting routines that isolate specific muscles on specific days is you'll only be sore in specific places afterward. Performing a full-body workout pretty much guarantees your entire body will be sore and stiff, especially when you first start out. As such, get plenty of rest, drink plenty of water and consume foods that are rich in protein and the vitamins and nutrients your body needs for recovery.