These days there are many options and plans for doing workouts in the gym and most commonly workout plans these days are 5 and 6 days workouts in which a person has to train one muscle per day or on some days two muscles a day.
If you are a busy person and don’t have much time to go to the gym 5 to 6 days a week you should probably try a 3 days workout plan. 3-day workout plans are as good as the other workout plans. You will gain muscles faster than the other standard workout plans.
Why a 3-day workout plan?
You may call it a 3-day workout split or a 3-day workout plan. Basically in this type of workout, you will have to train a different type of muscle in one session and make a workout plan that suits your body the best. You will go to the gym only for 3 days and will still workout on your whole body.
This workout plan is good for everyone. Because in this plan you will have to train different muscles one day and on the other day you will have a rest day which will build your muscles faster.
Pros of doing a 3-day workout split.
You may have seen professional bodybuilders. They do not follow the 3-day workout split because they target one muscle a day and in some cases, they train one muscle more than on time in a day. They do it for gaining maximum muscle growth and with all these exercises they intake double or triple the food or nutrients for the recovery of muscles they tear during their workout and because of all this they recover fast.
On the other hand, some of us are beginners and others are not professional bodybuilders as we all do workouts for being healthy and fit. So here comes the 3-day workout split which helps us to gain weight by letting us rest after every workout session and most importantly it saves our time.
Warm-up before workout
In split workout exercises, we target different muscles in our body so I will recommend warming-up your body before starting a workout. It will surely decrease the risk of getting injuries.
For warming up, you should target the muscles which you are going to train but with light weights. For example, if you are going to train your chest and the weights you lift in the bench press are 40 kg plates then you should warm up your chest by lifting 10 or 20 kg plates on the bench press with plates.
3 days workout splits
Here are some of the most loved 3 days splits workouts in the gym followed all over the world. It is not compulsory to follow one of the mentioned split plans you can make your own 3 days split workout plan.
Push-pull-legs 3 days split workout
This workout plan is very effective and works very well with all types of bodybuilders. Like the other workouts, it doesn’t target muscles, rather it targets the movement you perform during a workout.
In a push-pull leg workout, you will work on upper body exercise in which you push the weight like chest, tricep, and shoulders. On the other day, you will have to train your upper body but this time you will work on those exercises in which you pull the weight like biceps and back.
And then comes the legs. On this day you will train your whole lower body like quads, hamstrings, calves, etc. you can add your abs workout to this day as well as most of the athletes do.
Routine
- Monday: Push day
- Tuesday: Rest day
- Wednesday: Pull day
- Thursday: Rest day
- Friday: Legs day
- Saturday: Rest day
- Sunday: Rest day
You can change the days as you wish but keep in mind there should be a gap or rest day between two workout days.
Push day exercises
You can perform push day exercises on the first day of the week. Which is Monday
1 Bench press. This is the most common and easy chest exercise. You can perform this exercise with dumbbells or you can go with the plates. In this exercise, you have to do 3 sets and each set should have 12 to 15 reps, and you will have to rest 20 to 30 seconds between the sets.
2 Seated shoulder press exercise. This exercise targets front shoulder muscles. You have to perform this exercise while sitting and here you can also use dumbbells or the rod plates but I like dumbbells for this exercise because it provides an excess of free motion.
In this exercise, you will have to perform 3 sets and each set will have 10 to 12 reps. Rest time between the sets should be 20 to 30 seconds.
3 Incline dumbbell press exercise. This exercise targets the upper part of the chest. At the start of the exercise use lightweight and after that increase weight. In this exercise, you will have to perform 4 sets and each set will have 8 to 10 reps. Rest time between the sets should be 20 to 30 seconds.
4 Tricep dumbbell extension exercise. This tricep exercise targets all three heads( long, medial, and lateral head) of the tricep but especially it works in the long head of the tricep. In this exercise, you will have to perform 3 sets and each set will have 12 to 15 reps. Rest time between the sets should be 20 to 30 seconds.
5 Tricep rope push-down exercise. This is also a tricep exercise that targets all three muscle heads when you bring it down. However, it mostly targets the long head and medial head of the tricep. In this exercise, you will have to perform 3 sets and each set will have 12 to 15 reps. Rest time between the sets should be 20 to 30 seconds.
Pull day exercises.
Push day exercises should be performed on the third day of the push-pull exercise routine which will be on Wednesday after the rest day which will be on the second day after a push workout session.
1 bicep barbell curls exercise. This is a bicep exercise that targets the long head of your bicep muscles. Which builds your biceps peak. In this exercise, you will have to perform 3 sets and each set will have 12 to 15 reps. Rest time between the sets should be 20 to 30 seconds.
2 lat pulldown exercise. lateral pulldown or lat pulldown is the most important exercise for building and strengthening your back and this is a compound back muscles exercise. In this exercise, you will have to perform 4 sets and each set will have 10 to 12 reps. Rest time between the sets should be 20 to 30 seconds.
