Despite working out consistently for over 20 years and lifting heavy the past few years, I have been getting squishy. There are a lot of reasons this has happened. A few years ago I quit doing doubles. Doing a “double” is just a second workout of the day. I have been working out for an hour every morning for 20+ years but I also frequently did a second approximately 30 minute cardio work in the late afternoon at the end of my work day. A few years ago I just decided I didn’t feel like doing that anymore and would rather devote that time to reading, so I quit doing doubles. I went through chemically induced menopause in 2018 (chemo) and am now post-menopause. The scale and fat have been slowly creeping since menopause began so I do believe menopause is a component. Additionally, I have (obsessively) tracked what I ate for many years. A few years ago I decided I didn’t feel like tracking everything I put in my mouth anymore. So I stopped. And I am positive that because of that I am eating more. So there are several valid reasons outside of the type of strength workouts I choose to do that are contributing to my weight and fat gain. However, in the last 2-3 years, my focus has markedly shifted to lifting heavier and muscle splits. Part of it was just challenging myself to get stronger, which was really important to me after losing so much strength when I went through cancer treatment, reconstruction and shoulder surgery (2018-2020). But more recently, I read Next Level, a book about fitness during peri-menopause, menopause and post-menopause. I incorporated a lot of what she suggested in that book and one of the things she recommended was lifting heavy. And though I have gotten a lot stronger, I have also gotten squishier. My strength training consisted of primarily muscle splits Monday through Thursday with a full body strength workout most Saturdays.
With my background out of the way (which is the reason I created this rotation), let me get to the science behind this rotation. I subscribe to Arnold Schwartzenegger’s newsletter. In it he shared two studies, one recent (2024) and one from a few years ago (2021). This rotation is based on the 2024 study but the 2021 study will (hopefully) play a part in the end results. The 2024 study is titled Full body resistance training promotes greater fat mass loss than a split body routine in well trained males. (To read the full study click on the “Free Full Text PCM” icon in the upper right hand side of the screen–it is level with the title.) Arnold’s newsletter summarizes the results nicely: “The group doing the full-body workouts decreased their body fat by 5.7 percent, whereas the split-body training gained 2.1 percent.” This was a 10 week study. Those are pretty amazing results. Here’s the snag for some people. The participants trained 5 consecutive days a week, regardless of whether they did splits or full body workouts. That is not what we have been taught at all, has it? You ALWAYS rest a muscle group a minimum of 48 hours before working it again, right? Well, not in this study; they hammered the same muscles daily with heavy weight. There’s more: “those doing the full-body workouts lifted a little more than 615,000 kg, and those doing the split routine did a little more than 394,000—meaning that the full-body routine resulted in 56 percent more total volume.” What the what? It gets better: “the full body group also had significantly less soreness and fatigue, allowing them to push harder each workout.”
Now, I am not a man in my 20s (age of study participants) but good luck getting a study like this done on post-menopausal women. Using this study as my guideline, I created a 10 week rotation in which I did 4 full body strength workouts a week. I also did 2 splits for about 2/3 of the rotation, but the splits were cardio + strength to make them metabolic. That is 6 strength workouts a week done back to back. The last 1/3 of the rotation I did 6 total body strength workouts a week. Of the full body workouts, all have a metabolic factor just because they are total body workouts but others are designed to be metabolic because they are cardio + strength, PHA or bootcamp style workouts. I gave myself one rest/recovery day week. On the recovery day I did pure cardio, mobility, yoga, foam rolling and flexibility workouts.
Finally, let me touch on the other study. It really just adds some additional evidence on why full body routines are more conducive to fat loss than split routines: Appetite is suppressed after full body resistance exercise compared with split body resistance exercise. The title says it all but here is a summary, again from Arnold’s newsletter: “Participants who completed full-body resistance exercises reported significantly lower appetite levels and greater changes in appetite-regulating hormones, including higher lactate levels and greater autonomic nervous system activation. … It appears that the more lactate you produce, the more you lower ghrelin, which is the hormone that increases your appetite.”
