A 3 day workout routine is a great option for building lean muscle mass and burning body fat.
By lifting weights only 3 days per week…
You give your body the proper rest and recovery that it needs.
You also leave more days for fat burning cardiovascular exercise. Cardio is a must no matter what your goals might be because it's highly important for health reasons AND for making optimal progress.
I Highly Recommend The Full Body 3-Day Workout Routine
If you decide to go with the full body workout option, you're also working each major muscle group at the perfect frequency for building muscle FAST.
I'm going to give you 3 different options to help you find the 3 day workout routine that you like best.
NOTE: The links above take you further down this page to the appropriate 3 day workout routine.
Let's get started:
3 Day Full Body Workout Routine
The 3 day full body workout routine is a favorite workout of mine because it gives the BEST results. Especially when it is combined with the secrets included in the WLC System.
With the 3 day full body workout routine, you work each muscle group 3 times per week.
Compared to other workout options, you get many more muscle building opportunities over the course of a year. More muscle building opportunities equals BETTER PROGRESS!
Workout Schedule for the 3 Day Full Body Workout:
| Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 |
| Workout | Rest | Workout | Rest | Workout | Rest | Rest |
With the schedule above, you choose the 3 days that fit your personal schedule best.
For example, Monday/Wednesday/Friday is a common workout schedule for the 3 day full body workout routine. If Sunday, Wednesday, Friday works better for you or Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday… any option is good as long as you keep 1 day of rest between workouts.
With a 3 day workout routine, you can also change the days you workout on from week to week.
Weight Lifting Exercises for the 3-Day Full Body Workout:
- Barbell Squats
- Flat Barbell Bench Press
- Barbell Romanian Deadlift
- Barbell Pendlay Rows
- Barbell Overhead Press
- Chin Ups
- Parallel Dips
- Barbell Curls
- Standing Calf Raises
- Pinwheel Curls
The 10 exercises above are the best exercises for each of the major muscle groups. If you work on making progress on those 10 exercises, you will build muscle fast.
Do you need to know how to do the weightlifting exercises listed above?
How to Do the Best Muscle Building Exercises
The 10 major muscle groups the exercises above focus on are (in order): quadriceps, chest, hamstrings, back depth, shoulders, back width, triceps, biceps, calves, and forearms.
Making Progress Each Workout:
To make progress with the above workout routine, as with all workout routines, you need to work on increasing the amount of weight you lift every workout.
That may sound like a difficult task to you — because it can be if you don't follow the WLC System.
You can increase the amount of weight you are lifting each workout by starting in Week 1 with light weights and higher reps. Over the weeks, you will then decrease the number of reps while you increase the weight over the weeks.
Here are a few options for making progress from workout to workout:
A Simple But Effective Plan of Progression
How to Plan Your Weightlifting Progress
With the WLC System, you get everything you need to start building muscle faster than ever before with the best weight lifting workouts intelligently designed to help you make fast progress.
I will give you all the secrets to super-charge your results within the WLC System.
3 Day Split Workout Routine Option 1
With this option, you will split the entire body up into 2 different workouts and alternate the 2 workouts as shown in the workout 3-day workout routine schedule below:
Workout Schedule for the 3-Day Split Routine Option 1:
| Week 1 | ||||||
| Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 |
| Workout A | Rest | Workout B | Rest | Workout A | Rest | Rest |
| Week 2 | ||||||
| Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 |
| Workout B | Rest | Workout A | Rest | Workout B | Rest | Rest |
As shown above… you will alternate workout A and workout B as follows: A, B, A, B, A, B, and so on. So you'll use the 3-day workout schedule shown above for 2 weeks and then repeat several times as long as you continue to make progress.
So… what weightlifting exercises will you do for each workout?
Weight Lifting Exercises for the 3-Day Split Routine Option 1:
| Workout A | Workout B |
| Barbell Squats Barbell Romanian Deadlift Barbell Lunges Lying Leg Curls Standing Calf Raises Alternate Dumbbell Curls Pinwheel Curls | Barbell Bench Press Barbell Pendlay Rows Barbell Overhead Press Chin Ups Parallel Dips Seated Calf Raises Tricep Extensions |
The exercises shown above in Workout A will work your quadriceps, hamstrings, calves (gastrocnemius), biceps, and forearms. The exercises shown above in Workout B will work your back, shoulders, chest, triceps, and calves (soleus).
So you work your entire body every 2 workouts. As you can see, the number of times you work your entire body decreases with this option versus the 3-day full body workout routine option.
If you have recovery issues, this 3-day workout routine that splits up muscle groups can be a good option.
3 Day Split Workout Routine Option 2
I don't recommend this routine for very many people because you only work each muscle group once per week.
You will find this style of workout all over the internet. I don't recommend this option unless you are more advanced and know what you are doing. You can get much faster results with the 3 day full body workout option, especially if you are a beginner to weight lifting.
The two options above are much better options due to the increased frequency. I'm including this workout routine because it's sometimes nice to have a change of pace.
If you have a stressful life and need more recovery between workouts for some other reasons, the workout routine below can be a great choice for you.
Workout Schedule for the 3-Day Split Routine Option 2:
| Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 |
| Workout A | Rest | Workout B | Rest | Workout C | Rest | Rest |
With this 3 day workout routine, you will split your muscle groups into 3 different workouts.
Weight Lifting Exercises for the 3-Day Split Routine Option 2:
| Workout A | Workout B | Workout C |
| Bench Press Barbell Rows Overhead Press Chin Ups Parallel Dips | Barbell Squats Romanian Deadlift Barbell Lunges Bulgarian Squats Calf Raises | Dumbbell Curls Tricep Extensions Pinwheel Curls Dumbbell Kickbacks Hammer Curls |
With the above workout routine, you work each muscle group with more sets and exercises each workout but you have more rest between workouts.
For Workout A, you will work chest, back, and shoulders. For Workout B, you will work quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves. For Workout C, you will work triceps, biceps, and forearms.
More Intelligently Designed 3 Day Workout Routines…
I highly recommend the workout programs within the WLC System Package…
With the WLC System workouts, you work each muscle group at least twice per week giving you more muscle building opportunities.
There are many other workout options too for people with very low recovery abilities.
We actually teach you how to find the best style of weight training for you.
First step you REALLY need to take is to get yourself a copy of the WLC System. Once you read through, you'll know more about what you need to make amazing progress.
A good plan is to start using one of the 3 day workout routine options given to you above while reading through the WLC System. You can then begin implementing the tips, tricks, and secrets within the WLC System for even faster results.
You can then move up to one of the WLC System based weight lifting programs from one of the 3 day workout routine options given to you on this page.
Brandon says
How many reps/sets should i do for the 3 day split option1
Josh from WLC says
Please read this:
Plan of Progression
That gives you 1 way to plan your workouts with sets and reps.
If you want to do multiple sets, you can add a second or third set but I would start out with a lower intensity by stopping the second and/or third sets when the rep speed slows. This allows you to add more volume with the second and third sets and keep the amount of weight the same. So don’t decrease weight on 2nd and 3rd sets… just don’t push and try to hit target reps. Stop set when rep speed slows.
This will keep you away from overtraining and allow you to continue making progress for longer periods of time.