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Do Full Body Workouts....Work?

Junior year of high school



Some backstory to my journey with full body workouts: I've been an athlete my whole life. I played travel softball and basketball since the age of 8. Most days consisted of school, basketball practice, catching practice for softball, actual softball practice, homework, and repeat. There wasn't much free time for video games or watching TV and I wouldn't change it for the world. I was spending time with people who I considered family and still do, all of us playing sports that we loved.
Senior year of high school



As I got older, weightroom time was added into my already busy schedule. I had such a high metabolism that no matter how much I ate, worked out, or protein loaded I couldn't make any gains. When I graduated high school my athletic career was done except for low level hockey about twice a week and I weighed a meager 130lbs even though I was 5'10". The grueling workout schedule ended as I focused on college. About a year and a half ago I decided that I wanted to join the Air Force as an Officer and attempt to become a pilot when I graduate college. To even be considered for the program individuals have to pass a grueling physical test based off of their weight to prove they can deal with the G-forces involved in a cockpit.
 I then started researching how I could possibly gain muscle when I never could before. I happened to start researching how actors are able to get into such great shape so fast for different roles, and that was my saving grace. While I was researching all of this I was not so patiently waiting for the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
I'm a huge Star Wars fan and Daisy Ridley, who plays the character Rey, is one of my favorite actors. Daisy was really well known for having some hilarious instagram videos while she worked out and trained for the role until she decided to delete her account. Watching those videos and seeing how well toned she is, but not super muscular made me curious as to what kind of workout she followed.
Turns out she works out about 5 hours a day, using a full body workout. There was no way I was going to be able to make that work. Thankfully there are some geeky trainers out there that realize regular people want to get in the same shape as some of their idols. I was able to find a condensed version of Daisy's workout online that was much more doable, a little over an hour of workout time for six days a week. That workout is the same workout I have been using for over a year and a half.
About 1 year into full body workout


The results have been absolutely fantastic over that time. I've gained 20lbs, pushing me up to 150lbs. I feel way healthier and I get compliments all the time on my body. It's nice to see the results yourself but hearing it from other's makes it even better. Those that haven't seen me since high school tend to be speechless and have even had trouble recognizing me. My diet is still not the best, and if I stayed with it I'm sure I'd see even better results. Despite all that I'm extremely happy with my body. Persistence pays off in the end, it just takes a bit of time and effort. I'm not the absolute twig that I used to be. Arm sleeves on most women's clothing is normally a tight fit now and almost every pair of pants that I own or try on that the store are tight because of the amount of leg muscle. I wouldn't have it any other way.


About 3 months ago

  
Last week

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