The rotation below is made up of the workouts I chose to do. That does not make them the best workouts to do, merely what I chose to do. And it is a very self-indulgent rotation. Having now completed the rotation, I can attest that they were not all the best workouts that could have been used. The first, most obvious bit of self-indulgence is including muscle splits in the first 2/3 of the rotation. That is not what the study called for at all. In fact, it called for the opposite! So who knows if that played a part in my results. The other aspect of self-indulgence is the no repeat aspect. In 10 weeks I did a different workout every single day. It probably would have been better to have chosen a handful of the very best and repeated those for 10 weeks. And the final bit of self-indulgence was my desire to revisit workouts I haven’t done in years. I relied completely on my blog reviews to choose them. Some of those reviews are many years old (some a decade!) and when I returned to some of the workouts (a small percentage), I did not love them as much as I apparently did when I reviewed them years ago.
It is unlikely someone who comes to this rotation will have access to all of the workouts listed below. Many are available for free on YouTube but there are also many DVD workouts and some that are part of a paid streaming service (CGX and Cathe Live; Cathe Live workouts also available for purchase individually as downloads). My suggestion is to do the ones you have access to. If it is a workout you do not have access to then you can peruse this page (Total Body Workouts) and choose something from there. But that is a collection of all of the total body strength workouts I have reviewed–DVD, YouTube and streaming. A better solution would be to choose something from Heather Robertson’s Total Body Strength workouts or Caroline Girvan’s (on this page, the workouts without “CGX” in front of the name are free on YouTube). Those are all free and available to everyone. Or if you have another favorite trainer who does total body strength workouts, use those. Finally, I know a question will emerge that has come up in the past (more recently when I sent out an early version of this post by accident). Where can you get MetaShred Extreme? I have no idea. It has disappeared completely. Every time I am asked this question I try to find it used and it doesn’t even exist used. I have no clue why. BJ Gaddour has a pretty healthy social media presence, so anyone truly curious can ask him via one of his social media platforms. I have not asked him because I already own the program. If he replies, please share his answer here or on the review page!
I started this rotation on 08/12/24. The first 2 weeks I was really surprised that I did not get excessive muscle soreness or excessive fatigue. That changed in Week 3. Tuesday I felt terrible. My lower body was so sore I had to take a foam rolling break during the day then take an 800mg ibuprofen to sleep that night. Luckily, Wednesday I already had planned to do a cardio + bodyweight strength lower body workout that gave me some lower body recovery. You will notice in Weeks 3 & 4 my Recovery Day shifted around. I did not actually do a recovery workout in Week 3 and only did one in Week 4 (rather than the two the rotation shows). You have to be flexible and due to life’s unfortunate circumstances, I had to shift things around and skip workouts during that 2 week period. Week 6 I had to take 2 recovery days in a row. And I used them as recovery days–foam rolling and stretching and mobility. This rotation was starting to run me down–both soreness and fatigue. However, Week 6 is actually more representative of the actual study–5 days of workouts with 2 days or rest. Starting at Week 8, I only did total body strength workouts (so for 3 weeks). Please note that the rotation below is only a documentation of what I did. You do what works for you.
How did I measure results? I did not do any high tech body fat scanning. I do own a body fat scale but I question its validity. My weight (and everyone else’s) fluctuates from day to day and, according to my scale, so does my body fat–but only in relation to my weight. If my weight holds steady so does my body fat. If I gain weight–even a few ounces, my body fat goes up the same amount–basically in tandem and always the exact same amount. I find that questionable–almost like it is an algorithm rather than based on reality. So I went with how I looked and how my clothes fit. I did notice my appetite was sometimes more suppressed than normal. But it wasn’t consistent or predictable and I still got ravenously hungry at times. The only dietary restriction the study participants had was no alcohol. They were instructed to otherwise eat as they normally do and the only supplement they were given was a protein shake with 24 grams of protein after every workout. I also did not alter my diet. I am a vegan who rarely drinks alcohol. I did not drink any alcohol during this rotation. I also drink a vegan protein shake after every workout.
