Full Body Workout Routine:
3 Day Workouts for Muscle & Strength

A full body workout routine involves training the entire body during each session, 3 days per week. Find the template that best suits your needs.

This approach to performing a weight lifting routine is effective for beginner, intermediates, and it can even work for advanced trainees.

You do not demolish one muscle group per session by training to failure on every set and using high volume - which is the case with the popular, yet not-so-effective body part split training...

...You can't (and shouldn't) go all out and murder you muscles on a full body program program because you must be able to recover and perform your remaining weekly workouts.

Rather, you perform high frequency training. In other words, you hit each muscle group 3 times per week by focusing on major compound exercises that involve using multiple muscle groups.

This enables you to train with maximum efficiency because larger and more powerful exercise movements allow you to work your whole body in less time than with smaller, isolation movements.

You also gain strength efficiently because you are not only utilizing the most powerful weight lifting exercises, but you are performing them often. Higher frequency training increases the rate at which you can gain strength and muscle mass - assuming that you are getting sufficient recovery between workouts.

Full Body Workout Routine Warm Up & Details

Before you see the actual routines, here is some preliminary information you need to know to successfully perform the workouts:

• Warm Up. Always warm up before working out. Use this warm up routine to get ready.
• Rest Between Sets. Aim for 2-3 minutes of recovery time between sets. You should feel ready to go again for your next set.
• Weight. Use the same weight for each work set. The last set should be very difficult to complete, and it's okay to fail.
• Progression. Add as much weight as you can per workout as possible, while still maintaining acceptable form. Beginners should be able to add weight nearly every workout session.

Now, I'll provide you with two sample full body workout templates: One for beginners and one for intermediate and advanced trainees. Both routines include alternating workouts (A/B), which should be performed on 3 nonconsecutive days per week - as shown in the chart below.

Beginner Full Body Workout Routine:

Beginner Full Body Workout Schedule:

	Monday	Wednesday	Friday
Week 1	Workout A	Workout B	Workout A
Week 2	Workout B	Workout A	Workout B

Workout A:	Workout B:
Squats - 3 x 5	Deadlifts - 2 x 8
Bench Press (or Dips) - 3 x 5	Overhead Press - 3 x 5
Bent Over Rows - 3 x 5	(Weighted) Pull Ups - 3 x 5

See the similar workout program: Starting Strength beginner weight training routine.

Why All Beginners Should Perform a Full Body Routine

Even though full body workout routines work for all levels of trainees, they are especially effective for beginners. And so, if you're a beginner, I strongly urge you to use this workout. On top of that, you should avoid body part splits like the plague, at least for now.

Why is a full body workout plan so good for beginners? Well since these routines involve high frequency training, they offer the most effective method for achieving the 2 essential goals for all smart beginning trainees:

• Building a Base of Strength. You should be gaining strength in just about every workout as beginner. Most of your newfound strength is from neural adaptation, or your nerves "learning" how send signals more efficiently. And so, the more often you can do squats and deadlifts, the more often you can improve your strength on those lifts.
• Learning Proper Technique. I often stress the importance of learning how to use good form if you want long term progress and health. Full body routines are superior in this aspect since frequent practice of correct technique means that the movement will quickly become second nature to you.

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Intermediate/Advanced Full Body Workout Routine:

Intermediate/Advanced Full Body Workout Schedule:

	Monday	Wednesday	Friday
Week 1	Workout A	Workout B	Workout A
Week 2	Workout B	Workout A	Workout B

Workout A:	Workout B:
Squats - 5 x 5	Deadlifts - 5 x 5
Bench Press - 5 x 5	Overhead Press - 5 x 5
Bent Over Rows - 5 x 5	Weighted Pull Ups - 5 x 5
Dumbbell Lunges - 2 x 8-10 (if it's Friday)	Weighted Dips - 2 x 8-10 (if it's Friday)

This template is similar to the "Bill Star 5x5" routine, although slightly modified and in simplified form.

Pros & Cons of Full Body Workouts for Experienced Lifters

It's important to note that more advanced weight trainees may be better off doing training splits like a push/pull/legs routine or an upper/lower routine...

...The reason being that more experienced trainees generally need more days of rest between working out the same muscles/exercises; that is, they have enough physical strength to cause "damage" to the point interfering with optimal recovery and progress on higher frequency routines (i.e. a full body workout routine). Also, lower frequency routines allow for more specialization (e.g. full workouts dedicated to the upper body).

That said, full body workouts can be the optimal choice for for advanced trainees if it's set up smartly, with the correct volume, intensity and progression; it also depends if it matches goals and needs of the trainee. It should be periodized, allowing for cycles of heavy training and deloading.

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