full body workout 4 days a week

EdenHazard

anything to be said for doing this? hate asking on here because i'll inevitable get replies from people who think theres only 1 workout programme that works(ws4sb) when not all of us go gym for same reason.

marathonic

I suppose it depends on what excercises you are doing. If you're planning the same routine on each of the four days, it'd probably not be optimal.

A good routine is usually based around some, or all, of the main lifts (squats, bench, o/h press, deadlift). When the weights get heavy, it'd be pretty tough to do any of these excercises on consecutive days - which would be the case if you're doing them four days per week.

Don't get me wrong, I'm far from an expert. I'm doing a Starting Strength style routine at the moment and, when I stall on all the lifts, will be switching to a 4-day split as follows:

ROUTINE

Monday - Upper 1
Bench Press
Bent-Over Rows
Dips
Chin Ups

Tuesday - Lower 1
Squat
Cleans or Pendlay Rows
SLDL
Lunges

Thursday - Upper 2
Overhead Press
T-Bar Rows
Incline Bench
Pullups

Friday - Lower 2
Deadlift
Front Squat
Hyperextensions


Personally, when the weights get heavier, I tend to take longer breaks between sets. At that point, time contraints become an issue when at the gym if doing a full body workout.

RMD

Insufficient time for your muscles to recover unless you plan day on day off day on day off etc. If it's 4 consecutive days it would be rather pointless.

A form of push / pull or lower / upper split done twice a week for each section would be best as it allows for recovery.

Satanta

What's your goal? Size or strength?

Personally I don't subscribe to training full body that often in a single week as I wouldn't be able to recover adequately. If you are new however you won't be lifting all that heavy for a while. Even so I think you need adequate recovery time.

Smart programming will be key. Doggcrap for example will have you training full body 3 times a week AFAIK. It is for more advanced lifters though and biased towards size gains.

Training for strength may be a different kettle of fish and there are a lot of guys on here more knowledgable on that than me. Starting strength and BLABA are the only strength based programmes I have used.

EdenHazard

yeah i just train to look good so don't care about strengh, thanks everyone! i did full body there, i try lift heavy but strict form, 4 days a week be tough and hard to recover. from i think, especially with added cardio on 'off' days

i might do a 3 day full body one week/split the next week, then do split 2 weeks in a row and vice verse just to mix things up

Mellor

EdenHazard wrote: »

anything to be said for doing this? hate asking on here because i'll inevitable get replies from people who think theres only 1 workout programme that works(ws4sb) when not all of us go gym for same reason.

Are you thinking of a different forum, because WS4SB is one of the least suggested programmes here.

JJayoo

What lifts do you normally do? No point suggesting deadlifts/dips/pull ups/squats if the op doesn't/can't do them.

The above mentioned lifts can be learned gradually by giving them 10 minutes at the end of each session. This way you can hammer away at the lifts you enjoy while still learning the "harder" lift

Could you post up
Current workout
Diet
Are you aiming to gain muscle or lose fat?

EdenHazard

I do dumbell press/military press/dumbell press/upright rows/barbell rows/dips

I should do deadlifts but I've neglected my back for last while something I'm rectifying now, I hate doing back, so building it up slowly, something better than nothing right.

i'm pretty small, have a picture up here, but im just tryna get proper shredded, im about 12/13 per cent bodyfat i reckon, want to get under 10

I wasnt in gym for about 3 months until start of december, normally i do split routine but the thing is i wanna go gym as much as possible, I hate going up to the gym just to do an arm workout or something, i like the gym its something to do during week so i wanna workout often if possible. doing 4 day full body would be ideal for doing cardio in between, take one day off from gym, go 6 days a week because i just walk up coz its only like 20 minute walk

john t

you say should do deadlift but neglect back, well deadlift is not a neccesary movement too train your back...

Mellor

EdenHazard wrote: »

I do dumbell press/military press/dumbell press/upright rows/barbell rows/dips

I should do deadlifts but I've neglected my back for last while something I'm rectifying now, I hate doing back, so building it up slowly, something better than nothing right.

Tha's not a full body workout.
There no leg work at all. What about chest? Is one of the dumbell presses supposed tobe bench press? Dips might hit chest, depending on positioning.
Barbell rows are back exercise, prob not enough, but its something. Its legs that are neglected in that program imo.

EdenHazard

Oh I was just giving examples of some exercises that I do normally.

I do
Incline Chest Press(Need to build upper chest)
Dumbell Shoulder Press(Military Press/side laterals)
Lat Pulldown
Dips(I only do dips, no point doing one arm extensions in a full body imo, dips better)
EZ Bar Curls(change it up every time i go-I want to move onto pullups)
Ab weighted pulldown
I mean last week I did a split routine, week before I did full body
Yeah I don't bother with legs really, because I just walk uphill to the gym and do cardio which does my legs grand

Brian?

Full body workouts are exactly what you should be doing, but I'm not sure you need to do 4 a week. 3 would be grand, if structured properly.

At the moment there seems to be little structure to your programming and I would see that as a serious problem. Would you be able to write out your entire programme?

If you don't want to work your legs, which seems to be the case, that's your own business but I think it's a huge mistake. Aesthetically speaking, someone with a decent upper body and skinny legs looks funny IMHO.

Mellor

EdenHazard wrote: »

Yeah I don't bother with legs really, because I just walk uphill to the gym and do cardio which does my legs grand

Walking/cardio is totally different to resistance training.
If you don't want to do legs thats up to you, but don't kid yourself that walking to the gym and cardio is a replacement for lower body weights.

EdenHazard

I added Leg Press to my workout today, was very good so will continue with it.

I feel this full body routine works best for me, im small enough by nature but ive put on decent muscle mass but neglected aesthetics sorta. I find it easy to put on muscle, just lucky like that. Im keeping this routine of 1 week split/2nd week 3 day full body until march and see where i'm at.

jive

Wouldn't advise doing full body 4 times a week if you're doing a weights routine that is in any way decent because 1) you won't recover enough between sessions so it will be more work + less efficient and 2) you're going to keeping falling ill because you'll fúck your immune system with the heavy work load.

if it works for you then by all means fire away but just because it works doesn't mean it is the most efficient way of achieving what you want to achieve.

EdenHazard

yeah 4 is too much im not gonna do that, i go heavy on everything so wouldnt recover.

I'm hoping this one week full body/1 week split will be good, in theory it could be. in truth tho with the right diet you can make any workout programme work.