What were my results? I am sorry to report that I do not feel like I lost any fat. My clothes fit the same and my body looks the same. But I am also not a man in his 20s. Women are built different than men and 50+ year old post-menopause women are definitely different from 20 year old men. I am certain had I also done the work in the kitchen I would have seen results but that is true of any fitness program. But I did really enjoy this rotation–even when it was seriously kicking my butt. I really enjoyed revisiting many of the older workouts and I now want to incorporate them more often. Tracie Long workouts are really excellent workouts. I clearly recognized that when I did and reviewed them but then I didn’t incorporate them into my regular rotations. I am tempted to return to a revised version of this rotation. Below you will see an asterisk* next to some of the workouts. These are the workouts that I feel will work best in a pure total body strength rotation. So, were I to repeat this rotation, those would be the only workouts I used. I am not marking any of the muscle splits. Not because they are not excellent workouts but because they do not fit in a “full body” rotation. As you can see, that is far fewer workouts than what I actually did. But when going through the Total Body Workout page of my blog I was overwhelmed–they all looked like great workouts. So I did as many as I could fit in 10 weeks–and this helped me determine the best workouts for this type of rotation. Just to be clear–that does not mean the full body workouts that are not marked with an asterisk* are not great workouts. They are all great workouts. And to return to Tracy Long, here is how I would (will?) use her workouts. They are perfect to break up really heavy strength workouts like Cathe’s STS workouts and Caroline Girvan workouts.
As you can see from Week 10 below, I did not finish this rotation. I definitely wanted to but for medical reasons I have to stop lifting weights for a period of time. I decided to still list the workouts I planned to do. I believe several of them would have an asterisk next to them (particularly the Tracy Long and Naomi Joy workouts) but since I did not do them I am not adding the asterisk.
Week 1:
Monday: STS 2.0 Giant Sets Total Body*
Tuesday: LITE: PHA2 + 6 pack abs + extended stretch*
Wednesday: Naomi Joy: Lower Body Burner Circuit // Cardio + Strength // Heavy Weights
Thursday: MetaShred Extreme: Metapocalypse Upper Body 1
Friday: ICE: Boot Camp Circuit + Blizzard Blast
Saturday: CGX: Day 1 of 3 Full Body Split*
Sunday: Recovery Day (do yoga and/or mobility and/or foam rolling and/or deep stretching)
Week 2:
Monday: Naomi Joy: Mini Trampoline HIIT Circuit Workout*
Tuesday: Naomi Joy: Rebounder Total Body Circuit Workout // Strength + Cardio
Wednesday: MetaShred Extreme: Metapocolypse Lower Body 1
Thursday: 15 Min Low Impact Rebounder Upper Body Sculpt + Naomi Joy: Mini Trampoline Upper Body Sculpt
Friday: Strong & Sweaty: PHA Training + Bonus Abs*
Saturday: CGX: Day 2 of 3 Full Body Split*
Sunday: Recovery Day (do yoga and/or mobility and/or foam rolling and/or deep stretching)
Week 3:
Monday: STS 2.0: Supersets Total Body*
Wednesday: Jump Lower Body Strength & Cardio
Thursday: MetaShred Extreme: MetaGainz Upper Body 2
Friday: CGX: Day 3 of 3 Full Body Split*
Saturday: Recovery Day (do yoga and/or mobility and/or foam rolling and/or deep stretching)
Sunday: Step Boss: PHA 3 + Ab Stacker + Bonus Stretch
Week 4:
Monday: Total Body Strength Workout + Day 60: Energetic No Repeats Strength & Cardio / HR12Week 4.0
Tuesday: Fit Split: Pull Day Plus Push Day premix
Wednesday: MetaShred Extreme: MetaGainz Lower Body 2
Thursday: Recovery Day (do yoga and/or mobility and/or foam rolling and/or deep stretching)
Friday: Naomi Joy: Rebounder HIIT with Weights Workout / Cardio, Strength & Core Circuit
Saturday: MetaShred Extreme: MetaCardio Upper Body 3
Sunday: Recovery Day (do yoga and/or mobility and/or foam rolling and/or deep stretching)
Week 5:
Monday: STS 2.o: Tri Sets Total Body*
Tuesday: Intense Strength Supersets // Full Body Unilateral Workout*
