Workout Plan for Three Days a week
Dear Jamie,
Due to my hectic schedule, full-time job and full-time mom to 2 toddlers, it is nearly impossible for me to get to the gym more than 3 times a week. For the past 4 months I have been going consistently, but I am really getting frustrated with my progress. At about the 2 month mark I was seeing progress, but now that I am at 4, I look back and don’t see much change. For the past 4 months I have been training with the push-pull method. Can you please suggest a new plan for just 3 days a week?
Thank you,
Emma
Hi Emma!
With all the traveling that I do, I can certainly relate to only being able to train 3 times a week. Just like you, I’ve often trained using a push/pull split (chest, shoulders and triceps one day; back and biceps the next; and legs on the final day). If you have been training in the same manner for 4 months, you have most likely hit a plateau, which is inevitable. We all do it. As if it isn’t hard enough just to stay motivated to make it to the gym, we have to know how to use variety to maintain progress as well!
It is often a good idea to change things up once a month to avoid those plateaus. This does not necessarily mean altering your entire split, but rather varying the sets, reps and rest time. If you have been doing the standard 3 sets of 10 reps, try going heavier for a change and performing less repetitions. When exercising to the point of muscle fatigue, most people can complete about six repetitions with 85 percent of maximum resistance. "Maximum resistance" is the most weight you can lift one time, in good form. Most people can complete eight repetitions with 80 percent of maximum resistance, 10 repetitions with 75 percent of maximum resistance, and 12 repetitions with 70 percent of maximum resistance. Try changing the number or reps by going heavier some days with less reps and lighter other days with higher reps.
Another variable to consider is rest time. Most people rest for 2 - 3 minutes between sets. On your heavier days, rest for 2 minutes, on the lighter days, 30 seconds to a minute. You may be surprised at the difference this makes. Often times we lose track of just how much rest we are actually doing.
If you have already tried varying your reps, sets and rest time, another option may be to train in the upper and lower body method. For example, on Monday you would train chest, shoulders, biceps, triceps and back. On Wednesday, you would only train legs (and maybe abs). On Friday you would go back to chest, shoulders, biceps, triceps and back and when Monday rolls around, you would start with legs. Although this would make your training session much longer and it is tough to train with intensity in this manner, it will enable you to train each body part about every five days, which is actually an ideal frequency to prevent overtraining.
Here is what the upper/lower workout might look like:
Monday / Friday:
- Bench Press
- Dumbbell Flies
- Pull-ups
- Seated Row
- Military Press
- Lateral Raises
- Dips or Tricep Pushdowns
- Alternating Dumbbell Curls or Preacher Curls
Wednesday:
- Leg Extensions
- Squats
- Leg Curls
- Straight Leg Deadlifts
- Walking Lunges
- Standing Calf Raises
- Roman Chair Leg Raises
- Crunches
