The Perfect Full Body Workout Routine - Body by Science

Is there a perfect full body workout routine?

Absolutely!

This full body workout routine has been called the Body by Science method, high intensity strength training (HIT), or also the Super Slow strength training method. Many of the important key factors are discussed in Dr. Doug McGuff and John Little's book Body by Science.

We work our muscles until reaching full fatigue, allowing the fastest muscle growth and tons of health benefits above and beyond conventional fitness methods in only 20 minutes - once or twice a week.

You may be asking - how is this possible? Is this real?

YES - In this article I explain WHY the high intensity of the workout makes it so efficient and effective.

You may have seen people lifting weights in gyms, spending sometimes an hour a day and getting some results, maybe.

The problem for many individuals is that the work they are doing is not meaningful or intense enough to produce a strong enough physiological response (all of the health benefits of exercise).

See, we could move our bodies around for a whole hour, but if the work doesn't challenge our body enough it will produce no adaptive response (benefit and improvement) in turn. 

This safe full body workout routine embodies these three qualities:

1. Safety - Most workout programs and fitness methods don't bother with safety concerns at all and that can lead to injuries or pain in the joints. In fact, I've even heard of people getting permanently injured in big corporate gym by their fitness trainer.

This workout is focused on safety first for anyone of all ages, even those of us with past injuries in our joints, also for even senior and elderly strength training. We eliminate the harsh movement of momentum and stay safe on our joints and muscles.

2. Effectiveness - For the fastest muscle growth we fatigue the muscles completely in a safe manner. I see faster development with this method than any other thing I've instructed. The health benefits are incredible, I'll discuss those below!

3. Efficiency - It takes less than 30 minutes twice a week to get incredible results, and if that sounds unbelievable, just keep reading. One of our important text books is called Body By Science and explains in detail much of the amazing benefits of Super Slow strength training. 

The Full Body Workout Routine - Body by Science

Body by Science - Safety and Intensity Explained

Many people will mistakenly assume that if an exercise is "too intense" then it is dangerous. 

The exact opposite is true, in fact. 

Understanding intensity and what it means for us during exercise is important.

Intensity is simply a measure of how much work we are doing vs how much work we are currently capable of. 

When we look at biological organisms closely in all of nature it becomes easy to see - in order for some sort of change to occur in an organism the workout (stimulus) has to be powerful (intense) enough to produce any change at all. 

All this means is - 

To get results (an adaptive response from the stimulus) we MUST use our body in a way that challenges us to the point where we can no longer move. This is the way all species adapt and grow in nature, and the human body is no exception.

Knowing that high intensity in strength training is safe is simply not enough - we also must determine what movements are UNsafe. 

Safe Exercise vs. Unsafe Activity - Body by Science Safe Fitness Training

Most of the time when you see people training in a gym they are performing movements that put a LOT of stress on their joints and connective tissue. 

Momentum is the reason why these movements are dangerous - by creating fast, jerky, explosive movements to propel weights in a direction we end up injuring ourselves and causing harm to our bodies. 

Ballistic (fast and jerky) movements are dangerous no matter what - but if we are holding heavy weights while doing these fast and unsafe movements we are putting ourselves in horrible danger, especially as we age.

Crossfit is always where my mind goes when I think of the most unsafe workout possible. With our most technologically developed exercise machines available for safety (like Nautilus and ARX) it always blows my mind that there is a group of fitness enthusiasts who think that a superior method of training is to hit a tractor tire with a sledge hammer over and over. 

Crossfit is the perfect example of UNsafe training. It would be like wearing a weighted vest, ankle weights and wrist weights and doing 300 jumping jacks and doing karate kicks against trees.

What is the alternative? Super Slow and calculated movements. 

The GOAL of real exercise is to produce a stimulus in the body so a positive change happens. In the case of exercise, we want more strength and the most health benefits possible. 

If we are thinking in terms of our goal being "to move weights up and down" then we will act in unsafe ways to meet that incorrect goal. 

This powerful full body workout routine was developed with patients in mind who had severe osteoporosis - so it is even safe for the most debilitating conditions. In fact, most of my current clients have reversed their osteoporosis completely or in other cases stopped their decrease in bone density. 

Many of my clients using this full body workout routine have what could be considered by corporate "gym trainers" as conditions that make them ineligible for workouts. 

This simply shows that most "fitness trainers" have no idea how to keep clients safe during workouts.

The Science of The Perfect Full Body Workout Routine - Myokines

What are Myokines?

Like this below video describes, if this full body workout routine was a pill, then the active ingredient would be myokines.

Myokines are responsible for helping to lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, increase bone density, improve cognitive function (fight dementia), and combat osteoporosis.

Myokines create the self destruction cycle (apoptosis) in cancer cells (literally help fight cancer), and repair the damage done by metabolic diseases. Myokines work in an endocrine manner to spread their anti-inflamatory signals all through the organs of the body, improving our health in deep and meaningful ways.

This full body workout routine allows for the highest amount of myokines to flood the body by getting the muscles all the way to full fatigue, where we are not capable of pushing any further.

This is how we get the most health benefits compared to absolutely every other method of fitness. 

Super Slow Master Certified Instructor Matt Hedman (The Perfect Workout) calls strength training “the window into your body” and expert Adam Zickerman (Power of 10) called strength training “the keys to the kingdom”. They're both correct, of course, and all of the science supports it.

Some important ideas are relevant here when we are examining the perfect full body workout routine. Based on all of the science (Body by Science, Dr. Doug McGuff, p.35 – 38) the absolute best method of improving the cardiovascular system is strength training, making it the exercise workout plan to participate in for solid results.

Aerobic activity truly only engages half of the metabolic system where super slow strength training is superior by engaging both functions of metabolism, in the cytosol and in the mitochondria.

We also do not get the higher health benefits of myokines from aerobic activity. The path to a longer and healthier life is though safe strength training.

A more true definition of exercise would be the definition that Ken Hutchins defined in his ground breaking work Super Slow.

The Full Body Workout Routine with No Weights

Another full body workout routine can get great results without using weights at all.

There are lots of ways to utilize this workout without weights. What we are doing is using gravity and the weight of our own bodies to strengthen our muscles.

The biggest difference between this isometric body weight workout and doing high intensity strength training on equipment is this - Isolation.

When we use nautilus or other strength training machines they help to isolate just the large specific muscle groups that we want to get into.

But when we use bodyweight isometrics or dumbbells we are suing all of the smaller stabilizing muscles as well.

What does this mean in terms of the workout?

Equipment like Nautilus can take pressure away from trouble muscle groups that can have an over amount of tension.

In each case, it's always safer to have a trainer watch form in the beginning, at least, for maximum safety.

My message to the world is this: everyone should be doing some sort of strength training weekly. Strength Training saves lives.

In conclusion, the MEANS to reach our goal of better health, more strength, higher mobility, more confidence, and a longer life are all determined by training our muscles EVERY WEEK and continuing to add muscle to our bodies in an ongoing manner.

Whether you're wanting to hire a safe fitness trainer or simply get started on your own, PLEASE, for your future - 

Get started today. Your future self will thank you. 

And I'm here to help how I can!

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