Working out 3 days a week okay?

[Igottamakeit]

Sat, Sun and Wednes....

Do you think it's too much time between workouts?

[MontyMagpie]

It is good.

[Oceanside]

Sat, Sun and Wednes....

Do you think it's too much time between workouts?

depends on what you are doing sat,sun and weds...

[bigtallox]

Sat, Sun and Wednes....

Do you think it's too much time between workouts?

It depends on what you're doing when you're training. BUT a 3 day a week routine isn't non optimal just because of the 3 days a week. Post the details of your routine, and your goals, if you want any meaningful advice.

[Brackneyc]

I lift three days a week, but I am a fatty, so, you know, there is that.

[Kraken]

I lift three days a week, but I am a fatty, so, you know, there is that.

So thats how you got so fat.

Seriously though, I lift three days a week too. I like to think that my workouts are a little more demanding than it would be if I went to 5 days a week though too. You just have to adjust the effort/volume you put in to it, since you're getting more rest.

[CardinalRB34]

3 days is optimal for decent results. In reality your muscles don't grow while working out... they grow while recovering. The question is... are you doing enough in those 3 days to stimulate optimal growth?

[Brackneyc]

So thats how you got so fat.

Seriously though, I lift three days a week too. I like to think that my workouts are a little more demanding than it would be if I went to 5 days a week though too. You just have to adjust the effort/volume you put in to it, since you're getting more rest.

Yup (on the fat part) I tried a 5 day split. I wasn't ready for it. Well, I am not carrying enough muscle to "need" it yet.

[JerryB]

Three days per week works for me.


But it depends on your goals and how you structure your weight training

[zanak74]

I do three to four days a week myself. I do arms one day, legs another, chest one day, and shoulders and back a combined for a separate day.

[v1rt]

I am a beginner. I lift 3 days a week(MWF). I lift really extremes(for my weight) that even at the cold unfinished basement(55f), I sweat a lot! About 2-3 weeks ago, I didn't have any program. I do an exercise based on what I will recall. LOL. Now, I have set a program for 1 hour with a rest of 40sec to 1 minute. However, I have exercises that are supersets which means there won't be any long rest. I hope I'll see big improvement in a month(I'm already seeing changes lately).

I have seen huge improvement in my 2 weeks in terms of my strength. Today, I did 6 sets of bodyweight pull-ups, 15 reps although on my last set, I was only able to make 13 reps. My body was shaking on the 14th but I was still able to pull my body but not able to put my neck above the bar. I think it's called failure which is really good.

I hope I won't get tired of doing this. So far, I am very inspired and I can't wait for the rest day to finish.

[Josann]

At 58 next month the rest is key for me. A hard workout with little rest between sets and maybe some sort of cardio finisher will keep you in shape with 3 days. if needed walking a bit or some sort of other activities-yoga, martial arts, dance, or just stretching while watching tv etc- cand do wonders.

[tsoden]

I lift three days a week, but I am a fatty, so, you know, there is that.

no dude... *I* am a fatty... you are awesome.

[cmoore]

I've done well with 3 day routines in the past but the last year I've had way more fun with training 6 days. 6day workouts mean I don't have to destroy myself everytime because there's not as much time off. Seems my muscles stay tighter with more frequent training even though I lift less heavy. And on a 6 day I just don't have to train quite as hard or for as many sets. I love the gym too so going more often is fun for me.

For a 3 day routine I love the mirror program. Day one you train all the upper body muscles you can see in the mirror (chest, bi, ant delt, etc). Day 2 train the muscles you cant see (back tris traps etc). Day 3 legs (squats, rev lunge, romans, sumos). In this way my arms get hit twice a week, once as a secondary mover and once as a primary. Similarly my back gets hit twice, on back day and secondarily from the deads/romans.

[painthappy]

3 days a week lifting... The other days I'm doing Cardio, outdoor activities (skiing, biking, or whatever the weather allows) and I also take a day off for rest.

Lifting comprises of two days of upper body (3 x 8), and a 1 day of heavy lower body (5 x 5) lifting. Lots of compound exercises, with some isolated ones for the fun of it.

Basically it ends up like this: Tuesday (upper), Thursday (lower), Saturday (upper), rinse and repeat.

The other thing to consider is your goals. My routine may not be the best out there, but my goal is to lose weight right now. I don't want to lose muscle, so I'm working out, but I'm not feeding my muscles for big growth either, so I have to keep it all in perspective.

[afterguard]

3 days for me too, and like Painthappy...I get plenty of activity in between by skiing, bball, etc.

I'm almost 44 now, and I think the rest days are just as important to my progress. My diet is also very good.

[DocTats]

Yep, made my best gains doing 3x per week full body. If I may make a suggestion, given how your days are spaced out....try upper body Sat, lower body Sunday (or vice versa) and full body on Wednesday. At least that's the way I would do it...

[NitrogenWidget]

It depends.
My workout is supposed to be 3 days a week & I go balls out so i'm usually sore most of the week.
But sometimes I recover quicker & start my split a day or two early.

[-=FLEX=-]

Working out 3 days a week okay?


Sat, Sun and Wednes....

Do you think it's too much time between workouts?

You haven't given anywhere near enough information about your training or goals for ANYONE to give you a definitive answer, so LMFAO at anyone above that even tired.

SRSLY.

[-=FLEX=-]

It is good.

