Happy Monday, Friends!
Though I typically would not recommend full-body workouts as your only form of resistance training if you are trying to build muscle, they can be great once or twice a week! The best way to build muscle is by fully-exhausting one muscle group so that is breaks down and has to rebuild the tissue (hypertrophy training). Full-body workouts typically aren't long enough to fully-exhaust each muscle group, but rather hit multiple groups to a lesser degree.
I usually incorporate them once a week after I have given a day to each muscle group (s) during the week. Friday or Saturday are perfect for a full-body workout since most of my other muscles haven't fully recovered from their specific lifting day. And there is just something sweet about not having to rush during full-body makes it perfect for a Saturday morning.
Here is a little video I put together (I'm VERY new to this) with some of my favorite full-body exercises that implement the tips shared below). I would typically start with 30-40 minutes cardio, followed by 30-40 minutes resistance with plyos and maybe end with a steady state walk to cool down for 10-15 minutes)
1. Recruit Multiple Muscle Groups at Once
You could work your shoulders in an isolated shoulder press, or you could get a lot more bang for your buck by performing the curtsey lung with shoulder fly to hit the quadriceps, hamstrings and shoulders all at once. Same thing with a burpee to shoulder press--more exertion equals higher calorie burn!
2. Keep Heart Rate Up
Without compromising form, try to push yourself with the speed at which you are performing sets and the amount of rest in between. This will allow your to get the aerobic benefit of cardio without ever having to get on the stairmaster or treadmill! Add in those plyometric movements: jump squats, jump lunges, jump rope, high knees, jumping jacks, bench hops, in between sets-- those are great for keeping the body lean and toned while burning fat.
3. Keep Repetitions Higher
Since you are going to be working a broad range of muscles, this isn't the time to really look to increase strength by going your heaviest on weight for very few reps. Instead, pick a challenging weight, but increase your repetitions to 15-20 to really fatigue your muscles.
Below are a few of the exercises completed 15-20 reps in real time--now remember, it's not enough to watch me do it, YOU have to put it into practice to benefit.
Example of the curtsey lunge with 7 lb lateral raise plates-- sorry these videos are pretty unedited ;)
15 lb dumbells used
And even though I am not a very good example in this area, be sure to stretch and cool down after a full-body workout :) Enjoy!