3 Day/Week Workout Plan

The three-day-per-week full-body workout program is designed to train all major muscle groups during each workout session. This program is a good option for individuals who have a busy schedule but still want to make consistent progress in strength and muscle development. Training the entire body three times per week provides frequent stimulation for each muscle group while allowing rest days between workouts for recovery.

Day 1

1. Chest Compound (2 warmup sets, 2 working sets) Options: standard, incline, decline Barbell bench, standard, incline, decline dumbbell bench, standard, incline, decline machine press.

2. Bicep Compound (2 warmup sets, 2 working sets) Options: chin ups, underhand rows, underhand lat pulldown

3. Quad Compound (2 warmup sets, 2 working sets) Options: barbell, smith machine back squat with feet back, leg press with feet low, hack squat with feet back.

4. Tricep Isolation (2 working sets) Options: flat bar, braids, single arm cable pushdown, dumbbell, cable overhead extension, EZ bar, dumbbell skull crushers.

5. Rear Shoulder Isolation (3 working sets) Options: Reverse pec deck, cable, dumbbell rear fly, single arm cross body reverse fly.

6. Hamstring Isolation (2 working sets) Options: Lying hamstring curl machine, seated hamstring curl machine.

Day 2

Rest.

Day 3

1. Lower Back Compound (2 warmup sets, 2 working sets) Options: hinging cable, dumbbell, barbell row, deadlift, RDL, back extension.

2. Glute Compound (2 warmup sets, 2 working sets) Options: Barbell, smith machine back squat with feet forward, leg press with feet high, hack squat with feet forward.

3. Tricep Compound (2 warmup sets, 2 working sets) Options: close grip standard, incline, decline barbell bench, weighted dips, JM press.

4. Bicep Isolation (2 working sets) Options: dumbbell, EZ bar, barbell curls, incline curls, dumbbell, machine preacher curls, hammer curls.

5. Calf Isolation (3 working sets) Options: Leg press foot extension, toes on elevated surface dumbbell calf raises, calf machine.

6. Chest Isolation (2 working sets) Options: cable fly, machine fly, dumbbell fly

7. Quad Isolation (2 working sets) Options: Leg extension machine

Day 4

Rest.

Day 5

1. Hamstring Isolation (2 working sets) Options: Lying hamstring curl machine, seated hamstring curl machine.

2. Front Shoulder Compound (2 working sets) Options: barbell shoulder press, dumbbell shoulder press, arnold press, machine shoulder press, landmine press.

3. Upper Back Compound (2 working sets) Options: Wide grip lat pulldown, pull ups, face pulls.

4. Glute Isolation (2 working sets) Options: Cable, machine kickbacks, hip abduction machine, glute bridges/hip thrust with barbell or machine.

5. Tricep Isolation (2 working sets) Options: flat bar, braids, single arm cable pushdown, dumbbell, cable overhead extension, EZ bar, dumbbell skull crushers.

6. Lateral Shoulder Isolation (2 working sets) Options: Dumbbell, cable, machine lateral raise, lean away, cable behind back.

Day 6-7

Rest.

Progression

Choose a weight for each working set that you can perform somewhere between 6 and 12 reps of. Every workout perform one or two more reps until you can perform 12 reps for both working sets. At that point, increase the weight by 5% or less and repeat the process.

Plateau breaking for when you get stuck

First two compounds of every day do one or two warm up sets of 6 light reps before going heavy. Second warm up set should be halfway between the weight of your first warm up set and the weight of your working set. Other than that every exercise is two sets to failure. Never go below 6 reps or above 12. Don't increase weight until you can hit 12 reps on your second working set. (Up the weight on the following lift, not the next set unless it was REALLY easy.) Never lift less weight on a working set than last time. If you can't get as many reps, add a third set. If you cannot progress upon your first two sets in the next workout, switch the order of your workouts to put something else first and at least maintain load on the thing you are moving back in your workout. If that doesn't even allow you to get stronger in the thing you moved to the front, then switch the exercise out for another exercise that works the same muscle and is also either an isolation or compound to match the thing being replaced.

Conclusion

The three-day full-body split provides an efficient way to train the entire body while maintaining a manageable weekly schedule. By targeting each major muscle group multiple times per week, the program can provide enough training stimulus for strength and muscle growth without requiring a large time commitment. The rest days between workouts also allow the muscles adequate time to recover before being trained again.