Really? OK, then. Easy to see why you're red.

[Igottamakeit]

Chest, tris
Shoulders, legs
Back, tris

And a good diet on the off days, I'm down to 180 from 200 and my bench is up.

I still have work to do but I'm slowly improving.

[-=FLEX=-]

You've still not given enough info, but anyway....

I still have work to do but I'm slowly improving.

You more or less just answered your own question anyway: if you're improving then obviously it's working for you.

You qualified that by saying slowly, but I don't know what that means; everyone has their own idea of how fast they should improve.

[geer_matt]

Why are people so stuck on making routines fit into neat little weekly packages? If you are serious about making gains you will figure out what is optimum for you and do that, whether it be once a week, once every six days or once every eight days. Not what fits neatly into a calendar week.

[Old-Time-Lifter]

Why are people so stuck on making routines fit into neat little weekly packages? If you are serious about making gains you will figure out what is optimum for you and do that, whether it be once a week, once every six days or once every eight days. Not what fits neatly into a calendar week.

I don't often agree with Matt but I do agree on this. My workout days vary from week to week.

[induced_drag]

I have been doing a three day/week workout for the past year. I think I might be making even better progress then when I trained 4 days/week.

All depends on your program though.

I do a M/W/F. Mon is all upper body (heavy chest and back). Wed is heavy legs. Fri is Upper body again (light) with a focus on arms.

[Kraken]

I have been doing a three day/week workout for the past year. I think I might be making even better progress then when I trained 4 days/week.

All depends on your program though.

I do a M/W/F. Mon is all upper body (heavy chest and back). Wed is heavy legs. Fri is Upper body again (light) with a focus on arms.

That sounds interesting. I bet Monday is brutal.

My old routine was an upper/lower body split like this, but instead of heavy and light days, I picked 1 compound exercise for each body part for monday, and picked a different one for Friday.

I am interested in seeing your routine though. Not for criticism, just for an idea of how you do it.

[billb7581]

I am making good gains (losses?) on the All Pro beginner routine 3x week full body, but I dont think I would be able to do it 2 days in a row like that

[induced_drag]

That sounds interesting. I bet Monday is brutal.

My old routine was an upper/lower body split like this, but instead of heavy and light days, I picked 1 compound exercise for each body part for monday, and picked a different one for Friday.

I am interested in seeing your routine though. Not for criticism, just for an idea of how you do it.

Here is my mon workout:


On my main compounds, I will always try to keep TOTAL reps between 25-30. The first two weeks are 3x10, then 4x7 then 5x5. These rotate every two weeks to keep me working different rep ranges. I use a 1rm calculator to figure my starting wieght when I change rep ranges and make adjustments from there.

Mon: CHEST AND BACK heavy, light shoulders and arms

Main compounds
Flat bench 3x10 (will change rep ranges as weeks go on)
Rent Row 3x10 (will change rep ranges as weeks go on)

Rest of workout: (non changing rep ranges)
Dumbell decline bench 3x10
Cable seated row 3x10

Cable crossover 2x10-15 Supersetted with
Dips...by feel

Pullups 3 sets by feel concentrating on pulling with wide back

Giant set for arms I do this three times with rep ranges 10-12

Skullcrushers superestted with
Scott curls Supersetted with
Dumbell lateral raise


Thats it for mon!





Wed legs.

Same with the rep ranges for my major compounds. , I will always try to keep TOTAL reps between 25-30. The first two weeks are 3x10, then 4x7 then 5x5. These rotate every two weeks to keep me working different rep ranges. I use a 1rm calculator to figure my starting wieght when I change rep ranges and make adjustments from there.


Squat 3x10
RDL 3x10
Leg ext 3x10-15
Leg curl 3x10-15
Calves 4 sets

I rotate in deadlifts every few weeks just for a change up. When I do them, I drop my squats to light weight and rep out on 3 sets.




Fri...Shoulders and Arm blasting session....(light back, chest)

Seated dumbel press 3x10
Clean and press 3x10

Close grip BP 3x10

Dumbell pullovers 3x10 supersetted with
Cable cross

Barbell curls 3x10

Overhead tricep extensions w/ dumbell 3x10

Lateral raises 2 sets

giant set for finishing 2x
hammer curls
rope tricep


That is about it..... Some times I rotate different exercises in and out but always focus on my main compounds and vary the rep range in those over time.

My workouts generally take just over 1 hour.

[vladoversic]

Sat, Sun and Wednes....

Do you think it's too much time between workouts?

Generally one should take no more than three day in a row of rest between workouts, i follow that rule myself, when i go for strength training i train 3-4 times per week, taking no more than two days of rest in a row.

[GnomusMaximus]

Do what you can with what ya got. if those are the days you got use em. You could look at it 2 ways that pop in my head. Remember I'm into strength sports not bodybuilding so i don't look at things by body parts.

1) Break it into the 4 "big" lifts, Squat/Bench/DL/Press. Rotate those 4 over the 3 days so it would be: Week 1: Sat-Squat, Sun - Bench, Wed-DL. Week 2: Sat - Press, Sun - Squat, Wed - Bench...etc for a 4 week cycle.

or option 2

2) Sat - DL, Sun - Bench, Wed - Squat & Press

For either option do whatever assistance work you feel is best.

You'd be surprised, there are alot of really strong guys that lift only 3 or even 2 days/week