The 3-Day Workout Split: Maximize Your Gains with Efficient Training

A 3-day workout is perfect if you don't want to or can’t be at the gym all the time. It is designed to target different muscle groups on each day and give plenty of rest time each time you work out with the same group. If you are a beginner weightlifter or someone just trying to spend less time at the gym, a 3-day split workout routine can be an excellent option to reach your fitness goals.

In this article, we'll examine multiple 3-day workout splits and provide you with all the details on exercises, sets, and rest time for each so you can start building muscle and gaining strength while still being time-efficient.

Is a 3-day Workout Split Good?

The short answer is yes! The long answer has a few caveats. A 3-day workout split works perfectly fine if you wish to have a less intense relationship with the gym and weightlifting. You’ll still see results and still achieve your goals. However, you cannot compare it to something like a 5-day split. There are just not enough reps to compete.

Thankfully, fitness is a journey about self-improvement, and not a race to see who gets jacked faster. Besides, a workout routine is only as good as how well it suits your needs. The 3-day workout split can be an awesome starting point for beginner weightlifters who may not want to commit to the gym every day of the week and need some extra rest time for their muscles to adapt.

Also, if you lead a busy life with a tight weekly schedule, understanding how to do a 3-day split workout effectively can make a huge difference in your lifestyle. It ensures that you can stay active and build muscle, while still being able to manage your obligations and not feeling overwhelmed by a demanding gym routine.

Now, with everything out of the way, let’s get into the workout splits!

Full Body 3-day Workout Split

The full body split is as straightforward as it gets and is a great 3-day workout split for beginners. You won’t find a “leg day,” or an “arm day” here, full body means you’ll be working out your whole body every time you hit the gym. Thankfully, this doesn’t take 3 to 4 hours of every other day of your week since there are fewer exercises per muscle group in a day.

This split is great for beginners because early muscle gains benefit from\ higher-frequency workouts. Beyond that, full-body splits are a great way to get a feel for weightlifting in general. This 3-day workout split is great for improving form and increasing volume tolerance, which will help you progress faster in your fitness journey.

Here’s a full body 3-day workout split:

PPL 3-Day Workout Split

P.P.L. stands for push, pull, and legs, so a PPL 3-day workout split consists of separating your gym routines by type of exercise rather than muscle groups.

The idea is that you'll work related muscle groups on the same day. This overlap is good because all muscle groups are engaged in all exercises of the day, even if they are not the main target of said exercise. That way, you'll always be putting some extra work on all muscle groups, which makes a difference over time.

It is important to note that this workout split is aimed at more intermediate weightlifters since it involves putting a bigger strain on several muscle groups on the same day.

On push day, you’ll only do exercises that involve pushing or pressing: bench press, incline dumbbell press, seated shoulder press, bodyweight dips, etc. These exercises mainly target the pectoral muscles in your chest, triceps, and shoulder muscles.

A pull day workout will target your back muscles and biceps. As the name suggests, you’ll only do pulling exercises: pull-ups, seated cable rows, barbell bicep curls, hammer curls, etc.

Finally, leg day is all about working out your whole lower body and doing leg exercises, such as squats, pistol squats, calf raises, etc.

A PPL 3-day workout split would look like this:

A Couple of Things to Keep in Mind

Now that you know how to split your workout routine into 3 days, here are a couple of tips so you can get the most out of your time in the gym:

Don’t Forget About Warm-up

Warming up before executing any physical activity is crucial. Stretching and doing mild exercises like jumping jacks will get your heart pumping more blood and raise your body temperature. This helps prevent injuries, reduces soreness, and ensures you’ll get a strong start in your workout routine.

Don’t Forget About Cardio

Your heart is one of, if not the, most important muscle(s) in your body, and none of the exercises listed above target it directly. To exercise such an important muscle, you’ll need to do cardio. Try to implement cardio sessions in your routine, be it through a quick treadmill run before or after your workouts or practicing a sport on the days you are not going to the gym.

Doing cardio regularly is essential for those who want to grow muscle and lead healthy lifestyles.

Final Thoughts

A 3-day workout split is a great way to start at the gym or to optimize time. We understand not everyone is in love with weightlifting (even though we are!), and the workout routines above will help you maximize your gains while still being time efficient.

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