Quick Answer
For most people looking to improve their fitness and health, working out 3 days per week is enough to see results. The key is ensuring those 3 workout days incorporate different types of exercise that target all the major muscle groups. As long as your workouts are intense and you’re progressively overloading your muscles, 3 days is sufficient for building strength and endurance.
How Many Days a Week Should You Work Out?
The ideal workout frequency depends on your fitness goals. Here are general guidelines:
For general health:
– 3 days per week is sufficient. This provides enough exercise to improve cardiovascular fitness, build muscle, and aid weight loss.
For building strength:
– 3 days per week focusing on lifting weights is usually enough for significant strength gains. Make sure to train all the major muscle groups.
For weight loss:
– 3-5 days per week is best. The more often you exercise, the more calories you’ll burn. Mix cardio and weight training.
For athletic performance:
– 4-6 days per week is better. This allows for sport-specific training along with strength and cardio conditioning.
So in summary, 3 days per week is adequate exercise for general health and beginner fitness goals. Athletes or those seeking faster/greater results may benefit from 4-6 sessions weekly.
The Benefits of Working Out 3 Days a Week
Exercising just 3 days weekly can provide these benefits:
Improved cardiovascular fitness:
– Doing cardio exercise like running, swimming, or biking for 20-60 minutes on your workout days will boost your heart health. Greater cardio endurance benefits overall wellbeing.
Increased muscular strength:
– Weight lifting at least 2 days per week allows sufficient protein synthesis for strength development. When combined with proper nutrition, this stimulates muscle growth over time.
Enhanced physical performance:
– Combining cardio, weights, flexibility training, and balance exercises improves overall fitness. Things like agility, coordination, and stamina will noticeably progress.
Weight loss and fat reduction:
– Regular exercise 3 days weekly can help create a calorie deficit for gradual weight loss, especially when paired with a healthy diet. Working out burns calories and boosts metabolism.
Reduced disease risk:
– Being physically active most days of the week has been shown to lower risks for obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers.
So in summary, exercising 3 days per week delivers meaningful improvements in fitness, health, and body composition for most people. It offers a nice balance between rest and challenging your body.
Workout Splits for 3 Training Days Per Week
When designing a 3 day workout routine, it’s important to train all the major muscle groups. This typically involves doing a full-body workout, an upper/lower body split, or dividing exercises by push/pull/legs. Here are some examples:
Full-Body Workout Split
Do the same total-body workout 3 days weekly. This is great for beginners.
Sample Schedule:
- Day 1: Full-body strength workout
- Day 2: Rest
- Day 3: Full-body strength workout
- Day 4: Rest
- Day 5: Full-body strength workout
- Day 6: Rest
- Day 7: Rest
Upper and Lower Body Split
Train upper body muscles on one day and lower body the next session. Add full-body on the third day.
Sample Schedule:
- Day 1: Upper body strength workout
- Day 2: Lower body strength workout
- Day 3: Rest
- Day 4: Full-body strength workout
- Day 5: Rest
- Day 6: Upper body strength workout
- Day 7: Rest
Push/Pull/Legs Split
Break workouts into push exercises (chest, shoulders, triceps), pull exercises (back, biceps), and leg exercises.
Sample Schedule:
- Day 1: Push workout
- Day 2: Pull workout
- Day 3: Leg workout
- Day 4: Rest
- Day 5: Push workout
- Day 6: Pull workout
- Day 7: Rest
Be sure to include cardiovascular exercise and core training on some days too. Switching up your workout split periodically can help prevent plateaus.
Designing a 3 Day Workout Routine
When designing your 3 day per week workout routine, follow these tips:
Incorporate Progressive Overload
The key driver of strength and muscle gains is progressively overloading your muscles over time. This means gradually increasing the demand placed on the muscles such as using heavier weights, more reps/sets, and greater training volume.
Allow for Recovery
Limiting yourself to 3 workout days per week allows for adequate recovery between sessions. Make sure to avoid training the same muscle groups two days in a row.
Use Compound and Isolation Exercises
Structure workouts to include compound exercises like squats, rows, and presses along with isolation exercises like bicep curls and tricep extensions. This provides balanced, full-body training.
Mix Up Your Cardio
Vary your cardio on your non-weight training days to keep things interesting. Try steady-state (running, cycling) and interval training (sprints, HIIT).
Work All Major Muscles
Make sure workouts hit all the major muscle groups including chest, back, shoulders, arms, legs, core, etc. This can be done effectively in a 3 day split.
Use Proper Form and Range of Motion
Always focus on quality over quantity. Lift and lower weights in a slow, controlled manner concentrating on proper form and range of motion. This maximizes muscle fiber recruitment.
