Full-Body Fire

This 4-week training plan will torch body fat... fast.

Written By Jim Stoppani, PhD

Updated March 20, 2024

Full-Body Fire Program Snapshot

Length: 4 weeks
Workouts per Week: 4
Training Split: Full-body training two days a week (Days 1 and 4); two-day training split the other two days (Days 2 and 3).
Equipment: Commercial gym or well-equipped home gym.
Featured Techniques: 5x5 training, German Volume Training (10x10), and Rest Rundown.
Rep Ranges: On Days 1 and 4 in all four weeks, you'll do 5 sets of 5 reps for all exercises (10); on Days 2 and 3, you'll do 10 sets of 10 reps for all exercises (5).
Rest Periods: Following the Rest Rundown protocol, you'll rest 60 seconds between all sets in all workouts in Week 1, 50 seconds in Week 2, 40 seconds in Week 3, and 30 seconds in Week 4.
Cardio: Optional; cardioacceleration between sets, or HIIT cardio at the end of the workout or on non-training days.
Meal Plan: Dieting 101 or Intermittent Fasting to maximize fat loss; Muscle-Building Rules to maximize mass-gaining.
Summary: The Full-Body Fire program utilizes three distinct training protocols to maximize fat loss while also building muscle mass and strength. The three protocols are 5x5, German Volume Training (GVT or 10x10), and Rest Rundown. The 5x5 scheme is done two days every week (Days 1 and 4), GVT is done the other two days (Days 2 and 3), and Rest Rundown is incorporated on a week-to-week by decreasing rest periods between all sets by 10 seconds every week.
Note: If you’re a beginner or just getting back to the gym after an extended time away (months or years), this program will likely be too intense/advanced for you. If you’re a beginner, consider my Beginner to Advanced Program before doing this program.

Maximize fat loss in four weeks while training only four days a week — that's exactly what you'll do with my Full-Body Fire plan.

How is that possible? By combining three of my favorite training techniques into one program:

This is the perfect month-long program to use in between JimStoppani.com challenges, or anytime you need to fill a gap in your schedule between longer programs. Full-Body Fire is even a great lead-up program before a beach vacation where you'll want to look as ripped as possible in a bathing suit.

Are you ready to blast some fat while building lean muscle and even getting stronger? This is the perfect program for you!

How Full-Body Fire Burns Fat While Building Size and Strength

As I just mentioned, Full-Body Fire features three distinct training techniques over the course of four weekly workouts. Two of those workouts each week (Day 1 and Day 4) will employ 5x5 training, and the other two (Days 2 and 3) will revolve around GVT (10x10). Rest Rundown is incorporated throughout the program on a week-to-week basis.

Here’s a refresher on the three techniques, even though many JimStoppani.com members may already be familiar with them…

The 5x5 protocol is exactly what it sounds like: 5 sets of 5 reps for all exercises. On Days 1 and 4, you’ll train all 10 major muscle groups (chest, back, legs, shoulders, traps, triceps, biceps, abs, forearms, calves) with that set-rep scheme. With 5x5, you’re getting a combination of both high volume (because five sets is a relatively high amount for one exercise) and heavy weight (because five reps constitutes a relatively high load). Because of these two factors, you’re developing both muscle size (due to the volume) and strength (heavy loads).

German Volume Training involves a repetitive set-rep scheme as well — 10x10 — but it provides a much different, and frankly more demanding, training stimulus than 5x5. You’re again doing high volume (because 10 sets of one exercise is a lot), but the weight will be considerably lighter (light enough to allow you to still get 10 reps, or close to it, on the last set). With GVT, you will not be training all 10 muscle groups in each workout; rather, you’ll train half the bodyparts on Day 2 (chest, back, shoulders, traps, abs) and the other half on Day 3 (legs, calves, triceps, biceps, forearms). The reason for this is simple: 10 sets per exercise is very high volume!

Finally, you have Rest Rundown. This is a scheme that I developed where the weight remains constant throughout the program, but rest periods decrease every week. In my other two programs that use this technique (3x3 Rest Rundown and Full-Body 3x3), rest periods drop by 15 seconds each week. In Full-Body Fire, rest periods will decrease by only 10 seconds each week — starting at 60 seconds between sets in Week 1 and finishing at 30 seconds in Week 4.

Fat Loss Through Exercise Selection

The exercises you perform in the four weekly workouts will vary from day to day.

Workout 1 will focus mainly on multijoint (compound) exercises with the 5x5 protocol for all 10 exercises.

Workouts 2 and 3, where you’re only training five muscle groups, will be a mix of multijoint and single-joint (isolation) exercises.

Workout 4 is nothing but single-joint exercises for all 10 muscle groups.

This blend of compound and isolation work will promote both muscle size and strength gains – size through exhausting every last muscle fiber of all bodyparts, and strength through big lifts like deadlifts, squats, and bench press.

Picking the Right Weight

In accordance with the Rest Rundown protocol, the weight you use on each set will remain the same throughout the four weeks of the program, whether you’re doing 5x5 or 10x10 (GVT). Use the first week of the program to do some trial and error on each exercise to determine the best weight to achieve the prescribed sets and reps without it being too easy. With 5x5, you may need to err on

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