How important is it to train all muscle groups?

Most of us aren’t looking for a muscle bound body worthy of fitness competitions. Instead, we’re looking for a toned, healthy physique. To achieve this, we still need to train all of our muscle groups. 

To get optimal results we should aim to train these areas a minimum of twice a week, but it is also important to rest these areas, we recommend a rest period of 48 hours in between training each body part, (so if you trained the legs on a Monday, you would need to wait till at least Wednesday to train them again, but you could train the chest and arms say on the Tuesday). 

The importance of whole body fitness 

Whole body fitness is important for keeping all of our muscles strong and healthy. But this isn’t just important for our external physique, it’s also important internally. Strong muscles help to support a strong skeleton too, which is important for keeping us agile and upright. 

This becomes even more important as we approach or go through the menopause. During the perimenopause and the menopause, our oestrogen levels fall which, among many other things, also causes the bones to lose mass and strength. Weakened bones are more susceptible to breaks and fractures if we trip or fall, resistance training can help to improve bone density and so therefore is important for improving overall health and wellbeing. 

Not all muscles are created equal, either. The large muscles that we can see in for example our thighs and buttocks are our ‘mover’ muscles. They allow us to move around, and they’re also the muscles that we think about when we consider a fit, toned physique as they’re the visible ones. 

But deeper within our bodies are the smaller muscles that we also need to train. These are the muscles we don’t see and are called the ‘stabilisers’. As their name suggests, they stabilise us, keeping us upright and are found in the joints and along the spine. The stabiliser muscles are just as important to train, and can be trained during a whole body workout approach. 

How do I make sure I’m training in all the right places?

Your OYG workout plan will help you target all of your muscle groups in a healthy, balanced way, so make sure you keep up with your training plan! 

Alternatively, you can use a different approach. If you’re working out three times a week for example, then you can complete a whole body workout each time. Or you can concentrate on your upper body, then your lower body and then full body, on the three separate days. 

Alternatively, you can discover muscle grouping, where you group large sets of muscles together, for example, the chest and shoulders, then the legs and abs, then the back and arms on separate days. For more on this, check out our post, How to Structure Your Workouts to Cover All Muscle Groups.