Resistance exercises target five upper-body muscle groups — chest, shoulders, back, biceps and triceps. Lower-body muscle groups include quadriceps and hamstrings — the front and back of your thighs — buttocks and calves. In addition, core, abdomen and lower back muscles are included in workouts. Is there an advantage to working all muscle groups in one workout, or should they be split into different days? A comparison of the workouts may help in program selection.
Full-body Workouts
Full-body workouts work all muscle groups in one session. An effective workout can be completed using one exercise for each muscle group or by performing compound exercises targeting more than one muscle group. When there is only time for two to three weekly workouts, full-body workouts may be more effective for strength and endurance gains. A rest day between workouts is recommended for recovery. Workouts should consist of one exercise for each muscle group, performing one to three sets of six to 12 repetitions. Other options include group-training workouts that work all of the major muscle groups.
Full-body Workout Programs
A full-body workout can consist of separate exercises for each body part performed in a circuit. Exercise order should place larger muscles before smaller muscles to delay muscle fatigue. Suggested circuit training stations include squats, bench presses, lat pulldowns, lunges, chest flies, shoulder presses, biceps curls, triceps extensions, calf lifts and ab crunches. Complete 60 seconds at each station, resting 60 seconds between stations.
Examples of group workouts include kettlebell training, plyometric training and kickboxing or yoga workouts designed to work many muscle groups at the same time. When minimizing rest between exercises or performing a continuous movement workout, a cardio-training effect is added as heart rates are elevated to cardio training zones.
Single Body Part Workouts
As strength and endurance gains are met, workouts may advance to include more than one exercise for each body part. When time is a factor, split training workouts are commonly used, focusing on different muscle groups on different days. Workouts geared toward bodybuilding and powerlifting typically use split training. Single body part, or isolation, training can be used to correct muscle imbalances and for muscle rehabilitation purposes. Workout frequencies of between four and six days are required in order to work each muscle group two times weekly.
Single Body Part Workout Programs
Muscles can be grouped in various ways for single body part workouts. Larger muscles should be worked before smaller, assisting muscles. Examples include chest, shoulder and triceps training for day one; and back, biceps and leg training on day two. Day three should be rest, with the workouts repeated on days four and five. Core workouts can be performed on a daily basis with all workouts. Another option is to work upper-body muscles on day one and lower-body muscles on day two, repeating the workouts on days four and five after resting on day three.
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