“Full-body workouts boost growth. Research suggests they might also enhance fat loss by activating more total muscle per workout,” says Built With Science founder Jeremy Ethier. (1) To kick off 2025, Ethier programmed three full-body workouts, comprising six exercises each, highlighting key studies and form tips.
Training splits offer varying benefits, including potentially higher training frequency and more strategic recovery time. Full-body training can stimulate all the major muscle groups in fewer weekly training sessions for those who can’t consistently get to the gym at a higher clip.
Per Ethier’s program, alternate the three workouts below in order, with a day of rest in between.
Workout A
- Incline Dumbbell Press: 3 x 8-12
- Barbell Squats: 3 x 6-8
- Chest-Supported Dumbbell Rows: 3 x 8-12
- Seated Leg Curls: 3 x 10-12
- Dumbbell incline Curls + Overhead Tricep Extensions: 3 Supersets
Workout B
- Barbell Bench Press: 3 x 4-6
- Romanian Deadlifts: 3 x 6-8
- Wide-Grip Lat Pulldowns: 3 x 8-12
- Walking Lunges: 3 x 6-10
- Behind-the-Back Cable Lateral Raise + Reverse Crunches: 3 Supersets
Workout C
- Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 3 x 8-12
- Lat Dumbbell Rows: 3 x 8-12
- Hip Thrusts: 3 x 10-15
- Leg Extensions: 3 x 10-15
- Cable Flyes: 3 x 10-15
- Standing Calf Raises + Cable Rear Delt Flyes: 3 Supersets
“Using different exercises to target the same muscle often leads to more balanced growth,” Ethier strategized.
[Related: How Hanging Leg Raises Can Supercharge Your Abs]
Ethier’s Tips for Workout A
Workout A helps build a strength base. Perform exercises in the order below:
Incline Dumbbell Press
Start with incline dumbbell presses to bias the upper chest, which often trails mid and lower pec development. Prioritizing a muscle can make a difference in progression. (2)(3) “A 2020 study found that incline pressing led to similar mid-chest growth as flat benching but was significantly better for the upper chest,” Ethier noted. (4)
Ethier encouraged trying his phone test to determine the best individual incline angle. Lie on a flat bench and place a phone between your chest on its side lengthwise. If it angles down, you need a higher incline. If it’s more level, use a smaller incline. According to the literature, a 30-degree incline seems to be the most optimal.
Warm up with a light set of 8-10 reps, use moderate weight for 3-5 reps, and do 1-2 reps with heavy dumbbells. Then, perform three working sets. Do the same for squats.
Barbell Squats
Ethier countered the supposed suboptimality of squats, sharing, “Research shows they not only grow glutes as effectively as hip thrusts but also strengthen the quads, adductors, and even lower back; it’s four exercises in one.” (5) Back and front squats hit the quads equally well, though the latter may be more joint-friendly.
If you struggle to stay upright, squat with your heels on weight plates — key to maximal quad engagement.
Chest-Supported Dumbbells Rows
Chest-supported rows reinforce strict form to grow the mid-upper back. Lie chest down on an inclined bench and “keep your elbows angled out in an arrow shape; squeeze your shoulder blades together as hard as you can, then let them fully open up at the bottom,” Ethier instructed.
Pull through the elbows and avoid curling the dumbbells. Adding partial reps at the bottom to enhance the growth stimulus.
Leg Curls
Ethier prefers seated leg curls, citing a study that found more growth via seated curls than lying leg curls. (6) Four-time Mr. Olympia champ Jay Cutler swears this exercise fixed his undersized hamstrings.
Isolation Exercises
Dumbbell curls and overhead triceps extensions cap the workout. “Research comparing dumbbell rows to biceps curls found that curls led to double the biceps growth,” Ethier showed. (7) A different study saw better triceps gains from overhead extensions versus pushdowns due to stretching the long head. (8)
Superset incline dumbbell or Bayesian curls with overhead extensions for three sets.
Ethier’s Tips for Workout B
Workout B builds on workout A.
Barbell Bench Press & Romanian Deadlifts
Begin with the barbell bench press for low reps for the mid-lower chest. If a barbell bothers your shoulders, swap to flat dumbbell presses.
Romanian deadlifts bias the upper hamstrings. Hip extension bias the lower hamstrings. Barbells and dumbbells both work, depending on preference. Ethier’s key form tip is to “Imagine a band around your hips pulling you back.”
Lat Pulldowns & Walking Lunges
Despite the name, Ethier insists wide-grip lat pulldowns bias the upper back. Until then, “Use a wide grip, lean back slightly, and pull the bar toward your upper chest.” Perform partial reps in the stretch toward the end of each set.
To target glutes via walking lunges, “Take a ‘large’ step forward, keep the knees over the foot, and lean forward with a straight back,” Ethier illustrated. Doing so lengths the glute muscle due to increased flexion at the hip. Alternatively, standing upright and garnering more flexion at the knew would bias the quads.
Ethier’s Tips for Workout C
Do this routine for the third weekly workout.
Dumbbell Shoulder Press & Lat Dumbbell Rows
Dumbbell shoulder presses target the front and medial delts. Incline the bench, flare the elbows as you press, and bring them forward during the eccentric.
Ethier feels dumbbell rows optimize lat activation better than traditional lat pulldowns. “Keep the elbows tight to your side, and focus on driving them back toward the hips in a sweeping arcing motion,” he coached. Avoid curling or rotating the torso. Finish with half reps from arm’s length.
Hip Thrusts
Essential for sexy glutes, Ethier shares that “Hip thrusts have been shown to grow glutes just as much as squats and in one study even led to almost double the glute growth.” (9)
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Reference
- Carneiro, M. A. S., Nunes, P. R. P., Souza, M. V. C., Assumpção, C. O., & Orsatti, F. L. (2024). Full-body resistance training promotes greater fat mass loss than a split-body routine in well-trained males: A randomized trial. European journal of sport science, 24(6), 846–854. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsc.12104
- Simão, R., de Salles, B. F., Figueiredo, T., Dias, I., & Willardson, J. M. (2012). Exercise order in resistance training. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 42(3), 251–265. https://doi.org/10.2165/11597240-000000000-00000
- Nunes, J. P., Grgic, J., Cunha, P. M., Ribeiro, A. S., Schoenfeld, B. J., de Salles, B. F., & Cyrino, E. S. (2021). What influence does resistance exercise order have on muscular strength gains and muscle hypertrophy? A systematic review and meta-analysis. European journal of sport science, 21(2), 149–157. https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2020.1733672
- Chaves SFN, Rocha-JÚnior VA, EncarnaÇÃo IGA, Martins-Costa HC, Freitas EDS, Coelho DB, Franco FSC, Loenneke JP, Bottaro M, Ferreira-JÚnior JB. Effects of Horizontal and Incline Bench Press on Neuromuscular Adaptations in Untrained Young Men. Int J Exerc Sci. 2020 Aug 1;13(6):859-872. PMID: 32922646; PMCID: PMC7449336.
- Plotkin, D. L., Rodas, M. A., Vigotsky, A. D., McIntosh, M. C., Breeze, E., Ubrik, R., Robitzsch, C., Agyin-Birikorang, A., Mattingly, M. L., Michel, J. M., Kontos, N. J., Frugé, A. D., Wilburn, C. M., Weimar, W. H., Bashir, A., Beyers, R. J., Henselmans, M., Contreras, B. M., & Roberts, M. D. (2023). Hip thrust and back squat training elicit similar gluteus muscle hypertrophy and transfer similarly to the deadlift. bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology, 2023.06.21.545949. https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.06.21.545949
- Maeo, S., Huang, M., Wu, Y., Sakurai, H., Kusagawa, Y., Sugiyama, T., Kanehisa, H., & Isaka, T. (2021). Greater Hamstrings Muscle Hypertrophy but Similar Damage Protection after Training at Long versus Short Muscle Lengths. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 53(4), 825–837. https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000002523
- Mannarino, P., Matta, T., Lima, J., Simão, R., & Freitas de Salles, B. (2021). Single-Joint Exercise Results in Higher Hypertrophy of Elbow Flexors Than Multijoint Exercise. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 35(10), 2677–2681. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000003234
- Maeo, S., Wu, Y., Huang, M., Sakurai, H., Kusagawa, Y., Sugiyama, T., Kanehisa, H., & Isaka, T. (2023). Triceps brachii hypertrophy is substantially greater after elbow extension training performed in the overhead versus neutral arm position. European journal of sport science, 23(7), 1240–1250. https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2022.2100279
- Plotkin DL, Rodas MA, Vigotsky AD, McIntosh MC, Breeze E, Ubrik R, Robitzsch C, Agyin-Birikorang A, Mattingly ML, Michel JM, Kontos NJ, Frugé AD, Wilburn CM, Weimar WH, Bashir A, Beyers RJ, Henselmans M, Contreras BM, Roberts MD. Hip thrust and back squat training elicit similar gluteus muscle hypertrophy and transfer similarly to the deadlift. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2023 Jul 5:2023.06.21.545949. doi: 10.1101/2023.06.21.545949. Update in: Front Physiol. 2023 Oct 09;14:1279170. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1279170. PMID: 37461495; PMCID: PMC10349977.
Featured image: @jeremyethier on Instagram
