Last Updated on January 21, 2020 by Nick J-Pepe
When it comes to losing weight, there are many different things you need to do. You will need to change your lifestyle, how you eat as well as a workout on a regular basis.
Many people are confused about whether to do full-body workout vs. split for weight loss, and the truth is, there is merit to both approaches.
If you have a lot of weight to lose, then the most important thing you can do is get started and just start exercising. After all, this will help you to lose weight regardless, once you start burning more energy than your body needs.
1) Change your diet habits
Now, the first thing you need to do in order to lose weight is to change your diet.
This is especially critical if you eat a lot of processed foods, snacks, junk, ice cream, pizzas, frozen dinners, etc. Instead, you will need to eat a diet that is high in lean protein, vegetables, fruits, whole grains, seeds, legumes, etc.
This is a much more natural diet, that isn’t processed and doesn’t contain harmful chemicals, toxins, and excess calories. If this seems to be too extreme, then you should simply start to count calories and eat whatever you like.
2) Determine how many calories you need
You will need to determine how many calories you need to eat per day to maintain your current body weight. There are many calculators that you can use to do so.
These calculators will require you to input your current weight, age, gender, height, and activity level. So, if you have a TDEE of 2500, then you will need to eat 2500 calories every day to maintain your weight.
If you eat less than 2,500 calories, then you will lose weight. It is best to only cut your calories by about 500 since if you reduce your daily intake too much, then this will have adverse effects on your health and energy levels.
In this scenario, if you need 2500 calories to maintain weight, and you eat only 2000 calories per day, then you will have a deficit of 3500 calories per week, which will result in a loss of 1 lb. If you add exercise to that equation, then you will definitely lose much more weight.
3) Count calories in the beginning
When you are counting calories, it is essential that you use a digital food scale to weigh and measure your food. It is very easy to underestimate how much food and calories you’re consuming on a daily basis.
As a result, you should use a food scale and make sure to read the nutritional panel of all foods before you consume them. There are many online tools that you can use to log your food, such as My Fitness pal which also has an app for your phone.
4) Full body workout vs. split for weight loss
4.1) Full body workout
Now, once you have your diet covered, then you need to look at exercise. In this case, we will be discussing a full-body workout vs. split-for weight-loss.
A full body workout as the name implies is doing weight training that involves all the parts of your body, in one work out. This means that you workout all the major body groups such as your arms, chest, legs, quads, back and abs, all in one day and one workout.
You usually do a full body workout, about three to four days per week, with rest days in between. Alternatively, a split body workout involves training each individual body group, on different days for the week.
For example, you can train arms on Monday, legs on Tuesday, back on Wednesday, chest on Thursday and Abs on Friday. There are merits of doing both types of work out splits, and we will now take a closer look at these.
4.2) Split for weight loss
If you’re accustomed to working out and have done weight training in the past, then a split body workout may be the best for you. It is more advanced than full body workouts and is best for people who already have some muscle mass and have been training for at least a few months.
However, if you’re a complete beginner, and have never done any weight training before, then you should do a full body workout, three or four times per week. This will help you to develop some much-needed muscle mass and get your body accustomed to weight training.
It is a great way to build a decent base, and you should move onto split body training, after at least three months of full body training.
5) Deciding which one to use: full-body workout vs. split for weight loss
When it comes to deciding whether you should do full-body workout vs. split-for weight-loss, the truth is both works quite well. However, if you are a complete beginner, you should do the full body work out first, before doing split workouts.
What actually matters the most is the intensity of your workouts and how much you push yourself. In the end, weight loss is all about burning calories, and you need to push yourself in the gym to burn as many calories possible.
This means that you should have a program to follow and aim to do between 10 – 15 reps per exercise. It is best to rest a maximum of 30 – 60 seconds in between sets so that your heart rate remains high and that you keep burning calories.
6) Do some cardio
In addition to doing weight training, you should also do cardiovascular training as well. It is highly recommended that you do cardio training at least 2 – 3 times per week, for at least 30 minutes in addition to weight training.
There are many ways that you can do cardio, such as walking, jogging, running, biking, rowing, using the elliptical machine, aerobics, etc. You should also do HIIT training, which will help you to burn more calories in less time.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we just took a closer look at a full body workout vs. split for weight loss.
They are both excellent for weight loss, and the most important thing is simply working out on a consistent basis.
Once you keep your diet and exercise plan consistent, you will definitely achieve your weight loss goals.