Full body workout routines

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In a full body routine every session trains the whole body. It pays off most when you train few days a week, because a muscle trained two or three times with moderate sets progresses more than one trained once with many. The engine assigns it when you train one or two days, and also on three days if you are a beginner: early on, repeating the basic patterns often teaches more than splitting them up.

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Full body or split routine? With the same volume, the result is the same

Few gym debates last as long as full body versus split routines by muscle group. There is enough data to stop arguing and decide on a different criterion.

Ramos-Campo, Benito-Peinado, Andreu-Caravaca, Rojo-Tirado and Rubio-Arias published a systematic review with meta-analysis of fourteen studies and 392 participants in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research in 2024. With training volume equated, full body and split routines produced comparable strength gains in the bench press and the lower body, and equivalent increases in muscle mass, in arms, legs and total lean mass.

Full body versus split with volume equated, in the meta-analysis by Ramos-Campo et al. (2024) across fourteen studies and 392 participants.
Outcome	Full body versus split
Bench press strength	Comparable
Lower-body strength	Comparable
Arm and leg muscle mass	Equivalent
Total lean mass	Equivalent

The authors' conclusion is exactly the useful one: the choice between full body and a split can be made according to each person's circumstances and preferences. And the circumstance that usually weighs most is the calendar. With two or three days a week, full body lets you train each muscle more than once; with four or more, splitting into upper/lower or push pull legs shortens sessions without losing anything.

The important condition is in the small print: "with volume equated". If a structure leads you to do fewer total sets, it is no longer the same comparison.

References

Ramos-Campo DJ, Benito-Peinado PJ, Andreu-Caravaca L, Rojo-Tirado MA, Rubio-Arias JÁ. Efficacy of split versus full-body resistance training on strength and muscle growth: a systematic review with meta-analysis. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2024;38(7):1330-1340.

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