Sample 3 Day Workout Routine
Below is a sample 3 day split that covers all the major muscle groups:
| Day 1: Full Body | Day 2: Upper Body | Day 3: Lower Body |
|---|---|---|
| Barbell back squat 3×5 | Bench press 3×5 | Deadlifts 3×5 |
| Dumbbell shoulder press 3×8 | Bent over dumbbell row 3×8 | Walking barbell lunges 3×10 |
| Dumbbell bicep curls 3×10 | Tricep pushdowns 3×10 | Barbell hip thrusts 3×12 |
| Crunches 3×15 | Lat pulldowns 3×10 | Calf raises 5×15 |
| 30 minutes cardio | 30 minutes cardio | 30 minutes cardio |
This split allows you to hit all the major muscle groups over the 3 sessions. Feel free to modify exercises as needed. Just be sure to progressively increase strength and challenge yourself!
Considerations for a 3 Day Routine
While a 3 day workout routine can be very effective, keep these considerations in mind:
Workout Duration
– To maximize results in only 3 weekly sessions, workouts may need to be longer than when training more frequently. Plan for sessions lasting 60-90 minutes.
Training Intensity
– Push yourself hard during those 3 workouts. Lift challenging weights and keep rest periods under 60 seconds between sets. Intense training drives adaptation.
Nutrition
– Properly fuel your workouts with carbohydrate-rich meals and protein for muscle repair and growth. Also ensure you eat in a calorie surplus if aiming to build muscle.
Rest and Recovery
– Recovery is crucial when training less frequently. Take rest days seriously and ensure you get 7-9 hours of sleep plus proper nutrition. Manage stress effectively too.
Listening to Your Body
– If you feel overly fatigued or sore, take an extra rest day as needed. Be flexible with scheduled rest days.
Modifying the Routine
Feel free to modify this sample 3 day workout structure to suit your goals:
For Strength Building Focus
– Use heavier weights in the 4-8 rep range. Take 2-3 minutes rest between sets. Do more compound exercises and less isolation exercises.
For Muscle Growth Focus
– Use moderate weights in the 8-12 rep range. Limit rest to 60-90 seconds between sets. Include additional isolation exercises for increased volume.
For Fat Loss Focus
– Add in more metabolic/HIIT style training: sprints, battle ropes, rowing, tire flips, etc. Maintain higher reps (12-15+) with shorter rests between sets.
For Endurance Focus
– Incorporate longer cardio sessions on non-weight training days: 45-60+ minutes. Include cardio circuits and active recovery sessions.
The key is sticking to the fundamental principles of progressive overload, training to momentary muscular failure, and allowing for adequate recovery between sessions.
FAQs
Should beginners train 3 days a week?
Yes, for beginners, a full body 3 day per week workout split is ideal. It allows enough frequency to stimulate muscle adaptations while avoiding overtraining. Beginners require more recovery time as their bodies adjust to strength training.
Can you build muscle effectively training just 3 days?
Yes, you absolutely can build significant muscle mass with only 3 training days per week. What drives growth is progressive overload and training to momentary muscle failure. As long as you properly recover between sessions, 3 days is sufficient stimulus.
What’s better for fat loss – 3 days or 5-6 days?
For pure fat loss, working out 5-6 days per week will create a greater calorie deficit and burn more body fat. However, 3 days allows for higher workout intensity and greater strength gains which boosts metabolism. So 3 days can be very effective for fat loss, especially alongside proper nutrition.
If my goal is muscle gain, should I train more than 3 days?
Not necessarily. For most people, 3 intense strength training sessions provides enough stimulus to support noticeable muscle growth over time when coupled with proper nutrition and recovery practices. However, more advanced lifters may benefit from 4-5 weekly sessions.
Is it bad to work the same muscle groups two days in a row?
Generally it’s best to avoid working the same muscles two days straight. This allows full 48 hours recovery between training a muscle/muscle group. However, as long as volume and intensity are managed, training a muscle lightly two days in a row can be fine.
The Bottom Line
For most people seeking improved fitness and moderate strength/muscle gains, working out 3 days per week is sufficient. Just be sure your program incorporates progressive overload, trains all the major muscle groups, includes both compound and isolation exercises, mixes up cardio routines, and allows for adequate rest between sessions. The keys are pushing yourself hard during workouts, eating properly, and supporting recovery.
While a more frequent 4-6 day split may be better for advanced lifters or elite athletes, exercising just 3 days weekly can get you very impressive results when done consistently. Stick to the 3 day plan, put in focused effort, and be patient. Before long, you’ll see notable improvements in your physical abilities, body composition, strength, endurance and overall health.
