If you are planning to build muscle mass, improve your cardiovascular health, get six-pack abs, or shed some weight, then you are on the right page. Full-body exercises involve an all-around workout of several muscles which is achieved simultaneously during every session of exercise.
Instead of engaging selected parts of your body six times weekly at the gym, a full-body exercise only requires you to train 3 to 4 times a week. You can schedule your workouts to be every other day by alternating your training days with resting days as desired.
Traditional examples of full-body exercises are football and kickboxing among others. Pull-ups and squats at the gym are some styles of full-body workouts. An elliptical trainer can also provide the desired results if added to your workout routine. Your lungs, muscles, and heart are strengthened with this machine.
Your overall balance and stamina are improved and you are sure of burning huge amounts of calories. A healthy diet combined with regular exercise is beneficial to the body and ensures improved physical well-being.
There are several benefits to performing full-body exercises. I will highlight 6 of them here for you to understand how important it is unlike split-body parts workout.
- Recovery Time for Muscles
Dedicating the entire week to train your muscles is not ideal. This is because of the pressure you tend to exert on your body as a result. After a whole day’s work-out on a particular body part, you will not enjoy training the following day due to the pain and strain accumulated.
Therefore, skipping a day to rest after a full-body exercise does not only give you the room to relax, your muscles can recover from the rigorous activity of the previous day. You will also notice progress in your set goal for engaging in the workout program.
Your body needs a day off from workouts for recovery to take place on the worn-out muscles. After a full day’s rest, you can then go back ready for another training session. This implies that you require just 3 days weekly to perform full-body training and achieve positive results.
- Sheds Calories Faster
Unlike single-joint exercises, with full-body workouts, you expend more energy while training. A “leg day” or an “arm day” will only require fewer muscles to be trained. Meanwhile, working out your entire body requires groups of major muscles to be coordinated simultaneously. You will need to lift or push heavyweights and make oxygen available for muscle tissues while performing complex exercises.
Hence, more fat is burned which results in your body shedding more calories. You may already be on a fat-free diet which means there is a cut-back on your calorie intake. Combining a low-calorie diet with regular full-body exercise can only get better by keeping your body toned to the desired outlook.
An elliptical trainer can help you achieve similar results. To increase your weight loss, burn more calories by utilizing the equipment regularly. This cardio-machine can help you burn up to 400 calories within 30 minutes depending on your weight.
- Improves Muscle Mass
Full-body exercises help in building lean muscle and mass. As you perform a full-body workout, you are engaging multiple muscles and, this, in turn, helps in accumulating more muscle tissues. Generally, your body strength and agility are increased. Growth tissues are stimulated with a perfectly oriented physique and posture.
Metabolic rate is usually enhanced with a larger muscle mass and mobility is also improved. Chronic diseases like cancer and heart failure are prevented with an optimum amount of muscle mass and effective metabolism.
- Enhances Blood Circulation
Workouts that involve raising your heart rate help in circulating blood to all parts of your body. Full-body exercises improve cardiovascular health which keeps your heart immune to diseases such as stroke and cardiac failure. Prolonged and regular training aids your heart muscle to become stronger.
A healthy cardiovascular system ensures that more oxygen is pumped to the muscle cells through the capillaries. You start to breathe deeper and faster as your lungs work harder. This makes your heart rate function better.
Cycling, jogging, and aerobics are examples of cardio workouts that improve your heart health. The elliptical trainer can also be used to achieve an excellent aerobic exercise. Cardio workouts allow more oxygen and blood circulation to all the muscles in your body as your lungs and heart work faster.
- Boosts Hormonal Levels
A balanced exercise routine can go a long way in increasing hormonal levels, especially in men. Testosterone hormone which is responsible for sexual prowess is heightened with regular full-body exercises. Although other factors such as age, weight, and fitness level affect how much you can gain from improving your hormonal secretion.
Pull-ups and squats are types of full-body exercises that can aid this functionality. The body will automatically adjust the flow of sexual hormones by ensuring a constant supply with a regular workout schedule.
- Sharpens Mental Health
It is common knowledge that exercise is good for our body system. But you ought to know how important exercise is to your brain health. Depression, mood swings, stress, and anxiety are all ruled out from your mind with daily exercise.
You do not need to be a pro at doing your routine workouts before you can benefit from its calming effects. A simple full-body exercise a few days a week is sufficient to improve your mental health. Exercise helps to release brain chemicals called endorphin which is responsible for your joyful mood and happy spirit. Insomnia is completely ruled out from your system because you tend to get adequate sleep at night and your memory is sharper.
- Aids Labor in Pregnancy
Every woman should take note of the fact that exercising while pregnant has a lot of perks which cannot be overlooked. Apart from the fact that delivery comes easily, your body system functions perfectly.
Constipation, bloating, back aches, mood swings and insomnia are eliminated from your system as you perform regular exercise during gestation. Your muscle tone is maintained and there is control on the amount of weight you gain. Strength and endurance are increased thereby allowing you to withstand any stress that comes with pregnancy.
Bottom Line
Incorporating full-body exercises in your workout routine is the best way to achieve the goals you desire in your body. As a beginner, you can start gradually by engaging in low-impact training to avoid pushing yourself too hard.
The benefits that can be reaped are enormous and go a long way in keeping you fit. You can maintain a healthy lifestyle with the assurance that more years are added to your lifespan.
