3 Days Training Program! Will it Work??

hello there guys,
just to let you know its my first post, and the only reason I’m posting is because i ran out of option and i need some advise especially from guys who have experience!!
so here it is, to start of my name is Alan and I’m 21 this year i weight around 70kg with about 12+% body fat… I’ve trained for the last 2 years and still haven’t seen my abs yet not to mention i haven’t been able to get past 75kg. 2 months ago i called it a quit, but now i want to get back!! the only problem is i only can do 3 DAYS!!! which is Saturday Sunday and Wednesday.

is 3 days enough?
what kind of training should i be doing to put on muscles
can anyone throw me a program i could follow.

guys i need help!

The body will try to adapt to just about anything, so it will work at least to a degree if you eat enough (which you are not, otherwise you’d be gaining weight past 75Kg, that’s purely an issue of your diet) etc…

Okay, 3 days like that is entirely possible, but really far from ideal… Are you sure 4 days are impossible? Why?

For your three days you could do…

-Chest, Tris
-Delts, Back
-Bis, Legs (bis after deadlifts if you do them here, though I’d add them on back day perhaps as your first back exercise, that way your heavy work is spaced out a bit over the week)

or a traditional…
-chest, delts, tris (not everyone’s shoulders can take that)
-back, bis
-legs

You can train your abs whenever you want. But seeing them? That will require stripping bodyfat. Diet again, but you’ll have to eat differently for that than you would for getting past 75Kg’s.

A 2-way split can be done as well over those 3 days… Chest, Delts, Tris, then Legs, Back, Bis etc… But that’s a lot of work in one session on one of the days at least no matter how you split it up.

Full body is something I would not recommend, especially for serious trainees, but whatever… Some like it.

One more possible thing is doing the powerlifts (or variations) on wednesday and maybe some face pulls and such, and then doing your other work split up over the other 2 days.

But really, best thing you can do is make it 4 days. Gives you a lot more options, among them some of the best approaches out there.

As for your diet… Protein at least 1.5 g per lb of bodyweight for you, 1.8-2 if you are serious about this and are on a demanding routine etc, rest (carbs, fats) as needed to gain weight, don’t cut out fats.

For cutting bodyfat there are many options… Carb cycling (somewhat complicated) or Skip’s approach (skiploading, watch his free DVD , the seminar and addendum part) work well for example.
I like skip’s better, strength doesn’t go down so badly and it’s easier to follow than other approaches to dieting down.

And make sure you are getting stronger on everything. (at least while gaining weight)

I made very good gains in graduate school only hitting the iron 3x a week. Although It was a very powerlifting/bodybuilding split (focus on getting stronger in the main compound lifts), and a ton of attention to eating better and more frequently. Ideally, I wouldn’t put two of the three days back to back like that, instead opting for at least some rest (I like the mon, wed, fri split myself), but sometimes you do the best with the situation you’ve been placed in.

CC’s ‘traditional’ split is what I’ve used, and would certainly recommend it as well. As you progress, and hopefully as your scheduling allows, you’ll be able to adopt a more effective approach, but at this point, I’m sure a better focus on diet and recovery will allow gains to be made from a 3x split.

S

THANKS GUYS FOR GETTING BACK TO ME… Cephalic_Carnage I REALLY LIKE THE TRADITIONAL ROUTINE
DAT1
CHEST,SHOULDERS,TRIS
BACK,BIS
LEGS

I WAS THINKING OF FOLLOWING THIS ROUTINE AND HERE IS WHAT I HAD IN MIND DOING PUSHING, PULLING AND UPPER LOWER!

Sunday
Flat bench press 2x8-12 (close grip)
Incline bench press 2x8-12 (close grip)
shoulder press 2x8-12
Triceps dips 2x8-12
Lying French press (optional)

Wednesday
Leg press 3x12-20
Leg extension 3x8-15
Seated hamstring curls 3x8-15

Friday
Back pull up/ pull down 2x8-12
Bent over BB raw 2x8-12
Biceps barbell curls 2x8-12

DO YOU THINK THAT IS ENOUGH, IF YOU DON’T THINK THIS WILL WORK COULD YOU PUT ME SOMETHING TOGETHER, IT WOULD BE GRATEFUL!

I CAN MANAGE 4 DAYS… HOWEVER I CANT DO DAY ON DAY OFF… I CAN ONLY HIT THE GYM SAT,SUN,WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY, YOU THINK I SHOULD GO WITH THE 4 DAYS?

[quote]laz0008 wrote:

DO YOU THINK THAT IS ENOUGH, IF YOU DON’T THINK THIS WILL WORK COULD YOU PUT ME SOMETHING TOGETHER, IT WOULD BE GRATEFUL!

