The full body workout is a great way to get in shape, gain muscle mass, and tone your body, without spending countless hours in the gym, 3 days a week with a rest/recovery day between each workout is all you will need (M,W,F) for example. Its also the perfect way for a beginner to start a strength training routine and go through an adaptation phase before moving on to a muscle building (hypertrophy) stage in their training.

A full body training routine, which sticks to mostly compound lifts, definitely gives you more benefit than isolation work alone, however keeping some isolation lifts is crucial to any great full body routine. So what are compound exercises? Compound exercises are lifts which use more than one muscle group or joint group at one time and will build muscle and increase strength much faster than any other form of training.

The following six compound lifts should be the core of any full body strength training routine:

• Dead-lifts

• Squats

• Bench Press (free weight) or Push Ups

• Shoulder Press

• Free Weight Rows

• Pull Ups or Pull Downs

These are your main exercises to develop a great physique!

Compound lifts are great for beginners or advanced strength trainers because they can be performed with weights or by just using your own body weight and are great for both men & women it does not matter. Add in some Isolation lifts To get the best results and you have a great Full Body Training program! Remember you must use the proper amount of resistance & reps (8-12 max) and increase your resistance every week or two. Don't forget to always use proper form, if you are not sure how to do something make sure you work with someone who does. Enjoy your workout!