Full-Body Workout in the Park

I've been touting the benefits of full-body workouts for a while now – and for good reason. Research shows that full-body workouts are more effective at burning fat than split-body workouts (ie, chest and triceps or back and biceps). Here's an article I wrote recently on this topic: Full-Body Training for Full Fat Loss.

There are any number of ways to train the whole body over the course of a single training session. You can pick a few full-body exercises and hammer those over and over, or you can pick one or two exercises per major bodypart and rotate between those. The possibilites are endless. In recent months, I've given you a few different varieties of full body workouts – for example, 7 Station Shred, On the Road Band Workout, and my Full Body Triset Thrasher. These are all great options for maximizing fat loss while also building muscle and gaining some strength.

My latest full-body workout is one I did at a nearby park here in LA. This particular park is a fully equipped space with various leverage machines and bars for bodyweight exercises like pull-ups and dips. Not everyone has such a fitness-friendly park at their disposable, but that's not the point. This workout can be done in any gym or even at home by substituting in comparable movements for the ones listed.

The gist of this workout is that I split it up into four separate portions: (1) a chest/back circuit consisting of seven different exercises; (2) an arms (biceps/triceps) circuit of five exercises; (3) a legs superset/compound set with two exercises; and (4) a calves/abs triset (three exercises). I did three rounds of each circuit/superset/triset, in the order listed – so three rounds of the chest/back circuit, then three rounds of the arms circuit, and so on, finishing with three times through the calves/abs triset. 

Below is the actual workout I did. And because I was using unique equipment at that park, I've listed a common piece of gym equipment for each exercise (in parentheses) that can be subbed in.

"In the Park" Full-Body Workout

1) Chest/Back Circuit

Push-Ups

Reverse-Grip Leverage Chest Press (Machine Chest Press or Smith Machine Bench Press with Reverse Grip)

Overhand-Grip Leverage Chest Press (Machine Chest Press or Smith Machine Bench Press)

Pull-Ups

Straight-Arm Pulldowns on Leverage Machine (Cable Straight-Arm Pulldown)

Overhand Pulldowns on Leverage Machine (Lat Pulldown)

Reverse-Grip Pulldown on Leverage Machine (Reverse-Grip Lat Pulldown)

Do all 7 exercises consecutively one after the other without resting, taking each set to failure or close to it in the 10-15-rep range. Take a 1-2-minute break, then repeat the circuit two more times (three rounds total).

2) Biceps/Triceps Circuit

Chin-Ups

Bodyweight Curls (Barbell or Dumbbell Curl)

Triceps Dip (Dips with torso vertical to focus on the triceps, or Bench Dips)

Close-Grip Push-Ups

Dips on Pulldown Leverage Machine (Dips, Machine Dips or Assisted Dips)

Do all 5 exercises consecutively one after the other without resting, taking each set to failure or close to it in the 10-15-rep range. Take a 1-2-minute break, then repeat the circuit two more times (three rounds total).

3) Legs Supersets

Step-Ups on Leverage Leg Press Machine Seat (Dumbbell Step-Up using a plyo box or bench)

One-Leg Leg Press on Leverage Leg Press (One-Leg Leg Press on a standard leg press machine)

Superset the exercises, taking each set to failure in the 15-20-rep range. Rest 2-3 minutes, then repeat two more times (three supersets total).

4) Calves/Abs Trisets

One-Leg Standing Calf Raise

One-Leg Seated Calf Raise on Leverage Machine (One-Leg Seated Calf Raise on a standard seated calf raise machine)

Hanging Yogi Leg Raise (Video demonstration of this exercise here: Yogi Leg Raise video)

Do all 3 exercises consecutively one after the other without resting, taking each set to failure or close to it in the 15-20-rep range. Take a 1-2-minute break, then repeat the triset two more times (three trisets total).

Download This Workout

Give this full-body routine a try and let me know how you like it. Reach out to me via Facebook or Twitter, and visit the JYM Army Facebook page for feedback from the rest of the JYM Army,

Related Articles

• 
  Full-Body Workout for Fat Loss

  Maximize fat-burning while also possibly getting a boost in strength and size by rethinking your training split.

• 
  4-Minute Muscle Full-Body Workout

  Take a different approach to your training to spark intensity and break through a plateau by using my 4-Minute Muscle method. This full-body routine will torch bodyfat and build solid muscle.

• 
  Train Like Jim: Two Home Gym Full-Body Workouts

  Trisets and giant sets make this pair of workouts highly intense, not to mention time-efficient, to promote both fat loss and muscle-building.

• 
  The Best Full-Body Workout for Men

  A guide to the best men’s workout schedule to build muscle, burn fat, and stay fit.