I CAN MANAGE 4 DAYS… HOWEVER I CANT DO DAY ON DAY OFF… I CAN ONLY HIT THE GYM SAT,SUN,WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY, YOU THINK I SHOULD GO WITH THE 4 DAYS?

[/quote]

You got help from probably two of the most knowledgeable people on this forum. Use it.

  1. C_C has a how do you train thread, read it cover to cover.
  2. There is a sticky called “best of T nation” - look through the threads there.

Don’t make it complicated. Do 3 days, work at it, see how you gain, add an extra day - you’re better off building slowly than taking more than you can handle and crashing (both mentally and physically).

Your diet needs to be on song as well.

Squat and Deadlift sissy

I would recommend reading as much about exercise execution as possible, plenty of videos online, and CT’s perfect rep as well.

[quote]XanderBuilt wrote:

[quote]laz0008 wrote:

DO YOU THINK THAT IS ENOUGH, IF YOU DON’T THINK THIS WILL WORK COULD YOU PUT ME SOMETHING TOGETHER, IT WOULD BE GRATEFUL!

I CAN MANAGE 4 DAYS… HOWEVER I CANT DO DAY ON DAY OFF… I CAN ONLY HIT THE GYM SAT,SUN,WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY, YOU THINK I SHOULD GO WITH THE 4 DAYS?

[/quote]

You got help from probably two of the most knowledgeable people on this forum. Use it.

  1. C_C has a how do you train thread, read it cover to cover.
  2. There is a sticky called “best of T nation” - look through the threads there.

Don’t make it complicated. Do 3 days, work at it, see how you gain, add an extra day - you’re better off building slowly than taking more than you can handle and crashing (both mentally and physically).

Your diet needs to be on song as well.
[/quote]

my diet is going to change, ill have 6 meals a day

8:00am protein shake
10:30am 4egg white + 2 whole eggs + yogurt
12:30pm chicken breast with brown rise
4:00pm protein shake
7:00pm 2 cans of tuna
9:30 steak and beans

ill mix in vegetable and fruits in between them also ill add nuts and on the day that im training ill have another shake after workout

if you want to train three days why not try Defranco’s westside for skinny bastards, the original template was three days i believe

[quote]caveman101 wrote:
Squat and Deadlift sissy[/quote]

^^THIS^^

i think that program is a complete waste of your time and effort based on you saying that you want to gain muscle.just do a 5x5 prgram with a little assistance work.ie: day 1 squat bench push press or military press.hammer curls palms inward lying tricept extensions good mornings and hang cleans.

all assistance is 3x10 except hang cleans 4x5 day 2 squat incline bench deadlift.dumbell rows heavy shrug holds and again hang cleans 4x5.day 3 same as day one except on the last set go for as many as possible with the wieght. but assistance work on day 3 is close grip bench press and barbell 21 curls.now on the days in between do 10 push-ups 10 pull ups and 10 lunges per leg.each day add on rep for 60 days.

[quote]gregt51 wrote:
i think that program is a complete waste of your time and effort based on you saying that you want to gain muscle.just do a 5x5 prgram with a little assistance work.ie: day 1 squat bench push press or military press.hammer curls palms inward lying tricept extensions good mornings and hang cleans.

all assistance is 3x10 except hang cleans 4x5 day 2 squat incline bench deadlift.dumbell rows heavy shrug holds and again hang cleans 4x5.day 3 same as day one except on the last set go for as many as possible with the wieght. but assistance work on day 3 is close grip bench press and barbell 21 curls.now on the days in between do 10 push-ups 10 pull ups and 10 lunges per leg.each day add on rep for 60 days.[/quote]

orrr maybe you should read properly, as i mentioned before i only can do 3 or 4 MAX and if i do 4, it wouldnt be one on one off because im only available Sat Sun Wednesday and Friday

plus ive read that a 3 day split works great, because it gives you lots of recovery time the only thing is i dont know how to execute it properly, eg: how many set of each muscle should i be doing how many reps and so on…

3 days a week training is fine for size. The principles for gaining mass don’t change. Move some weight, train with enough volume and intensity, eat to grow. Whether or not it is optimal is another story.

Great suggestions already in here though. I personally like following 5/3/1. One main lift plus 4 assistance exercises each day. Works a treat, very simple and convenient.

[quote]Teledin wrote:
3 days a week training is fine for size. The principles for gaining mass don’t change. Move some weight, train with enough volume and intensity, eat to grow. Whether or not it is optimal is another story.

Great suggestions already in here though. I personally like following 5/3/1. One main lift plus 4 assistance exercises each day. Works a treat, very simple and convenient.[/quote]

i just finish doing some research about 3 day split and some guys made had good results, so am just ganna give it a go for 2 months and than ill add one more day! ill post in some photoes later on if any success is achieved :wink: