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Full-Body Strength-Training Mash-Up

Full-Body Strength-Training Mash-Up

This two-week program features 12 different training techniques – a new technique every day – for the ultimate full-body shock treatment.

Written By Jim Stoppani, PhD

Updated May 14, 2019

In the last 2+ months, I’ve taken you through 12 different full-body programs, each highlighting a different training technique and lasting anywhere from 4-7 days.

Now, before we move on to the next technique, lucky #13, let’s do a crash course in the first dozen. This way, you can enjoy your favorite workouts all over again – or hate your least favorites ones a second time! – or you can try them out for the first time if you're joining late.

Over the next two weeks, you’re going to do one workout each of the first 12 techniques, in the order I presented them on JimStoppani.com and bodybuilding.com – the first six on consecutive days, then one rest day, followed by the next six.

Here’s what the schedule will look like:

Workout 1: 4-Minute Muscle

Workout 2: Full-Body 5-System

Workout 3: Power Pyramid

Workout 4: Giant Program 2.0

Workout 5: Whole-Body H.I.T. Blitz

Workout 6: Whole-Body Hundreds

Rest Day

Workout 7: Alternating Rest-Pause 2.0

Workout 8: Circuit Maximus

Workout 9: 5x5 Full-Blown

Workout 10: Full-Body Superset System

Workout 11: Whole-Body Speed Set Training

Workout 12: Full-Body 21s

Rest Day (before starting on the next technique/program)

I’ll be posting these workouts on my social media channels (Facebook and Instagram) on a daily basis, from September 18 through September 30, with the day in the middle (September 24) being an active rest day.

As I go through the two weeks, I’ll also be updating this article with the workouts I post on social media so that you’ll be able to see them all compiled into one article and be able to conventiently download them to your mobile device.

If you're unfamiliar with any of the programs or techniques, click on the above links to view the full articles and explanations.

As if your muscles weren't confused enough with a new style of training every 4-7 days, this two-week refresher of all 12 techniques will take the confusion to another level.

Keep up with me on social media... and stay JYM Army Strong!

#JYMLife

Full-Body Mash-Up Workouts

To download a workout to your mobile device, click on the workout title – Workout 1, Workout 2, etc.

Workout 1: 4-Minute Muscle

Directions: For each exercise, you'll do as many reps as possible in 4 minutes, using a weight that's roughly your 12-15-rep max (12-15RM). You should be aiming to get between 36 and 45 reps per exercise – fewer than that and you've probably gone too heavy; more than that and you've probably gone too light. For further instruction, read my 4-Minute Muscle article.

Cable Crossover
Lat Pulldown
Squat
Shoulder Press
Shrug
Standing Calf Raise
Triceps Pressdown
Standing Cable Preacher Curl
Wrist Curl
Crunch

Workout 2: Full-Body 5-System

Directions (which can also be found in my 5-System article): Here’s how you'll do the 5-System for each of the below 10 exercises...

Select a weight that’s relatively light for that exercise.
With your starting weight, do 5 reps with one arm or leg, then 5 with the other.
Without resting, go straight to the next heavier weight and repeat the sequence: 5 reps on each side.
Continue “running the rack” in this fashion – 5 reps per arm or leg at each 5- or 10-pound increment – until you can no longer do 5 reps per side with good form.
At this point, work your way back down, going to failure at each of the weights you did on the way up. On these sets, just go to failure if you can’t reach 5 reps (doing 4, 3, 2 or 1 reps), then switch arms or legs and go to the next lighter weight.
When you’re back to your starting weight, rep out to failure, whether that means 4, 5, 8 or 10 reps.
You’re now finished with that exercise and can move to the next one in the workout.

Exercises:

One-Arm Machine Chest Press
Dumbbell Bent-Over Row
Step-Up
One-Arm Rear Delt Flye
One-Arm Shrug
One-Leg Seated Calf Raise
Dumbbelll Kickback
Dumbbell Concentration Curl
Reverse Wrist Curl
Oblique Cable Pushdown

Workout 3: Power Pyramid

With the Power Pyramid technique, you'll essentially do 6-7 sets of each exercise (depending on how you classify the drop sets at the end) – 8 and 5 reps for power on the first two sets; 6 reps each on the next two sets for strength; and then three drop sets to finish off, which will promote muscle mass. For a more thorough description of the full-body Power Pyramid scheme, read the overview article for it.

I was short on time when I did this workout, so I confined the entire workout to the power rack, a barbell, and a bench. I was able to bang this one out in 30 minutes… but I took almost no rest.

Bench Press
Power Row
Deadlift
Barbell Upright Row
Barbell Shrug
Barbell Seated Calf
Close-Grip Bench Press
Barbell Curl
Barbell Wrist Curl
Barbell Crunch

Workout 4: Giant Program 2.0

With my full-body Giant Program, for each muscle group you'll do four exercises back-to-back-to-back-to-back with no rest (a giant set). You'll do one giant per muscle group, but it works out to four exercises per, and 40 exercises for the workout (though technically just one set of each).

On this day, for each giant set, you'll pre-exhaust your muscles with 21-25 reps on the first two exercises (isolation moves) and 9-11 reps on the next two (compound moves).

Chest: Incline Dumbbell Flye/Dumbbell Flye/Dumbbell Bench Press/Reverse-Grip Dumbbell Press
Back: Straight-Arm Pulldown/Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown/Incline Dumbbell Row/Seated Cable Row (close-grip)
Legs: Leg Curl/Walking Lunge/Romanian Deadlift/Squat
Shoulders: Bent-Over Lateral Raise/Dumbbell Lateral Raise/Dumbbell Upright Row/Dumbbell Shoulder Press
Traps: Straight-Arm Pushdown/Prone Incline Bench Dumbbell Shrug/Dumbbell Shrug
Calves: Smith Machine Seated Calf Raise/Seated Calf Raise/One-Leg Standing Calf Raise/Standing Calf Raise
Triceps: Reverse-Grip Triceps Pressdown/Triceps Pressdown/Dumbbell Overhead Extension/ Bench Dip
Biceps: Hammer Curl/Prone Incline Dumbbell Curl/Alternating Dumbbell Curl/Incline Dumbbell Curl
Forearms: Dumbbell Reverse Wrist Curl/Dumbbell Wrist Curl/Barbell Reverse Wrist Curl/Barbell Wrist Curl
Abs/Core: Plank/Crunch/Standing Cable Oblique Pressdown/Smith Machine Hip Thrust

Workout 5: Whole-Body H.I.T. Blitz

In this workout, you'll be doing one warm-up set and one working set per muscle group – but that working set is a brutal one. Here's how you'll do it:

Warm-Up Set: Using 50% of your estimated 3-6RM, do anywhere from 5-7 reps, stopping well short of failure. Rest 1 minute or so, then move onto your working set.

Working Set: (1) Using your 3-6RM max, rep out to failure (3-6 reps); (2) Rest 10-20 seconds, then pick up that weight again and go to failure (rest-pause); (3) Immediately lighten the load to your warm-up weight (50% of 3-6RM) and go to failure again (drop set); (4) Rest 10-20 seconds, then pick up that lighter weight again and go to failure (another rest-pause set); (5) Without resting, finish the set with either cheat reps (allowing a little “body English” to help you get a few more reps) or forced reps (having a partner help you get 2-3 more reps after reaching failure; or, if you’re training alone but doing a one-arm dumbbell exercise, using your non-working hand to help you get the forced reps.

You’re done with that exercise. Rest 1-2 minutes or as little as you like and move onto the next muscle group.

Reverse-Grip Dumbbell Bench Press
Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown
Front Squat
Dumbbell Lateral Raise
Barbell Shrug
Seated Calf Raise
Dumbbell Overhead Extension
Preacher Curl
Behind the Back Wrist Curl
Smith Machine Hip Thrust

Workout 6: Whole-Body Hundreds

One set of 100 reps per exercise (10 of them) in this workout. But not 100 consecutive reps. For each exercise, choose a weight you can do for around 30 reps (approximately 30% of your 10RM), then use the rest-pause technique to reach 100 reps – rep out to failure (or close to it), then set the weight down and rest for 10-20 seconds. Pick it back up and continue repping out until reaching failure again, then rest another 10-20 seconds. Repeat in this manner until you reach 100 reps.

Cable Crossover (High Pulley)
Straight-Arm Pulldown
Reverse Hamstring Extension
High Cable Rear Delt Flye
Cable Shrug
Standing Calf Raise
Triceps Pressdown
Standing Cable Concentration Curl
Dumbbell Reverse Wrist Curl
Reverse Crunch

Workout 7: Alternating Rest-Pause 2.0

With Alternating Rest-Pause 2.0, you’ll do two sets of each of the below unilateral exercises following a 3-3-3-2-2-1 rep pattern. Here’s the protocol you’ll use for each move:

(1) Choose a weight that allows you to complete about 6-8 reps. (2) Do three reps on the right side, then immediately switch to the left and do three reps there. Repeat this two more times, three reps per side. At this point you’ll have completed the “3-3-3” portion. (3) Immediately after those last three reps, keep alternating back and forth, only with two reps per side. Do this for two sets (2-2). (4) After that, you’ll do one last rep for each side. Your first alternating rest-pause set for that exercise is complete.

On the second set, instead of doing one rep for each side at the end, you’ll take that last part to failure instead of stopping at one rep. For further explanation of the technique, read my Alternating Rest-Pause 2.0 article.

One-Arm Cable Crossover (low pulley)
One-Arm Lat Pulldown
Standing Leg Curl
One-Arm Cable Shoulder Press
One-Arm Cable Shrug
Cable Toe Raise
One-Arm Reverse-Grip Triceps Pressdown
One-Arm High Cable Curl
Dumbbell Wrist Curl
Cable Woodchopper

Workout 8: Circuit Maximus

For today's workout, we move over to circuits. Do any version you like of the below 10 moves. Consider using dumbbells so that you don’t lose your bench or weights when you move from one exercise to the next. The exercises I chose can all be done in one spot with just a bench and dumbbells. Try doing the workouts nonstop for 3 circuits and see how long it takes you AND how dead you are when you’re done!

Do 10 reps per set of all exercises.

For more circuit-training insight, read my Circuit Maximus article.

Dumbbell Bench Press
Incline Dumbbell Row
Dumbbell Step-Up
Dumbbell Lateral Raise
Behind the Back Dumbbell Shrug
Seated Calf Raise
Dumbbell Lying Triceps Extension
Incline Dumbbell Curl
Dumbbell Wrist Curl
Crunch

Workout 9: 5x5 Full-Blown

Here, we take on my sped-up version of 5x5. Do any version you prefer of the below exercises – barbell, dumbbells, machine, cables, your call – and do 5 sets of 5 reps with the same weight for each move. The trick is, you have a minute or less between all sets and all exercises. The goal is to be able to complete 5 reps on the last set. How fast can you complete this workout?!

Check out my 5x5 Full-Blown article for more information on the technique.

Bench Press
Lat Pulldown
Squat
Shoulder Press
Shrug
Calf Raise
Triceps Pressdown
Biceps Curl
Reverse Wrist Curl
Crunch

Workout 10: Full-Body Superset System

Nothing but supersets in this workout – two exercises performed back-to-back with no rest. You’ll do 3 sets per exercise and 6-8 reps per set. Here, I paired opposing muscle groups and movements (a true superset) for the first four exercise pairings before finishing off with compound sets (same muscle group) for forearms and calves.

For more insight on my Full-Body Superset System, read the overview article.

Back/Chest: Barbell Bent-Over Row + Bench Press
Legs/Abs: Squat + Barbell Roll Out
Traps/Shoulders: Straight-Arm Pushdown + Barbell Upright Row
Triceps/Biceps: Triceps Pressdown + Standing Barbell Curl
Forearms: Barbell Reverse Wrist Curl + Barbell Wrist Curl
Calves: Seated Toe Raise + Standing Calf Raise

Workout 11: Whole-Body Speed Set Training

My Speed Set method calls for 2 sets of 15 reps of each of the below exercises. But these aren’t just 15 standard reps. Here’s the protocol for each set:

Reps 1-5: As fast and explosive as possible on the positive (concentric) portion of each rep, while still controlling the negative.
Reps 6-10: Super slow reps – five seconds up, five seconds down. About 10 seconds per rep, 50 seconds total for these five reps.
Reps 11-15: Normal pace reps. If you choose the correct weight, you should hit failure right around rep #15.
That's one set. Rest 1-2 minutes, then complete one more set in the same manner.

More details on Whole-Body Speed Sets can be found here.

Machine Chest Press
Seated Cable Row (close-grip)
Dumbbell Squat
Standing Dumbbell Shoulder Press
Cable Shrug
Standing Calf Raise
Rope Triceps Pressdown
Cable Curl
Dumbbell Wrist Curl
Crunch

Workout 12: Full-Body 21s

In the final workout of my Full-Body Mash-Up 2-week program, you’ll be doing 21s for every bodypart – 2 sets each. In the Speed Set Training workout, we broke the set down into three different rep speeds. Here, with 21s, we break the set down into three different ranges of motion (ROM). Each set will consist of 21 reps in this fashion: The first 7 reps performed through the first half of the exercise’s range of motion (ROM); the next 7 reps performed through the last half of ROM; and the last 7 reps performed with full ROM.

The one exception to this will be for pulldowns, the one back exercise. Here, the first 7 reps are done from the halfway point to the bar touching chest; the next 7 reps are done from the arms fully extended until you pull to the halfway point; and the last 7 are full ROM from full arm extension to the chest.

For insight on my Full-Body 21s, read my original article.