Full-Body Training How-To – Explained!

Hey everyone! Today I will be putting together a full-body training how-to article. This will be a complete guide for full-body training, done in the context of building muscle. Let’s get to the article!

Understanding Your Needs:

When it comes to full-body training, we need to understand our individual needs so we can structure our week of training, and therefore our individual training sessions around them. The primary thing to look at would be training volume. We know this is the main driver of muscle growth (when progressive overload is applied), so we need to ensure we are getting in enough of it!

For most people, between 10 and 20 sets per muscle group, per week is a good estimate. For hypertrophy, a set means we are training between 5 and 30 reps, done within the range of 6 and 10 RPE.

Individual circumstances apply to the amount of training volume we do. For example, a new trainee can likely make great gains from the low end of this number. Meanwhile, a more advanced trainee may need to take this number higher or prioritize certain muscle groups over others.

A new trainee may start with 10 sets per muscle group per week, and at the end of an 8-week training program, may be at 14 sets per muscle group per week. The primary forms of progression are increasing the number of sets, reps and or weight used.

A more experienced trainee may have some muscle groups starting at 18, some at 14 and some at 6. This would be with the goal of prioritizing certain muscle groups over others in order to get in enough training volume while respecting recovery demands. They may end at 22 sets, 18 sets and likely remain at 6 sets for the maintenance volume muscle groups. Meanwhile, they are focusing progression on their primary and secondary muscle group focused exercises.

Implementing This Volume:

Now we need to think about how we can implement this volume from session to session. Despite this training approach being called full-body training, you don’t need to train every muscle group in each session. Sometimes you may, other times you may train 6 muscle groups (as an example).

Figure out a way to train the muscle groups in a frequency that allows you to achieve the volume desired for each muscle group, in a way that allows you to manage fatigue properly.

Allow me to give you an example of a full-body training day:

1. Leg Press – 3×6-10 – RPE 8
2. Calf Raises – 3×6-10 – RPE 8
3. Dumbbell Press Superset V-Grip Row – 3×6-10 – RPE 8-10
4. Upright Rows Superset Triceps Pushdown Superset Barbell Curls – 3 Sets – 9-10 RPE

I got this example from a Jeff Nippard video done during a workout with the one and only Eric Helms. You can check that out here:

Exercise Selection:

Lastly, exercise selection is huge. Choosing exercises that allow you to get a great bang for your buck is very important for effectively setting up your training. We want to get the most out of the volume we are using.

Exercises that allow the muscle to go through a full range of motion, have progressive overload easily applied to them and you feel a strong mind-muscle connection with are typically best. Consider making your main movements compound exercises, this will have a great benefit for us in terms of hitting many muscle groups at once.

Consider picking 2-3 exercises per muscle group and stick with those for the duration of your training program.

Wrapping Up:

Well everyone, there you have it! The basics on setting up your full-body training split. The funny thing is, the basics are the full guide on this. Yes, there may be minor adjustments along the way, but how you set up your training relies on these premises. Once your training is set up, it is about applying progressive overload and monitoring how the training is working for you!

What are your thoughts on full-body training after reading this article? Does it seem like something you want to give a shot? Either way, I thank you very much for taking the time to read this article and as always, if you have any questions or comments please do not hesitate to leave them below and I will be sure to reply!

Here are some other articles that may be beneficial for your knowledge!

What is Full Body Training?

What is Volume in Training?

How to Target Muscle Groups

Until Next Time,

Kohl Johnson

Please refer to my liability disclaimer to ensure you know who is responsible for use of this information after reading.

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