What is the best 3 day training split?

By Coach Hunter Bennett

There is a common misconception that you need to be in the gym every single day to make great progress – but nothing could be further than the truth.

While doing more can lead to better results in some instances, for most people, three gym sessions per week is enough to increase strength and size while leaving plenty of time for a life outside the gym.

In this article, we explore the effectiveness of a 3 day strength training split, the best exercises to include, optimal programming strategies, and how to design an effective 3 day strength program.

Can You Make Progress with a 3 day Strength Training Split?

In short, absolutely.

While traditional bodybuilding splits often involve training each muscle group once per week, this is not necessary to make progress. In fact, some research has shown that training a muscle or movement pattern more than once per week might be more effective, even when the total amount of training is the same.

With this in mind, a well-structured 3 day training split ensures you to hit each major muscle group multiple times per week, while still providing ample time for rest and recovery.

Best Exercises for a 3 Day Training Split

When designing a 3 day strength training split, it’s essential to include compound exercises that target multiple muscle groups simultaneously, using full range of motion where possible. Here are some staples:

1. Squats: A fundamental lower body exercise that targets the quads, adductors, glutes, and core. Performing squats twice a week ensures balanced lower body development and strength gains.
2. Deadlifts: The king of posterior chain exercises, deadlifts target the hamstrings, glutes, back, and grip. Incorporating deadlifts into your routine once a week promotes overall strength and muscle mass.
3. Bench Press: An excellent upper body compound movement that targets the chest, shoulders, and triceps. Bench pressing helps build a strong upper body.
4. Pull-Ups/Rows: These exercises target the back, biceps, and rear deltoids. They are crucial for balanced upper body development.
5. Overhead Press: A compound movement that targets the shoulders, triceps, and upper chest. As a bonus they also improve shoulder strength and stability.

Best Programming Strategies for a 3 Day Strength Training Split

When programming a 3-day strength training split, it’s essential to prioritize compound exercises as your main movements. Within this, it’s a great idea to use things like supersets for accessory movements to increase training volume in a time efficient manner.

Here’s how you can structure your workouts:

Day 1: Full Body Strength

*A, B, and C exercises are performed back-to-back as supersets.

Day 2: Full Body Strength

*A, B, and C exercises are performed back-to-back as supersets.

Day 3: Full Body Hypertrophy

*A, B, and C exercises are performed back-to-back as supersets.

How to Design a 3 Day Training Split

Now obviously the above example may not be perfect for everyone – but it can be adjusted.

When it comes to designing your 3 day training split, there are a couple of general rules that I would suggest following:

1. Start with heavy strength work: If your goal is to build strength in the big three, make sure to start your day with squats or deadlifts, then move into your heavy upper body exercises.
2. Don’t shy away from high frequency: 3 day training splits normally have slightly overall training volume per session that body part splits. This can be managed by increasing the number of times you train a given movement pattern each week. So don’t be afraid to perform some sort of squat, deadlift, and bench press 2-3 times per week if needed.
3. Superset all your accessories: Supersets are the key to squeezing more volume into a short amount of time. Superset as many of your accessories as you can.
4. Aim for one key movement pattern for session: Every single session try and get in at least one lower body pushing (squatting or lunging), one lower body pulling (deadlift variations), one upper body pushing (overhead presses, bench presses), one upper body pulling (rows, chin ups, and pull ups), and one ab exercise per session. Then add in extra isolation work as needed.

The best 3 day training split: Take home message

A 3 day training split can create big gains when implemented correctly.

By incorporating compound exercises and strategic programming strategies you can optimize muscle growth, strength gains, and overall performance in a time-efficient manner.

So, if you’re ready to take your strength training to the next level, give the 3 day split a try and see what you think.

Want to read more? Check out our article on minimalist strength training