Wednesday: 10 Min Rebounder Cardio + Naomi Joy: Trampoline Workout / Leg Day Workout
Thursday: MetaShred Extreme: MetaMatrix Upper Body 4
Friday: 30 Minutes to Fitness: Cardio Pump/Interval Pump premix*
Saturday: 30 Minutes to Fitness: Muscle Up/Lift 2B Fit (Full Body Workout Premix)*
Sunday: Recovery Day (do yoga and/or mobility and/or foam rolling and/or deep stretching)
Week 6:
Monday: Naomi Joy: Rebounder HIIT Total Body Circuit/Strength + Cardio*
Tuesday: Strong & Sweaty: Total Bogy Giant Sets*
Wednesday: MetaShred Extreme: MetaCardio Lower Body 3
Thursday: 15 Min Low Impact Cardio Rebounder + Naomi Joy: Rebounder Upper Body Strength Circuits // HIIT Sprints
Friday: Strength Supersets // Total Body Workout with Dumbbells + Day 30 // The Daily 10: 10 Min HIIT Strength & Cardio Workout
Saturday: Recovery Day (do yoga and/or mobility and/or foam rolling and/or deep stretching
Sunday: Recovery Day (do yoga and/or mobility and/or foam rolling and/or deep stretching)
Week 7:
Monday: Cathe Live: #309 Push Pull Total Body* + Day 15 // The Daily 10: 10 Min Total Body No Repeats Workout
Tuesday: Naomi Joy: Mini Trampoline Workout / Cardio + Strength Dumbbell Circuit / Total Body Workout*
Wednesday: MetaShred Extreme: MetaMatrix Lower Body 4
Thursday: Total Body Strength Workout // Dumbbell Supersets + Back Workout at Home | Dumbbells Only
Friday: 30 Minutes to Fitness: Cardio Sculpt Overload (main workout + all bonuses)
Saturday: 30 Minutes to Fitness: Weights (workouts 1 & 3 w/ cardio active rests)
Sunday: Recovery Day (do yoga and/or mobility and/or foam rolling and/or deep stretching)
Week 8:
Monday: Fierce Full Body Workout // Strength + Cardio* + Bully Juice: 10 Minute Dumbbell Back Workout
Tuesday: 30 Minute Upper Body & Boxing Burner Workout + Brutal HIIT Workout // Legs, Glutes + Thighs
Wednesday: 30 Minutes to Fitness: Home Gym Intervals (both workouts + Bonus Waist Line)
Thursday: 30 Minutes to Fitness: Trim Down (combined workout premix)
Friday: Cathe Live: Total Body Giant Sets
Saturday: CGX: 1 Hour All on the Posterior Chain*
Sunday: Recovery Day (do yoga and/or mobility and/or foam rolling and/or deep stretching)
Week 9:
Monday: 20 Minute Dumbbell Full Body Workout – No Repeat* + 20 Min Dumbbell Full Body Workout – Compound Movements | No Repeat*
Tuesday: Kettlebell for Beginners (entire workout)
Wednesday: Stronger Longer Volume 1*
Thursday: Signature Series Vol 1*
Friday: Fit Tower: Total Body + Bonus Abs*
Saturday: 30 Minutes to Fitness: Slim Sculpting (premix that does both workouts back to back)
Sunday: Recovery Day (do yoga and/or mobility and/or foam rolling and/or deep stretching)
Week 10:
Monday: 45 Min Full Body Kettlebell Workout at Home
Tuesday: Stronger Longer Volume 2*
Wednesday: N/A (Signature Series Vol 2)
Thursday: N/A (Naomi Joy: Mini Trampoline HIIT Circuit Workout)
Friday: N/A (Metabolic Strength Vol 1 + Vol 2)
Saturday: N/A (30 Minutes to Fitness: Strength & Stamina–combined workout premix)
Sunday: Recovery Day (do yoga and/or mobility and/or foam rolling and/or deep stretching)
thank you, 2lazy4gym, for a fascinating write-up. I have been increasingly drawn to full body workouts recently. I tried and got bored with PE (very effective but very slow and even dull IMO) but fell in love with the Full Body 3Day Split on the cgx app (is there a reason you didn’t asterisk the third day? I kinda wondered if 19 minutes between sets (ie the length of the circuits) was too much rest time for hypertrophy but that’s probably overthinking it, lol!). And Unleash Day 24, which is really tough with all the makers (I only happened on the workout because of your review so thanks, now it is a favourite). But now you make me want to go back and revisit those amazing Cathe workouts and discover some others! And maybe Jillian, the Beast, and maybe even Pump Extreme or Pump Revolution? It would be fun.:)
those studies contain a lot of food for thought. If I tried something like this I would definitely have to go back to calorie counting because yeah, middle aged spread it turns out really does exist, and the hunger is wiiild.