3 Bent Over Row exercise. This exercise is also for your back muscles. This exercise does wonders on your body if you do it in the right way. It targets your lats, traps, rhomboids, and rotator cuffs muscles in your body. you will have to perform 3 sets and each set will have 10 to 12 reps. Rest time between the sets should be 20 to 30 seconds.
4 Face pull exercise. This exercise works in building shoulder muscles. Face pull exercise mostly targets posterior deltoid muscles of the shoulder. Most of us neglect this part of our shoulders but if you want to build a good overall body then you should consider this exercise. In this exercise, you will have to perform 4 sets and each set will have 10 to 12 reps. Rest time between the sets should be 20 to 30 seconds.
Dumbbell shrugs exercise. This exercise is also for the shoulders. Dumbbells shrug exercise targets the lower trapezius muscles of the shoulder.
In this exercise, you will have to perform 3 sets and each set will have 10 to 12 reps. Rest time between the sets should be 20 to 30 seconds.
Legs and abs. Legs and abs are trained on the fifth day of the week which will be Friday. Some athletes train only legs on this day and some train both parts but as I am concerned we should train both parts.
- Leg press exercise. This exercise targets muscles of the legs which include mainly the quads and hamstrings. This exercise is important for the whole body because it also has a secondary impact on the glutes and calves. In this exercise, you will have to perform 3 sets and each set will have 10 to 12 reps. Rest time between the sets should be 20 to 30 seconds.
- Squad barbell exercise. This exercise is also for the legs and it mostly targets quadriceps muscles but it also trains your glute muscles as well as hamstrings. In this exercise, you will have to perform 3 sets and each set will have 10 to 12 reps. Rest time between the sets should be 20 to 30 seconds.
- Standing Calf Raises exercise. The standing calf raises exercise is one of the most important exercises for building legs and mainly calf muscle, specifically the gastrocnemius muscles. In this exercise, you will have to perform 3 sets and each set will have 10 to 12 reps. Rest time between the sets should be 20 to 30 seconds.
- Bicycle crunches exercise. This exercise is for abs building. This exercise builds your core stronger and helps you in stability and support to the spine and lower back. In this exercise, you will have to perform 5 sets and each set will have 20 to 25 reps. Rest time between the sets should be 20 to 30 seconds.
- Crunches exercise. This exercise is also for your abs development. Crunches target the abdominal muscle which is in the midsection of your body. In this exercise, you will have to perform 5 sets and each set will have 20 to 25 reps. Rest time between the sets should be 20 to 30 seconds.
# 3-day bodybuilding split.
a 3-day bodybuilder split is also known as the classic three days bodybuilder split. This workout plan is one of the most popular plans around the world. This plan is more like the pull-push workout plan.
Routine.
- Day 1: Chest Shoulders & Triceps exercises
- Day 2: rest day
- Day 3: Back and Biceps exercises
- Day 4: rest day
- Day 5: Legs and Core exercises
- Day 6: rest day
- Day 7: rest day
Bodybuilder split is usually done to target a specific muscle to train on each day and have rest on the other day to give it some time to recover. I recommend you warm up before diving into the exercises.
Chest, shoulder, and tricep exercises. You will train your chest, shoulder, and triceps on the first day of the week.
- Bench press. This is the most common and easy chest exercise. Bench press targets triceps brachii muscles and pectoralis major with the anterior deltoids muscles. In this exercise, you have to do 3 sets and each set should have 12 to 15 reps, and you will have to rest 20 to 30 seconds between the sets.
- incline dumbbell press exercise. This exercise targets the upper part of the chest. At the start of the exercise use lightweight and after that increase weight. In this exercise, you will have to perform 4 sets and each set will have 8 to 10 reps. Rest time between the sets should be 20 to 30 seconds.
- Skullcrushers. This exercise is for the triceps and it targets the long and lateral head of the tricep. In this exercise, you will have to perform 3 sets and each set will have 8 to 10 reps. Rest time between the sets should be 20 to 30 seconds.
- Standing Overhead Press. It is a shoulder exercise that hits deltoids muscles, triceps, and trapezius (upper back) muscles. you will have to perform 3 sets and each set will have 8 to 10 reps. Rest time between the sets should be 20 to 30 seconds.
Back and Biceps exercise. You will have to do this on the third day of the week. ( all these exercises are mentioned above in detail)
- bicep barbell curls exercise.
- lat pulldown exercise.
- Bent Over Row exercise.
- face pull exercise.
- dumbbell shrugs exercise.
Legs & Core or abs exercises. You will have to perform all these exercises on the fifth day of the week. ( all these exercises are mention above in detail)
- Leg press exercise.
- Squad barbell exercise.
- Standing Calf Raises exercise.
- Bicycle crunches exercise.
- Crunches exercise.
Conclusion
There are plenty of options and workout plans in the world of bodybuilding. You can choose any one of them and try to find the one which suits your body and grows your muscles as well as fits in your daily life easily.
