We are going to start sharing a 3-day routine with all our followers so that everyone who wants to start in the world of weights.

These types of 3-day fullbody training programs are the most recommended for people who are new to the world of weights and for people with little time who cannot go more than three times a week. It is the most efficient way to progress both in strength and hypertrophy since every day we touch all muscle groups emphasizing compound movements and with a high volume of training since we have a rest day between training days.

There are many variables to progress in hypertrophy or strength: volume, intensity, density, rest, so let’s not make the mistake of thinking that this 3-day routine falls short because you only train three times a week. It’s the best way to lay a solid foundation to then opt for other training options that are more suited to our goals.

Guidelines:

1. Weekly Division of the Routine:

Monday: Routine A
Tuesday: Active Rest
Wednesday: Routine B
Thursday: Active Rest
Friday: Workout C

We must leave a rest day between days of training for proper recovery and avoid injuries.

What is active rest? It consists of resting from our usual 3-day routine, but continuing to be active by doing some moderate activity with a moderate pace and duration. Examples of active rest: yoga or stretching session, 45-60 minute walk, foam roller routine, riding a bike… there are options for all tastes.

2. Rest between sets:

This routine has a great weight of multi-joint exercises to lower repetitions, so in order to maintain performance you have to have long rests between series. The rests are variable according to our sensations or you are afraid to rest 4 minutes if you feel fatigued before your last series of Deadlift, but if you feel fresh go for the next concentrated series.

3. Effort:

Given the predominance of multi-joint exercises, we do not recommend training near failure if we want to maintain performance and technique throughout our sets. As a general rule in compound exercises we recommend training with a weight that allows us to do 2 or 3 more repetitions. In the more analytical exercises we recommend training with a weight that allows us to do 1 or 2 more repetitions.

If we are beginners we can apply a linear weight progression and almost every week we will be able to lift more weight than the previous one, but if we are already intermediate we recommend other types of more complex progressions that we will talk about later.

4. Warm up and stretch:

The warm-up will be the same every day, it is VERY IMPORTANT never to skip the warm-up and stretching if we want to continue progressing without injuries.

5. Substitutions:

We highly recommend doing our 3-day routine with the scheduled exercises, but if for whatever reason you can’t do any of the exercises, you can substitute them as follows.

• Squat: Press + 15 reps of lower back extension (i.e. if you have 3×8 of Squat, replace it with 3×8 of press and 3×15 of lower back extension).
• Deadlift: Hip Thrust `+ 15 repetitions of lumbar extension.
• Romanian Deadlift: Nordic Curl.
• Stride: Unilateral Hip Thrust with Dumbbell.
• Hip Thrust: Hip Thrust on a quadriceps extension machine.
• Calf Raise standing machine: Calf Raise with dumbbell.
• Femoral Curl: Femoral Curl with Dumbbell (between the feet).
• Quadriceps Extension: You can eliminate them.
• Barbell Bench Press: Dumbbell Bench Press.
• Incline Dumbbell Press: Incline Barbell Press.
• Military Press: Standing Military Press with Dumbbells.
• Pulley Openings: Dumbbell Openings or Pec Deck.
• Funds: Bench Press Declined Dumbbells.
• Supine Pulley Pulldown: Biceps Pull Ups.
• T-Bar Row: Dumbbell Bench Row.

6. Change of routine

Many people wonder how long we can do this 3-day routine and still get results, the answer is simple until you get tired! If you like training this way, it fits your lifestyle and you keep making progress, there is no reason to change this routine for another. If our objectives change or we want another distribution of days, we can opt for another type of routine such as torso-leg (4 days), pull-push (4 days), divided routine (5 days) or push-legs (6 days).

Our recommendation is that if you are a beginner, stick with this 3-day routine for at least 12 weeks.

7. And the diet?

To make truly significant progress in the gym, diet is just as important as training if not more. Avoid processed foods, eat a reasonable amount of protein for your weight and training level, and calculate a caloric deficit/surplus based on your goals. Read our article if you want to have a Perfect Body

The 3 day routine

Day A:

Day B:

Day C:

With our 3-day routine and the complementary information, you can now go to the gym and start hitting the irons. Don’t forget to record your progress and upload it to Fitenium!

If you don’t already know Fitenium is a free, mobile, video-based social network for athletes who train strength or bodyweight exercises. At Fitenium users can track their progress with their powerlifting routine, while getting discounts at nutrition stores and sports equipment. Download it here.

What do you look for in Powerlifting?

Before we get more specific and recommend some powerlifting programs, we need to clarify the fundamentals of powerlifting in order to determine what to look for and what not to look for in powerlifting. It can be summarized in the following:

In Powerifting you do not look for:

• cosmetically improve
• gain muscle mass
• be more functional
• lose fat
• gain speed
• Gain flexibility (although some Bench Press seems to indicate otherwise)
• Gain strength (outside the basics)

In Powerlifting you look for:

• Move more kilos in powerlifting competitions

It may be that we progress peripherally in some or all of these aspects, in fact the strange thing is that we do not gain muscle throughout our progress in the Bench Press, but we have to be clear about what our objective is, since perhaps what we need for our objectives is a mixed strength-hypertrophy routine or Crossfit classes.

On the other hand, we have to put aside the false dichotomy between “good” and “bad” powerlifting routine. That is going to depend more on the athlete than on the routine itself, since for a novice he will progress in his squat by doing sets of 100 squats with body weight, that is to say, it is a good powerlifting routine but, is it the best routine for this? case? The answer is no. It may also be the case that the most optimal program for your progress cannot be executed by the athlete for motivational reasons or lack of time. In this case, the “best” program is the one that adapts to the athlete, even if it is not the most optimal in terms of potential progress.

Fundamentals of Powerlifting

Before we talk about the scientific principles of powerlifting, we need to talk about the process that makes training “work.” Scientific evidence continues to circulate around Hans Seyle’s Theory, the “General Adaptation Syndrome” (GAS). Enunciated in the 50s, it basically describes the adaptation process of our body when receiving some type of physical stress, such as the one it would receive in powerlifting training.

The concept behind this syndrome is that the stress our body receives is “toxic” and when our body receives this stress, it adapts to it and prepares itself to be able to prevent damage from future similar stress. In the case of weight training, our muscles receive stress that results in muscle micro-tears, which are the signal for our body to initiate various hormonal and metabolic responses and “fix” the damage. Through rest and food we repair this damage and obtain the reward of having adapted to this stress. The idea is to use powerlifting principles based on this concept to progress.

• Specificity: in order for our body to adapt to the stress generated by moving high loads in the Bench Press, Squat and Deadlift, we must have a powerlifting routine that produces adaptations in this regard. That is, if you do not perform Bench, Squat and Heavy Deadlift on a regular basis, it is likely that we will not achieve the adaptations that we are looking for.
• Progressive overload: to obtain continuous adaptations over time, we have to expose our body to adequate doses of stress. Once the body has adapted to a certain dose of stress, the results we will obtain will decrease over time if the same dose continues to be applied. To avoid this, we will progressively increase the load to achieve new adaptations.
• Fatigue management: in the same way that we mentioned that in your powerlifting training you must subject your body to doses of stress, the recovery and adaptation of said dose is important so as not to fall into overtraining due to resting too little or to lose these adaptations due to rest too much
• Individual differences: everyone needs a different stimulus to achieve the same adaptations. Different people are capable of assimilating different volumes and workloads per session and this is one of the most forgotten principles in powerlifting. The problem is that highly individualized programs are harder to sell en masse, so this factor tends to be ignored.

What powerlifting routines work?

Sheiko 6-week routine for beginners: This routine has been created by the famous Soviet powerlifting coach Boris Sheiko, mentor to several champions of the discipline.

It is very interesting because it is quite reasonable in the specificity of the exercises, since more than half of all the work is powerlifting exercises or variants thereof. The progressive overload, being a powerlifting routine for novices, is done by self-regulation, so it respects individual differences quite well.

If you want to know more about this powerlifting routine (in the language of Shakespeare), enter here.

Madcow 5×5: This method was popularized by the famous weightlifting coach Glenn Pendlay. The story goes that when one of his athletes complained about his 5×5 set every day, he proposed that if he managed to make a record, he would let him do only 1 set on Fridays. This routine is divided into a high volume Monday, a lighter Wednesday to recover, and a record breaking Friday. The progression is very simple and consists of adding 2.5kg each week to our Friday record.

For more information about the Madcow 5×5 in English, click here.

Bulgarian Method: This method rose to fame through the success of Ivan Adadjiev’s Bulgarian weightlifting team. We mention it because working works, but it is not a system that can be used in the real world since you are basically eight hours training, which was feasible for athletes in the Soviet sphere with the state apparatus behind it but not for people in the real world. . It is said that his basis was to do an exercise, rest/eat for half an hour, and then move on to the next.

This powerlifting routine is done by working to a maximum (DM) and then doing a set of descending (BO) with 70-80% of the weight. Every day we work two basic exercises and then an assistant exercise.

What powerlifting routines don’t work?

• Starting Strength, Stronglifts 5×5: These are good strength routines, but they are not powerlifting routines.
• Jason Blaha 5×5: it is a routine focused on aesthetics, so it is not a powerlifting routine.

conclusions

Really if what we want is to progress in strength, our training should be quite different from that of a pure powerlifting routine, however if what we want is simply to lift more kilos in competitions, we should not go beyond the basics and that it works. Being strong in Military Press is of no use to us beyond the transfer that there may be in Powerlifting, so it does not make much sense to train this exercise.

On the other hand, we can also try different objectives beyond pure and absolute strength, perhaps a powerbuilding routine is what will make us achieve objectives if we are also concerned about aesthetics. The important thing is to enjoy the process and share it with your Fitenium community.

If you don’t already know Fitenium is a free, mobile, video-based social network for athletes who train strength or bodyweight exercises. At Fitenium users can follow their performance, compete and get discounts in nutrition and sports equipment stores. Download it here.

Choosing the first routine when you arrive at the gym or when you start training is not easy, but it can impact your future performance and will save you from losing a lot of time, fatigue and even motivation. It is the most important decision when you start.

Next, we will try to shed some light on the most basic question when we first go to the gym: what routine should we do? Do you want to define or create a volume? Do you need to change your routine?

What should you do if you are new to the gym?

The short and quick answer is that if you are new to the gym, the first training program you should do is a basic conditioning program to work and prepare muscles and joints. This general conditioning training program should be basic to the whole body and last 10-12 weeks. After this, you need to weigh the different training programs out there and decide which direction to take.

Published on Unplash by Alora Griffiths

strength routine

The strength routine is based on moving heavy weights and performing several iterations for each set. As a rule, we will work with a load of 75% to 90% of 1 RM (maximum repetition), so we will describe a series made up of 3 to 6 repetitions.

hypertrophy routine

The hypertrophy routine is a routine used to increase muscle mass and consists of 6-12 repetitions, so the weight used is significantly higher than that used in the strength routine. In this case, the load will be in the range of 60-70% of 1RM.

definition routine

In general, the definition routine has more repetitions than a normal routine. In this case, series of 12 to 15 repetitions, even reaching 18 repetitions per series.

As these are series of high repetitions, we must proportionally reduce the weight moved, so in this case the loads will oscillate between 40-60% of our 1RM.

Volume or definition?

If you’re new to the gym, the usual answer is none. If you’re starting your gym workout for the first time, or if you’re starting to train after an extended period of time, it’s a good idea to get into a general conditioning routine. This is usually an adaptation period of at least 8 weeks (2 months). After this period, it’s time to check your form and future goals, so ask yourself when you get there.

Published on Unplash by Krists Šidlovskis

At the end of this adaptation period, which is mandatory for beginners, unless you are overweight or obese where you need to continue losing weight, start with a volume phase to gain muscle mass. Otherwise you can destroy muscle mass in the definition phase and not achieve optimal results.

However, it should be noted that the diet is more important than the routine to follow. Without a proper diet, it is impossible for our routine to work. In addition, energy is lost if it does not receive the adequate quantity and quality of nutrients, we will not achieve our objectives either.

Volume phase: routine + diet

As we have previously commented, for a volume phase, our routine will be made up of series of between six and twelve repetitions (around 60-75% of our 1RM the weight used).

For the volume phase to work, it is necessary to adjust the food and follow a high-calorie diet. Care should be taken not to increase calories too much, especially in those cases that accumulate excess fat. Therefore, it is recommended that the increase in the amount of calories consumed by our diet be 10-15%.

Published on Unplash by Joe Ciciarelli

Definition phase: routine + diet

You have now finished the volume phase and want to run the definition phase. How can you do it correctly?

The first step is to adjust your diet. As with the bulking phase, caloric intake must be coordinated with training. In this case, the same, but in reverse, that is, a hypocaloric diet. To do this, you need to reduce your calorie intake by no more than 10-15%. Otherwise, you will lose a significant amount of energy and your routine will not work properly.

And for the routines, as we’ve seen before, these are routines that have a higher number of repetitions than volume routines. For this type of routine, the series consists of 12 to 15 repetitions. The definition routine uses 40-60% by weight of 1RM.

Do you need to change your training routine frequently?

This is a question whose answer is a bit complicated. First of all you tell yourself that you don’t have to change your routine as usual, because if you do, your body never adapts to the stimulus of doing the routine.

When you start a routine, your body receives external stimuli and tries to adapt to them. This phase of adaptation to the routine usually lasts from 6 to 12 weeks (that is, from a month and a half to three months).

As with most people, if we make routine changes every eight weeks or less, we don’t have enough time for our bodies to adjust to the stimuli they receive from our daily lives. Therefore, it is likely that if we change the routine before 8 weeks, the routine will not have an effect. However, that doesn’t mean you always have to change your routine after that time.

From time to time, simply changing training sessions can give amazing results: higher reps and reduced sets, changes in training intensity, changes in running angle or grip type for a particular exercise… As you experiment, You don’t have to change the whole routine.

If you don’t already know Fitenium is a free, mobile, video-based social network for athletes who train strength or bodyweight exercises. At Fitenium users can share the progress you make from training, so we look forward to seeing your progress with your favorite 3-day gym routine. Download it here.

When it comes to progressing in the gym, there is a lot of noise about what is the ideal number of optimal training sessions. Most gym users train 4 or 5 times a week, although there is scientific evidence that suggests that we will enjoy most of the benefits of exercise simply by training 2 times a week. If you are one of those people who does not have a lot of time and can only train a couple of times a week, we recommend that you review our article on training protocols in two sessions. However, there are also a large number of people who have time to train 3 times a week and there are also a large number of very efficient protocols to progress without spending more days. In this article we will present several examples of a very complete and efficient 3-day gym routine.

Why go to the gym for three days?

Both hypertrophy and strength gain do not occur while we train, but in the subsequent process of recovery from our training. Training is just one more piece in muscle development. That is why a 3-day gym routine is a great option for people who do not have much time to rest and barely get 5-6 hours of sleep. Of course, those rest days do not imply lying on the sofa, but we can take advantage of it to do some cardiovascular training, stretching, perhaps a foam roller routine or simply be active that day. Light bodyweight training may be a good option, but never go above a 5 or 6 on the scale of perceived exertion.

So don’t be afraid to limit your progress and use any of our three day gym routines!

Access the Fitenium app where you can train this routine for free.

Routine 1: Full body

If this routine already sounds familiar to you, it is because we already recommended it in our 3-day Fullbody Routine article. It is one of our favorite divisions and we recommend it to anyone starting to train. It’s a great way to familiarize yourself with the gym basics of the Bench Press, Squats, Deadlifts, and Military Presses. Anyone who starts out in the gym with this routine is going to progress like a rocket.

When organizing the routine, we recommend leaving at least one day of rest between each training session, the most common division being to train Monday, Wednesday and Friday and rest Tuesday and Thursday, but we can do it however we want.

That being said, this is the 3-day fullbody type gym routine.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

You can track your training much more effectively using the Fitenium app where you can train this routine for free. You will not only find the exercises that you must perform each day, but also advanced visualizations to follow your progress and achieve results.

Access the Fitenium app where you can train this routine for free.

 

Rutina 2: Push – Pull – Legs

This routine for three days in the gym is the little sister of the 6-day Pull – Push – Legs for people with a lot of time to train and with good rest. As usual in this type of divisions, multi-joint exercises are prioritized to optimize each series that we do in the gym. In this case, the routine is divided into a push training (push) in which we do movement patterns in which we move the weight away from us (bench press, military press, French press…), another pull training ( pull) in which we draw the weight towards us (rowing, facepull, chin-ups…) and a leg day in which we work on both movement patterns.

This routine is very interesting for people who combine the gym with other sports, since it allows them to conveniently organize their leg day according to their stipulated rest. As always, we recommend leaving a day of active rest between training sessions, since every time we visit the gym it will be quite demanding.

Day 1 – Push or Push

Day 2 – Pull or Pull

Day 3 – Leg

Access the Fitenium app where you can train this routine for free.

Remember that you can find your personalized training program in the Fitenium app. You will not only find the exercises that you should perform each day, but also visualizations of how to perform them, notes on training programs, rest times and much more.

Routine 3: Torso – Pierna – Fullbody

This three-day gym routine is a variation of the previous one in which we give more weight to the lower body. In the end, our legs are almost 50% of our muscle mass, so it makes sense to give them about half of our training. This training is very interesting to obtain a balanced physique and it places a lot of emphasis on strength, since the third day is exclusively a basic training.

Perhaps the only problem could be that training so much strength can interfere with other sports goals, so this routine is ideal for people who want to progress in strength, aesthetics and don’t have much time.

Day 1 – Torso

Day 2 – Leg

Day 3 – Full Body

Access the Fitenium app where you can train this routine for free.

Follow your progress on your profile in Fitenium app. You will have at your disposal all kinds of metrics about your progress and evolution, exercises performed and calendar. Also, if you wish, we can send you training notifications and personalized emails with your progress.

Routine 4: TRX and elastic bands to train at home

Not all of us have the same obligations and many people are limited to training at home, but that should not be a reason to stop training since we also have an exercise routine 3 days a week for which you only need some suspension system and our body weight to do our training.

All those mothers and fathers who have to keep an eye on them while working out, this routine is for you!

Day 1: Chest – Triceps

Day 2: Back – Biceps

Day 3: Legs and Shoulder

Access the Fitenium app where you can train this routine for free.

Create a training habit with Fitenium app. Look at this training calendar. Do you think you can match it? With Fitenium you can achieve it. You also have the option to record your execution on video to follow your technique and avoid injuries.

conclusions

Doing a 3-day gym routine is more than enough to gain strength and muscle mass. What’s more, some studies even suggest that it may be an optimal number of sessions with adequate volume and rest. However, we cannot forget that much of the progress comes from the diet, whether we want to lose fat or if our goal is to gain muscle mass.

With all these possibilities, the only thing that stands between you and getting fit is your own perseverance and the motivation of a community of athletes like you and me who share their workouts, you don’t even need a gym. Good luck in this adventure, you have just taken the first step to change your life!