Full Body Workouts Gain Lean Muscle Faster Part 2

Total Body Training – To Get Lean And Add Muscle

Today we are back with Chad Waterbury and his article series using full body workouts to gain lean muscle. Here is the link to part 1 Gain Lean Muscle With Total Body Training.

With the  information in this series you’ll have all the tools you need to make total body training to gain lean muscle work for you.

Training your entire body, each time you suit up for a workout, is the fastest way for 99% of lifters who look to gain lean muscle. I can’t make it any simpler than that. Full body workouts (aka total body training) is as popular as ever because that’s what the vast majority of lifters out there need.

Full Body Workouts Gain Lean Muscle Faster Part 2

Step #2: Perform a different exercise for each workout throughout the week.

 This is where lifters often get tripped up.

 If you try to do full body workouts that consists of the chin-up/dip/deadlift circuit three times per week you’ll get overtrained in no time.

Each workout throughout the week must consist of different variations of an upper body pull, upper body push, and squat, deadlift or lunge variation.

 Here’s a sample of weekly full body workouts.

Monday

1A Chin-up
1B Dip
1C Deadlift

Wednesday

1A One-arm row
1B One-arm shoulder press
1C Reverse lunge

Friday

1A Pull-up with a narrow grip
1B Decline dumbbell bench press
1C Front squat

Now you have a weekly full body workout plan that consists of different exercises in each workout.

Repeat this plan for 6 weeks, and then pick new exercises.

The exercises for your next 6-week phase don’t have to be drastically different. Simply switching from dumbbells to a barbell or kettlebells will do the trick.

For example, you could do the front squat with a barbell for 6 weeks, and then do a front squat while holding two kettlebells for the next 6 weeks. Or you could do a completely different exercise. It’s up to you and the equipment that’s available.

Step #3: Use a different rep scheme with each workout throughout the week.

Full body workouts are demanding and they’ll push your limits of recovery if you’re not used to them.

Therefore, one simple trick to help your body recover is to use a different number of reps per set in each workout. This, by the way, is just another way of telling you to vary the load throughout the week. You can’t use the same weight for a set of 10 as you use for a set of 3 reps.

Total Body Training For Lean Muscle Workouts

This is a good thing since different loads have a different impact on your nervous system. It’s easier for your nervous system to recover from three different loads throughout the week than it is for a constant load, especially if it’s heavy.

So let’s build on the sample full body workout plan we already have and add in the set/rep parameters.

Monday

Sets x Reps: 8×3

1A Chin-up
1B Dip
1C Deadlift

Wednesday

Sets x Reps: 5×5

1A One-arm row
1B One-arm shoulder press
1C Reverse lunge

Friday

Sets x Reps: 4×10

1A Pull-up with a narrow grip
1B Decline dumbbell bench press
1C Front squat

Now you have a weekly plan that consists of different exercises and different loads (reps) in each workout throughout the week.

This is how to make total body training work for natural guys who have a limited capacity to recover. I’ve never worked with a client who couldn’t recover from the above program, provided their nutrition and sleep are in order.

Here’s another trick if you’re really limited by the number of exercises you can do. Start by setting up a weekly plan that consists of the exercises that suit your available equipment. Use the same set/rep parameters I listed above. Do that plan for 6 weeks.

Then, when the 6 weeks are up you can alter the weekly plan by simply moving around the set/rep parameters from one workout to another.

Here’s what I mean.

Monday

Sets x Reps: 8×3

1A Pull-up with a narrow grip
1B Decline dumbbell bench press
1C Front squat

Wednesday

Sets x Reps: 5×5

1A Chin-up
1B Dip
1C Deadlift

Friday

Sets x Reps: 4×10

1A One-arm row
1B One-arm shoulder press
1C Reverse lunge

Now you have a whole new program to do for another 6 weeks while using the same exercises you did in the first phase.

In part 3I’ll explain how to modify a full body workout to burn fat, build

Chad Waterbury Full Body Workouts To Gain Lean Muscle And Burn Fat

 strength, or bring up a lagging body part.

There you go a plan for your full body workouts. Stay tuned I’ll be back with more from Chad soon.

In the mean time Train Hard Train Smart  Joe

P.S. Here is The Link To Part 1 if You Missed It

Gain Lean Muscle With Total Body Training