The Case for Full Body Sessions: A Smart Choice for the Majority of Clients

As coaches, guiding our clients towards the best training practices is paramount. While you may hear many gym users and even trainers & coaches discussing their workouts in terms of specific days—like “leg day” or “arm day”—for most individuals, this method of structuring their training is often not the most effective. Here’s why you might want to recommend full body sessions instead:

While some studies indicate negligible differences in outcomes between body part splits and full body training, it’s important to consider real-world adherence rates. Many clients struggle to maintain 100% commitment to their training schedules due to various obligations—whether those are work, family, or social activities. For example, if a client aims to follow a Push, Pull, and Legs routine but misses the same sessions two weeks in a row, they risk not training certain muscle groups for extended periods. In contrast, if they engage in full body workouts three times a week, even if they miss a couple of sessions, they still cover all major muscle groups, thus achieving more optimal results for the circumstances.

Additionally, considering effective repetitions over the course of the week is critical. In traditional body part splits, fatigue can lead to decreased lifting capacity for later exercises within the same session. By distributing the workload more evenly across full body workouts, clients are likely to lift more total tonnage per muscle group throughout the week, ultimately promoting improved strength and muscle gains.

For athletes, the implications are even more significant. Focusing exclusively on one muscle group could result in heightened localized fatigue and delayed onset muscle soreness (D.O.M.S.), which in turn may hinder their performance in sport-specific practices. This could lead to a perception among sport coaches that strength training is detrimental rather than beneficial.

In summary, do body part splits have their place? Certainly. However, the key is understanding the context. For clients who are unable to commit to four or more resistance training sessions per week, you are likely to see more favourable outcomes by incorporating full body sessions into their programming.