Jul13Why You Should Be Doing Full Body PHA Workouts
If you go to any commercial gym long enough, you’ll start to notice the routine of some of the members. You’ll learn that Frank likes doing body part split routines, alternating days between chest, biceps, and rarely the back and legs. Suzy likes to do HIIT workouts, completely exhausting herself with cardio moves that she read will tone her up like her favorite insta-model. There’s also that one guy that does shadowboxing with the dumbbells and weird neck exercises on the swiss ball, and always wears a sweatsuit.
While none of these are inherently bad (except maybe the last one), for most people who have the goal of shredding a little fat and gaining a bit of muscle, there exists a better option, and that’s full body PHA training.
What is Full Body PHA Training?
Full Body workouts are nothing new; in fact, most people do full body training when they begin a fitness routine. They are basic, easy to implement, and hit everything in one day. On their own, they are great for fat loss and strength gain. The only people who should be doing dedicated body part splits are people with very specific aesthetic goals, or people who are trying to be a bodybuilder. Most people should be doing full body workouts in general, as they will see the best results from that type of training.
PHA, or peripheral heart action training is when we take that to the next level. This type of training is similar to circuit training, but with a key difference. Traditional circuit training involves doing a resistance exercise followed by another right after. It could alternate muscles groups, or it could stick with training the same muscle group. PHA training is similar, but is more deliberate in exercise selection. In this style of training, lower and upper body exercises are alternated each time. This not only allows you to “rest” one area of your body while still doing work, but challenge endurance and build strength at the same time. Some other benefits include:
- Increase caloric expenditure in comparison to similar traditional resistance training (where a client may rest up to 90 seconds between sets).
- Enhancing an aerobic base for clients while simultaneously challenging local muscle endurance.
- This method of training forces the blood to quickly circulate through the body, increasing caloric expenditure and theorized to decrease body fat and increase lean muscle mass.
Who Is It For?
This type of training might sound scientific and challenging, something only reserved for top human specimens, but in reality it is for everyone. PHA training may have a fancy name, but it’s really just effective circuit training. At H4 we use these types of workouts, and they work for every client we have.
The difference is that we program it in a smart way; we aren’t like Crossfit, bootcamps, or any other type of exercise where the focus is similar. The difference here is that we are utilizing smart exercise selection by alternating between upper, lower, and core exercises. We incorporate modifications, and don’t do traditional powerlifting or bodybuilding exercises (not that there is anything wrong with them, our clients just don’t really need to do them).
We don’t claim to be the best in the world, but we use the right methods to serve our clients. For our clients, this type of training meets their needs and goals.
How Do I Start?
Well, not to sound like a salesman, but you could always try us out to see how we do things. You could also head over to our YouTube page by clicking right here. A playlist of our full body workouts are posted below as well.
Whether you use our methods or not, there is much to be gained from doing full body PHA workouts. Try them out and see for yourself!