Work out your whole body in one workout and focus on your groin!

The whole body in one workout is the oldest training split. This method dominated until the 1960s. Splitting into parts some people even attribute to the steroid boom.

It used to be typical to work out the whole body 3 times a week: on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. This method is optimal for people who simply want to be bigger, stronger, more powerful and in better shape.

There are several ways to do it, but I use a minimalist approach that consists solely of large, multi-joint exercises. Some will try to go comprehensive and include at least one exercise for each part. However, that's 8-10 exercises in each workout, which is too much for most people.

I normally use 4-5 exercises in each workout:

• Squat
• Pressure exercise
• Deadlift exercise
• Hip flexion

Occasionally I add a unilateral lower body exercise as a load transfer. That kind of exercise exercises everything in a certain way. Yes, there are no exercises for biceps, triceps or shoulders, but these muscles work during the basic exercises.

I use this split for most athletes and strength based exercisers. Think of it as a full body split and a bonus workout.

Benefits of a full body workout

1. Every muscle and movement pattern is exercised 3 times per week, which will yield greater strength gains and can be positive in terms of muscle growth.
2. This allows you to use multiple training methods, intensity zones and contraction types for each of the muscles. For example, I like to focus on slow lowering or overloading the eccentric portion of the exercise on Mondays, on Tuesdays we practice static-dynamic elements such as isometric holds during sets or reps, and on Fridays it's classic lifting.
3. However, you can also program it according to intensity, which you won't have to alternate within the same workout. For example, heavy day/light/medium or heavy/short breaks/big volume work.
4. A full body workout has been shown to lower myostatin levels more than a split split between top and bottom. Myostatin is a protein that limits muscle growth. The less of it you have, the more you can grow.
5. It's very effective.

Groin training

If you're a bodybuilder who wants to focus on developing certain areas, this might not be the split for you. I tried to overcome that with one extra workout where the groin is trained. This one will satisfy your need for isolated pumping.

It's a less taxing workout reserved for lighter exercises: isolation, on machines or pulleys. Exercise in it the areas that complex exercises neglect.

Typically, you'll focus on the biceps, triceps, hamstrings and back shoulders. However, you can also give attention to some of the neglected muscles. This will allow you to reap the rewards of a full-body workout, but also indulge in typically bodybuilding results.

Here's what a split would look like for the week:

• Monday: Full body
• Tuesday: Free
• Wednesday: Full body
• Thursday: Free
• Friday: Full body
• Saturday: groin training
• Sunday: Free

Disadvantages of full-body training?

It can be challenging because it contains all heavy exercises. Individual workouts can also be quite long because of the warm-up and breaks.

However, I have seen two experienced athletes gain 10 pounds in a year with this training and dramatically increase their strength in the process.

Source: www.t-nation-com - Training Split - Whole Body + Gap Workout
By Christian Thibaudeau