2 Reasons You Should Be Doing Whole-Body Training
The research is in. Here are four proven reasons why you should take advantage of the health and fitness benefits of whole-body training.
Whole-body training, aka full-body training, refers to training every muscle group in one workout, rather than training them separately.
Split-style training has been a staple of the bodybuilding community for years. With splits, you can lift more volume per individual muscle groups, but you sacrifice frequency. Whole-body training involves less volume per body part per workout, but each muscle group gets worked more frequently.
Frequency, as it turns out, is the way to go. Here are four reasons why I think you should switch to whole-body training.
- Greater Fat Loss
Research shows whole-body training can improve fat loss over typical split-style training. In one study, individuals who performed whole-body workouts three times per week lost more body fat than those who were following a typical split-style training program.
Whole-body training appears to influence fat loss through gene activation—my area of study while at Yale School of Medicine. Gene activation is critical for determining training outcomes, be it muscle growth or fat loss.
Whole-body training instigates gene activity to keep metabolic processes revved up in every single muscle, an effect that lasts all day long. Your body essentially burns more fat and carbs for fuel throughout the day with whole-body training.
- Greater Muscle Mass
In the same study, the whole-body training group gained slightly more muscle mass than the split training group. One possible reason: Whole-body subjects showed improved testosterone-to-cortisol ratios. The higher your testosterone is and the lower your cortisol is, the more anabolic you are.
Activating this ideal anabolic ratio through frequent whole-body training maximizes potential muscle-protein synthesis, leading to greater muscle growth.
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