Menno Henselmans on the Benefits of Full-Body Workouts

It’s time for another contentious topic, my friends. No, not volume, frequency, or intensity. Today, we’re talking about workout splits. Specifically, full-body training. Full-body and higher-frequency training has become more popular lately. And if you’ve followed my work over the years, you know I haven’t been a big proponent of full-body workouts. In fact, in previous editions of Bigger Leaner Stronger, the workouts had typical “bro-split” names (even though the workouts themselves were more like a Push Pull Legs split with added accessory days). So, it’s not too surprising that I frequently get asked for my thoughts on full-body training versus body part splits and the “best workout split” in general. Well, full-body workouts can definitely work well in certain situations—like when you’re a beginner or when you can only train one or two times per week. But for this episode, I decided to bring in a big proponent of and expert on full-body training, Menno Henselmans. Menno has been a repeat guest on my podcast, but in case you’re not familiar with him, he's a bodybuilding coach, writer, and published scientist who’s also on the Scientific Advisory Board of my sports nutrition company, Legion Athletics. In this episode, we chat about … Why you should use a full-body split if you training infrequently The primary benefits of full-body training (optimizing volume and work capacity) How to properly program "supersets" without hurting performance (and actually improve it) How to program an effective full-body routine Saving time in the gym, inter-set rest time, and exercise order considerations Periodization and why you shouldn't change exercises too frequently Situations when full-body routine wouldn’t be the best choice And more … So, if you want to learn all about full-body training and whether you should give it a shot, listen to this episode. 8:03 - What qualifies as a full body workout versus something else? 17:32 - Does full body workouts give you more high quality volume? 19:02 - What is a superset? How would you implement supersets without impairing your performance on the exercises? 28:05 - How do you like to program your full body workouts? 31:04 - Is that your exercise or is there another component to it as well? 32:08 - How do you like to order your exercises? 35:45 - How do you like to periodize this type of training? 40:30 - Do you do your heavier workouts earlier in the week after a rest period? 41:39 - As far as volume, what are you shooting for? --- Mentioned on The Show: Menno Henselman’s Website: https://mennohenselmans.com/ 
Menno Henselman’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/menno.henselmans/ Books by Mike Matthews: http://legionathletics.com/products/books Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/beyond-bigger-leaner-stronger/ --- Want to get my best advice on how to gain muscle and strength and lose fat faster? Sign up for my free newsletter! Click here: www.legionathletics.com/signup/