Training 3x a week for muscle building
Training 3x a week works well if you want to build muscle but don’t want to rebuild your whole life around the gym. Three solid training days give your body plenty of work and leave room for recovery.
The old truth still holds: more training days don’t automatically mean better results. If the training load, exercise selection and rest are in place, a three-day split can give you a very strong foundation for both strength and muscle mass.
Why does training 3x a week work?
Many people look at four- or five-day plans and assume that three days is the beginner option. In reality, it isn’t about the number of days but about how well each workout gets done. If Monday, Wednesday and Friday are built around heavy basic exercises, your body won’t be left idling.
Three workouts a week also give you a simple rhythm. On the days in between, you can do some light aerobic work, move around more or simply rest. This suits you especially well if work, school or family life doesn’t let you get to the gym five evenings a week.
If you want to try all three plans back to back, that adds up to 36 weeks: 12 weeks on each split. That’s long enough to see whether your strength is growing, your reps are improving and your body is coping with the training load.
Training 3x a week: split 1
The first option divides the body into three parts: legs, presses and pulls. It’s simple, easy to follow and works well even if you’re still building a proper training routine.
Legs
- Front squat/Lunges with a barbell across the upper back 4 x 4-6
- Romanian deadlift/Good Morning 3 x 6-10
- Calf raise with a barbell across the upper back 3 x 6-10
- Weighted crunches/Weighted leg raises 3 x 8-15
Presses
- Flat dumbbell press/Incline barbell press 4 x 4-6
- Seated dumbbell press/Standing barbell press 3 x 6-10
- Lying barbell triceps extension or Close-grip bench press 3 x 6-10
Pulls
- Deadlift/Wide-grip deadlift (Snatch Grip Deadlifts) 4 x 4-6
- Pull-ups/Seated row 3 x 6-10
- Seated incline dumbbell biceps curl/Barbell preacher curl 3 x 8-12
Recommended schedule: Monday legs, Tuesday cardio or off, Wednesday presses, Thursday cardio or off, Friday pulls, Saturday cardio or off, Sunday rest.
Upper/lower split
The second plan suits intermediate or advanced trainees who already have four months or more of training experience. Here the emphasis shifts from week to week: one week the upper body gets more work, the next week the lower body.
Upper body
- Weighted dips/Incline bench press 5 x 3-6
- Bent-over barbell row/Weighted pull-ups 3 x 6-8
- Close-grip bench press/Barbell skull crusher 3 x 8-12
- Standing dumbbell biceps curl/Standing barbell biceps curl 3 x 8-12
- Weighted crunches/Weighted leg raises 3 x 8-12
Lower body
- Box squat (30 cm)/Sumo deadlift 5 x 3-6
- Dumbbell split squat/Dumbbell lunges 3 x 8-15
- Back extensions/Barbell Good Mornings 3 x 8-15
- Cable woodchopper/Dumbbell side bend 3 x 8-12
Week 1: Monday upper body, Wednesday lower body, Friday upper body. Week 2: Monday lower body, Wednesday upper body, Friday lower body. Then the same rhythm repeats.
Training 3x a week for the whole body
The third option is full body, meaning a whole-body workout on every training day. It isn’t for beginners. Before trying this kind of split, you should have at least six months of solid training experience.
Full-body workout A
- Barbell bench press/Barbell floor press 5 x 3-6
- Dumbbell split squat/Barbell back-rack lunges 3 x 8-15
- Machine row/Bent-over barbell row 3 x 8-12
- Good mornings/Hyperextensions 3 x 8-12
Full-body workout B
- Barbell back squat/Deadlift 5 x 3-6
- Standing barbell press/Standing dumbbell press 3 x 8-12
- Cable pulls between the legs (cable pull-throughs)/Lying leg raises (for the lower back) 3 x 8-12
- Weighted pull-ups/Behind-the-neck lat pulldowns 3 x 8-12
Full-body workout C
- Bent-over barbell rows/Bent-over dumbbell rows with two dumbbells or one dumbbell 5 x 4-6
- Front squat/Leg press 3 x 8-15
- Incline barbell press/Incline dumbbell press 3 x 8-12
- Stiff-leg barbell deadlift/Dumbbell Romanian deadlift 3 x 8-15
Recommended schedule: Monday full-body workout A, Tuesday cardio or a day off, Wednesday full-body workout B, Thursday cardio or a day off, Friday full-body workout C, Saturday cardio or a day off, Sunday rest.
How do you put this plan into practice?
Put serious effort into the first exercise of each workout. Train to failure and try to increase the weight or do more reps with the same weight at each subsequent workout. Warm up thoroughly, pyramiding up to your heavy weights and working sets.
Rest for 3 to 4 minutes between working sets, and less between warm-up sets. On the other exercises, stop short of failure: leave at least 1 to 2 reps in reserve. Rest for about two minutes and build up your reps until you reach the top of the rep range. Then increase the weight.
You can change exercises every three weeks, or every other workout in the second and third splits. For the full-body option, changing exercises every 2 to 3 weeks works well. The simple truth: the plan only works if you record your weights, reps and how you feel.
FAQ: Training 3x a week
Are three workouts a week enough for muscle growth?
Yes, if your workouts are challenging, your exercises are well chosen and you recover properly. Three days a week can be even better than an overly frequent, poorly structured plan.
Which split suits a beginner?
A legs, push and pull split is a good starting point. It teaches you the basic compound exercises, allows enough rest and keeps your week manageable.
Can you do cardio between workout days?
Yes, but keep it moderate. If cardio interferes with your weight training in the gym, your training load is too high.
“What Is The Best 3-Day Split For Muscle Building?” Ravadongon
Translated by: Janar Rückenberg
Source:Turg.Fitness.ee
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