Full Body Training – The Best Training Split to Save Time and Get Results

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Introduction

Due to academic commitments, finding time to engage in regular training can be challenging for students. Not to worry! Utilizing full-body training can be a time-efficient workout routine that at-least allows students to achieve their fitness goals without compromising their academic performance, potentially improving it. After reading this blog post, which includes Practical strategies, you will know the advantages, potential problems, and how to mitigate or prevent them regarding full-body training. You will know how to maximize the effectiveness of your training sessions with a specific focus on time-saving.

TLDR

Full body training is highly beneficial for busy individuals. It’s a time-efficient and effective workout routine.

The recommended training frequency is three times a week, with rest days in between is ideal. 

However, two times a week is also possible but probably only the best for some people. 

To overcome the initial decrease in performance while transitioning over from a different split due to low work capacity, gradually increase training session length by increasing volume to adapt your body to sustain performance throughout your full-body training sessions(practical examples are listed at the bottom of the blog post).
*the Ideal transition timing would be at the end of a mesocycle as your deloading week would be ideal

The split allows:

• excellent recovery – 4 –5 days for mental and physical recovery (3-2 times training sessions a week) while still getting at least 2x a week training frequency for every muscle
• body recovers together which is beneficial for some people
• maximum implementation of time saving strategies like antagonist super sets

Advantages

Time-efficient for the following reasons: 

Allows you to lower the frequency of training (while still getting the same results or potentially better results), which means:

1.minimizing “wasted time” – time spent not working out

1.1 less driving to the gym

1.2 less time spent warming up (a part of the warming up process is increasing body temperature), and when you do full body workouts 3 times a week, you take advantage of being warm. You keep that warmth through your workout compared to push-pull-legs for example, when you would have to warm up six times, which takes more time. (time spent not working out – “wasted time”) there is a “hack” though, you can warm clothes before – at the start of your workout to increase the body to get warm with minimal time. you can take off the warm clothes later.

1.3 less rest time between sets. being more able to take advantage of time-saving strategies like antagonist supersets (working another muscle while resting), which helps to tremendously shorten your workout because you can get roughly twice the amount of work done in the same amount of time. EXAMPLE: If you do push-ups on a push day, you cannot superset it with a row, for example, because it’s a “push” (only) day.

The recommended frequency for a full-body training split is 3 times a week, with 45-minute sessions being the ideal duration. However, 2 times a week is also possible, but it’s the bare minimum.

Mistakes with full body training

making your old split into full body

When people try full-body after running a split, they usually try to put all the split workouts together. They would try doing an arm day, leg day, shoulder day, etc., all in one day. This isn’t good.
Completing a workout like that with a reasonable quality of work would be impossible. Full-body sessions force you to be more intelligent about your exercise selection by cutting out redundant exercises because you can’t afford to do them. There’s only so much you can do in one session before the quality of work goes down to an unreasonable extent.

Ignoring work capacity issues and rushing into things

Because full body workouts tend to be longer, and you can get tired during your workout, leading to declining performance. To prevent this, it is recommended to slowly ease into full body training and increase the workout duration over time. By gradually increasing training volume and duration, you can adapt your body to sustain performance throughout your full body training sessions. Supplemental GPP work is also valuable.

Conclusion & examples

Full body training split is an extremally efficient and effective workout routine that will highly benefit students or other busy individuals between the ages of 20 and 30 or any age who struggle to find time due to their academic commitments.
The recommended training frequency is 3 times a week, with 45-minute sessions being the ideal duration. However, 2 times a week is also possible but is the bare minimum. To overcome the short term work capacity issue, gradually increase training volume and duration to adapt your body to sustain performance throughout your full body training sessions. By following these practical strategies, you can make the most out of your full body training sessions and achieve your fitness goals without compromising your academic performance.

example of implementation of antagonist supersets in a workout:

Exercises	Load	Sets	Reps	RPE & Notes
dynamic stretching and warm up	BW	2		(short walk/warm clothes) (dynamic stretching routine)
face pullls & Push Ups + superset	BW	2		7 (Do full Range Of Motion, 1 sec pause at the bottom & full lockout including protraction of the scapula)
pull ups & ohp super set	BW	2		RPE 7
Triceps, biceps, latteral raise superset	BW	2		RPE 7.5
Bulgarian Split Squats & one leg rdl superset	BW	2		RPE 7 each leg split squat (try to stay upright to for quads emphasis)
Sisi squat & GHR super set	BW	2		RPE 6
standing calves raises & Tibialis Raise superset	BW	2		RPE 8

As an example of a good place to utilize a drop set here would be the letteral raise. I find it works really well with that exercise. I think that would be ideal here.
another example would be auto regulating in a place where you would need to do a superset like biceps with triceps and lets say that biceps didn’t recover so you can do a triceps drop set instead and still be efficient with your time.

Transitioning from a different split example
IDEAL start your new full-body routine at the end of your mesocycle and do that instead of your deloading week with 1 set per exercise and scale it up appropriately over the next weeks.
I would prefer you doing some kind of GPP on you’re rest days to help you get your work capacity up.
*when transitioning it’s best to scale it up slowly and ease into things this is the most important thing I can tell you.