The updated FULL BODY God Bod workout
Workout from anywhere with the most elevated anti bro split program
Nov 2022 Update! Here is a short link for easy reference: svc.co/GodBod
Imagine your body as a tree
Roots — most important and usually hidden, without them nothing is possible
Trunk — sets the size and frame of your body
Branches — arms and legs that extend you out to the world
Leaves — optimizations that help you thrive
The tree is a system that grows together. Leaves need robust branches, branches need a strong trunk, and a trunk needs deep roots.
Your body wants to move and grow together
Despite this, bro splits and other hyper isolation routines are still the standard in the mainstream fitness world. Lady programs are just as guilty of this btw.
The advent of gym culture and machines are what changed everything. Gyms and machines are body augmentation technologies, and they have significantly accelerated the development of human performance. But they give us exponentially more tools than we ever had before, and the problem is they are misunderstood, misapplied, and used irresponsibly, often unintentionally. This is the problem with the modern fitness world. It is a life out of balance!
The simplest example: literally every sport
Sports competition requires the full body. There is absolutely no isolation on game day. Every day is leg day. Train and prepare accordingly.
The NEW God Bod Workout
What makes the original God Bod routine so great is it’s accessible to anyone, you can do it quickly, you don’t need any fancy equipment, and you can even do it in between video calls at home without breaking a sweat. It’s an excellent program to get you moving and pumped.
I’ve been working for quite some time to expand upon it with everything with have learned at Pointman. The result is a full body, anti bro split, workout from anywhere system. I’m pretty excited about this.
The workout is designed like a tree
Roots movements — press, push, pull, squat, lunge
i.e chest, back, legs
Trunk movements — hinge, throw, shrug, carry, sled, laterals
i.e. butt, shoulders, traps
Branch movements — curls, push downs, extensions, raises
i.e. biceps, triceps, calves, shins
Leaf movements — face pulls, reverse flys, hanging raises, holds
i.e. tank top muscles like rear deltoids, abs, neck
This is what an ideal God Bod workout looks like
Roots for 10-25 minutes
1 upper body movement + 1 lower body movement
2-4 sets
Trunk for 10-25 minutes
1 upper body movement + 1 lower body movement
2-4 sets
Branch for 5-15 minutes
1 upper body movement + 1 lower body movement
2-4 sets
Leaf for 5-15 minutes
1 upper body movement + 1 lower body movement
2-4 sets
Key ideas
Sets here are defined as the combination of 1 upper body movement and 1 lower body movement, with rest in between. The big insight is that the upper body can rest while you do your lower body movement, and vice versa. This allows you to finish more workout in less time, 30-60 minutes is all you need. Super efficient.
Bigger compound movements need more time for rest than smaller muscle groups and movements.
God Bod is a flexible template. You must customize it to suit your body and goals.
You can do God Bod 2-4 times per week. I highly recommend you do speed or distance work otherwise as much as possible. The pic above is me doing a beach ruck literally today. Carry heavy weight for time and distance. It doesn’t get any more simple and effective.
If you are short on time, just are looking for a pump, or only need to do maintenance work, scale back the volume to 1 set per movement. This is exactly the original God Bod program.
This is what my personal God Bod routine has been lately
Roots
Pullup [superset] ring dips
Pistol squats [or] bulgarian split squats
Trunk
Lateral flies [or] upright row with rope
Home bar deadlift [or] kettlebell swings [or] sled pulls
Branches
bicep curl [superset] tricep pushdown with band
calf raise [superset] tibialis raise
Leaves
Face pulls
Hanging leg raises
My sincere hope is that God Bod changes your life
Nate
@hellanate
Extra Credit
There is tons of science and research behind everything here. I just leave it out because I assume it’s boring to most of you. My job here is to understand everything in the exercise science world and bring you only the best and most effective insight. Everything on Pointman I do myself, every single day.
For those of you who want to learn more, here is a small taste of what has contributed to God Bod.
Roots movement patterns are the foundation of human movement. In recent years, they have been called “Calisthenics” and “Movement”, and they are the oldest form oldest form of training. This is all about building relative strength, not absolute strength. If you can’t handle these calisthenic movements you probably shouldn’t be messing with other training yet. Calisthenics by themselves can keep you busy for years.
Hinging like deadlifts and swings are a subset of squats and lunges. And while we’re at it, lunges are basically single leg squats. Hinges don’t really make sense without weight or resistance. But squats and lunges with just bodyweight can keep you busy and growing for years. Single leg squats, i.e. lunges, are probably the most neglected movement patterns in the exercise world. These are movements like sprinter lunges, back to front lunges, cossack squat, pistol squats, dragon squats, Bulgarian split squats. The list goes on.
It is generally agreed up on that 10-20 sets per week per movement is optimal. Hence 2-4 days per week of full body training is the sweet spot for most.
For non lifting days, you should go out and train for speed or distance. I’ve talked about this before here — how to get back in shape. Do exercises like sprinting, rucking, hiking, intervals, carry heavy shit, push heavy shit.