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Hi Sarahjane! That was actually an oversight that I will correct! I definitely think Day 3 of CGX total body workouts should be included. All 3 of them are excellent workouts. And doing total body workouts has been like going down the rabbit hole for me. I am still focusing on total body workouts–all ones I’ve done before and reviewed here. And I am really enjoying it. I am not doing them back to back though. I am taking rest days! I have thought about returning to Les Mills Pump. I remember really enjoying those workouts.
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Thank you for posting this! I really enjoyed it, as I sit on the couch with my husband and dogs eating chips
I love reading your blog, especially your Cathe reviews. I found you through your Jillian Michaels reviews, but my workouts have changed so much since then!
You are inspirational. I’m 45, approaching menopause and definitely laying down more energy stores for winter than I used to. After running three half marathons this year I’m exhausted and want to focus more on fun and full body workouts to try and get some more definition.
At this age with two young daughters I just want to feel good about myself and enjoy my workouts. I love to eat as much as I love to exercise!
Thank you for your services to exercisers all over the world.
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Thanks for posting! I am so glad my blog is useful to others!
I did really enjoy doing total body strength workouts. In fact, I am still doing them though not back to back anymore. I am mixing things up now!
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I love the efficiency of total body workouts and look forward to trying this rotation! I’ve relied on your workout summaries for quite a while, starting with Cathe who is my favorite by far. I’m 60 and have been a fitness enthusiast since I was 15. Starting with ‘aerobics’, then running, and now a more mixed bag focusing on weightlifting. I didn’t suffer too much during menopause but have always had the extra 5 – 10 lb ‘mushy’ layer. What has worked for me most recently is focusing on the protein in my diet. I find if I use that for the focus for each meal, I naturally reduce the carbs and am able to build/maintain muscle. It’s been a game changer. Have you considered introducing animal protein to your diet? I understand this may be an ethical choice, but if you’re open to it I think it could be lifechanging for you. Thank you for all you do!
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I have only been vegan for 2 years. I did start doing it for ethical and environmental reasons but to make the decision I did extensive research, which convinced me it was a better way to eat for my health as well. I have never had any problem building muscle–before or after I went vegan, and the past 2 years I have built even more muscle and strength. Eating plant protein did not hold back muscle and strength gains at all. So the amount or source of protein I eat is not an issue. I am muscular. But I have a layer of fat over it. And I know (and have always known) that the way to get rid of fat is through diet. Not by eating more animals but by eating less fat and sugar and processed foods. Knowing and doing are two different things!
This blog post is sharing an experiment I did. I read the research cited in the post and decided to try it for myself–to see if the type of workout alone could reduce fat as the study indicated. I was never certain I would even upload the blog post. Since it was an ongoing post I was creating over time, I returned it frequently. Unfortunately I accidentally hit the post button a week or two into my experiment. I deleted it immediately but those who subscribe got the email version and I was flooded with people wanting me to post it again when I was finished. Because of all the requests, I did upload it. But because of my lack of results and the fact I had to stop it in the 10th week for medical reasons, I probably would not have posted this at all had I not received so many requests.
