3rd day question

gnrduff1

Lately, I've been trying to get myself on a 3 day workout rotation. This can take me up to a week, but it keeps me from getting bored, which was a problem on a 2 day rotation. Right now, day 1 is an hour and a half of "cardio" (1.5 hrs on treadmill), day 2 is about an hour and a half of "strength." I do my whole body, 3 sets 10 reps, with 30 secs in between sets. I don't always get to go every day or even every other day, so doing my whole body doesn't really fatigue me as much as it does for some people. Day 3 is SUPPOSED to be both, with a 45 minute treadmill session, and a 45 minute strength session. I use the machines at the gym. Since it really usually takes me an hour and a half to do my whole body, what should I do with that 4 minutes? Should I focus on upper OR lower OR core and then rotate those every BOTH day also? Should I still do everything but do less reps or sets? If so, which? I like the routine, but I always seem to be unsatisfied with the 3rd day because of my indecision with what to do.

medennison123

1.5 hours on the tread mill is bonkers. I only do a 5 min warm up followed by a 20 min jog and a 5 min cool down 2-3 times a week. As far as your split and upper/lower split would be good for you. A day set aside or 20 min a few times a week for core is a good idea. With that 4 min you could do a cool down stretch.

medennison123

I could help you more if you posted your goal. lose weight/ gain muscle/ get toned for summer ect.

NatashaK29

Here's a suggestion, since you only have two days for strength, on day to you can focus on arms, back and core because there are so many muscles and different ways to work them. Then on day three focus on legs since they are the largest muscles, easiest to build and you will see results quickly. If you would like or have time you can add in core and back, but that's up to you.

lizard053

First of all, good for you for getting to the gym at all!

I have been told to never train the same muscles more than once every other day. Just so you know. If you do a full body strength workout, you need at least a full day of rest until the next one.

You can calm down your cardio routine a little. 1.5 hours is insane! I struggle to do 35 minutes. And change it up. Don't do all treadmill all the time. BORING! :bigsmile: Try out a bike, or an elliptical, or a stair stepper variant. Change things up to keep your muscles guessing!

As for spliting your strengths, there are a variety of ways. Front/back, upper/lower, push/pull. Etc. My advice, on your shorter strength day focus on the compound movements - the ones that work on multiple muscle groups at the same time. More bang for your buck! Chest press, leg press, shoulder press, rows, lat pulldowns, those sort of things.

gnrduff1

Okay, so for the more information: My goal really is to reduce BF%. Gaining muscle would be great, but my current goal is to minimize muscle loss as I lose my last 30ish pounds to my goal weight. I guess this could be classified as a combination weight loss/tone sort of goal. As for the rest of the suggestions, I really appreciate it. I think I'm going to just try all the suggestions (different groups on day 3, same specific group on day 3, etc) and see what works best for me. The reason I do hour and a half on the treadmill is just for the efficiency it offers. I can FEEL how much work I'm doing, and I like it. I will try to change it up to keep my interest level up, though. Boredom has been my downfall in previous weight loss attempts.

medennison123

you can still do 1.5 hours of cardio but you would benefit from mult sessions. Like 30 morn 30 night. But,If it is working for you dont change in bro. Im on a 4 day push pull split with 3 cardio days, 1 HIIT and 2 30 min sessions. You just have to find what you like and stick with it man. Try to do the same routine for like 6-8 weeks so you can see the change. After that your body gets bored and its nice to switch things up.