Your First Full Body Workout: A Beginner's Guide
This session is for you if you are brand new to working out and want to start building strength across your whole body at once. We'll walk you through every part of the session — from warming up to cooling down — so you feel confident from your very first rep. Stick with it, and the future you will thank you.
What the research says
Here is what the research tells us about training your whole body in one session. A study comparing full-body routines against split routines — where you train different muscle groups on different days — found that both approaches produced similar gains in strength and muscle size in untrained people over eight weeks, as long as the total weekly work was the same. So as a beginner, a full-body session is a perfectly solid place to start. Another study looked at how many repetitions you do per set. It found that a group doing heavier weights for fewer reps (8–12 per set) built more one-rep maximum leg press strength, while a group doing lighter weights for more reps (20–24 per set) built more strength endurance — the ability to keep going for longer. Fat-free mass differences between the two groups were trivial. Both approaches worked; they just produced slightly different results. One more study looked at how you arrange your exercises in a session. It found that doing two exercises back-to-back with little rest — called a superset — nearly cuts session time in half, but the traditional-set group showed a significantly higher improvement in the lat pull-down exercise (5.2 kg more). Differences in the other exercises tested were small or not significant.
The evidence here is moderate — the studies are proper randomized trials, but sample sizes are small and some findings are mixed, so treat the numbers as useful guides rather than hard rules.
A randomized trial of 67 untrained people found that training the full body four times per week and training in an A/B split twice per week produced similar results in bench press and squat strength, and in the thickness of the elbow flexor, elbow extensor, and quadriceps muscles after eight weeks, when weekly set volume was equal.
View study →In a 10-week pilot trial of middle- and older-aged adults, the traditional strength training group (8–12 reps per set) showed superior increases in leg press one-repetition maximum strength compared to the lighter-load, higher-repetitions group (20–24 reps per set), while the lighter-load group showed greater strength endurance increases at 65% of their one-rep maximum. The difference in fat-free mass between groups was trivial.
View study →A 10-week randomized controlled trial found that the traditional-set group had a 5.2 kg significantly higher improvement in the lat pull-down exercise compared to the superset group. Differences between groups in bench press and leg press improvements were not significant. There were no significant differences in body composition outcomes between groups.
View study →The routine
Warmup
Stand up and extend your arms straight out by the sides. The arms should be parallel to the floor and perpendicular (90-degree angle) to your torso. This will be your starting position. Slowly start to make circles of about 1 foot in diameter with each outstretched arm. Breathe normally as you perform the movement. Continue the circular motion of the outstretched arms for about ten seconds. Then reverse the movement, going the opposite direction.
Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. This will be your starting position. Keeping your arms straight, swing them straight up in front of you 5-10 times, increasing the range of motion each time until your arms are above your head.
Stand with your hands together, arms extended directly in front of you. This will be your starting position. Keeping your arms straight, quickly move your arms back as far as possible and back in again, similar to an exaggerated clapping motion. Repeat 5-10 times, increasing speed as you do so.
Main
Lie down on the floor and secure your feet. Your legs should be bent at the knees. Place your hands behind or to the side of your head. You will begin with your back on the ground. This will be your starting position. Flex your hips and spine to raise your torso toward your knees. At the top of the contraction your torso should be perpendicular to the ground. Reverse the motion, going only ¾ of the way down. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
Lie flat on the floor with your lower back pressed to the ground. For this exercise, you will need to put your hands beside your head. Be careful however to not strain with the neck as you perform it. Now lift your shoulders into the crunch position. Bring knees up to where they are perpendicular to the floor, with your lower legs parallel to the floor. This will be your starting position. Now simultaneously, slowly go through a cycle pedal motion kicking forward with the right leg and bringing in the knee of the left leg. Bring your right elbow close to your left knee by crunching to the side, as you breathe out. Go back to the initial position as you breathe in. Crunch to the opposite side as you cycle your legs and bring closer your left elbow to your right knee and exhale. Continue alternating in this manner until all of the recommended repetitions for each side have been completed.
Move the cables to the bottom of the tower and select an appropriate weight. Grasp the cables and hold them at shoulder height, palms facing forward. This will be your starting position. Keeping your head and chest up, extend through the elbow to press one side directly over head. After pausing at the top, return to the starting position and repeat on the opposite side.
Lie on the floor with two kettlebells next to your shoulders. Position one in place on your chest and then the other, gripping the kettlebells on the handle with the palms facing forward. Extend both arms, so that the kettlebells are being held above your chest. Lower one kettlebell, bringing it to your chest and turn the wrist in the direction of the locked out kettlebell. Raise the kettlebell and repeat on the opposite side.
Place a bar on the ground behind the head of an incline bench. Lay on the bench face down. With a pronated grip, pick the barbell up from the floor. Flex the elbows, performing a reverse curl to bring the bar near your chest. This will be your starting position. To begin, press the barbell out in front of your head by extending your elbows. Keep your arms parallel to the ground throughout the movement. Return to the starting position and repeat to complete the set.
Cooldown
Start off on your hands and knees, then lift your leg off the floor and hold the foot with your hand. Use your hand to hold the foot or ankle, keeping the knee fully flexed, stretching the quadriceps and hip flexors. Focus on extending your hips, thrusting them towards the floor. Hold for 10-20 seconds and then switch sides.
Sit upright on the floor with your partner behind you. Place your hands behind your hand, and push your elbows back as far as you can. Your partner should hold your elbows. This will be your starting position. Gently attempt to pull your elbows forward with your hands still behind your head for 10 or more seconds. Your partner should prevent your elbows from moving. Now, relax your muscles and have your partner gently pull the elbows back as far as it comfortable for you. Be sure to let your partner know when the stretch is adequate to prevent overstretching or injury.
This entry is for general information only and is not medical advice — if you have any pain, injury, or a health condition, check with a doctor before starting a new exercise routine.