There is a lot of information out there on the health benefits of eating a plant based diet if you know where to look. Many athletes and body builders are vegan and they are muscular, strong and lean. Here is a link to the best documentaries–all deal with health, athletic performance, the environment and the torture we subject animals to for burgers and chicken nuggets. I have watched most of them. In fact, Cowspiracy is what began my journey 2 years ago. If you prefer books (I love to read so that is the primary way I researched the topic), the best authors are T. Colin Campbell, PhD, Caldwell B. Essestyn, MD, and Dr. Michael Greger. The key to reading the right authors is finding out if they are being funded by big pharma or big agg. None of the doctors and scientists I read are funded by anyone. Their concern is public health, not their bottom line.
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I am a lurker, and I have read your reviews for years. I’m past menopause. I’ve been doing CG’s workouts since COVID, and I’ve done all the programs on the app. I also walk at least 10000 steps per day. Occasionally I add in some additional cardio or a more strenuous walk. Honestly, I can’t keep the weight on. I’m the thinnest and leanest I’ve been, plus my muscles are hard. Long slower (zone 2 cardio) is great for fat burning. Have you tried it? The only downfall is the time commitment.
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When you say time commitment, what kind of time are you talking about? And I used to do more cardio than I do now—when I did doubles I hit 10K steps a day. Like I mentioned in the post, I definitely think that is a contributing factor to my fat gain—cutting down my workouts from 90+ minutes a day to just an hour a day.
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Thank you for sharing this post. I too am post menopausal and feeling fluffy at 51. I notice you are always consistent and getting up early and doing your workouts. If you don’t mind sharing your sleep routine as well…I really struggle with sleep at this stage of life and am not consistent at getting up early and exercising
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Hi Cara! This isn’t what a lot of people like to hear but working out first thing in the morning is a deeply ingrained habit for me now. My entire day feels wrong and off if I don’t do it. So the key is doing it for so long that working out first thing in the morning becomes an intrinsic habit. As for sleep, I generally do not have a problem falling asleep, but I don’t often sleep well and have frequent wakings. I usually fall back asleep without too much problem but when I do I have tools I use to help–I count backwards from 100 by 3s and I will also blink fast 100 times. Weird but they both usually work. I apparently sleep well enough to function fine most days. My husband has a sleep disorder and has had many sleep studies. About 10 years ago one of his sleep doctors made him do cognitive sleep therapy. All it boiled down to was incorporating good sleep hygiene. We redid everything–installed blackout curtains, we removed the TV from the bedroom, stopped using devices an hour before bed, do nothing in our bed except sleep and sex, changed our digital alarm clocks to red numbers and the nightlight in the bathroom to red light and we went to bed and got up the same time every day–even on weekends and we keep our sleep temperature at 66 degrees. Though it didn’t make us sleep like babies it has gone a long way to improving things and we both fall asleep relatively quickly.
Most of my menopause symptoms have faded. Though they do return occasionally but they are brief and not nearly as bad as they were the first few years. I don’t have any advice for menopause symptoms. They were horrible and I tried all kinds of remedies while going through it, and nothing gave me any relief except time.
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Hi there – I have also been trying to find Metashred Extreme. It has disappeared. However, this morning I googled it and found it on Dailymotion, user name Monumental. Hope this helps with other users’ frustration trying to find this program!
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Also it includes 12 workouts with the 2 warmups but does not include the recovery workout. Hope this helps!
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Thanks for sharing!
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So glad you posted an update on this. Suffering from a little “ fluffiness” after retiring and was intrigued. Long story short: glad you mentioned Tracie Long. I don’t think I could recover from this much total body, unless it was primarily functional workouts
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It was a tough rotation. Some weeks really tore me up. If I were to return to a rotation like that, I would definitely use functional workouts like Tracy Longs to aid in muscle recovery.
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