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3 or 4 day split

Posts: 919 Member
edited January 2 in Fitness and Exercise
Anyone have a really good 3/4 day split workout routine. I cannot....go to the gym 6 days a week. It's unreasonable/ I dont want to. I also do martial arts 3 days a week so thats why. If anyone has a good routine that they are willing to share i will SO GRATEFUL.

Thank you in advance.

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Replies

  • Posts: 433 Member
    I have recently started a routine of rotating
    1. Chest/Triceps
    2. Back/Biceps
    3. Legs/Shoulders

    It doesn't really matter if you take a day off in between or not because your muscles get at least 2 days to recover even if you go 3 days in a row.

    For chest I do incline bench press, decline bench press and flat bench press with a bar. For triceps I do dips on a weight-assisted machine, tricep kickbacks with dumbbells and tricep pulldowns on the machine.

    For back I do pull-ups on the weight-assisted machine and seated rows on the machine. For biceps I do curls with a barbell and hammer curls with dumbbells.

    For legs I do squats with a barbell, leg extensions and leg curls on a machine. For shoulders I do "guy" pushups on an upside down bosu ball, lateral and front raises with dumbbells.

    This seems to work for me for now. I'll change every 6-8 weeks to challenge my body. I do abs and cardio every day too. All together I spend 1-2 hours in the gym to get both strength and cardio in. Each piece (strength and cardio) takes between 30-45 minutes, depending on which workout it is and how crowded it is at the gym.

    I do 4 sets of 12 reps and the last set is hard and wears me out. I just added weight to most of my exercises the last session.

    Good luck. I'm sure there are a lot of options out there.
  • Posts: 474 Member
    This is my routine, it's saved on Google docs, it's a 3 day split. I also do about 20 minutes of cardio after a work out, I hate cardio lol so you can up that if you'd like. Hope this helps :).

    https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B1WZTit_G2WZc1k0TGVBLWhzUm8

    Edited to say: I just read the previous persons work out and mine is similar lol same split but I think I have a few more exercises.
  • Posts: 629 Member
    I use the templates here - http://exrx.net/Lists/WorkoutMenu.html - they have solid 3 and 4 day splits, I can never decide which I like better. You do have to do some work putting them together, but it's good because you can put in a few alternate exercises for the same muscle groups and switch things up pretty easily.
  • Posts: 17,121 Member
    shrug, I only go to the gym once a week, 2-3 times would be a dream come true but im between gyms. You dont have to go six days a week, who told you that lol
  • Posts: 433 Member
    Angel-yours looks great! I just do 2-3 per day for time purposes. I'm going to print yours out to keep for rotation purposes. Thanks for sharing!
  • Posts: 1,861 Member
    A full body routine done 3x a week would be far more effective than a 3 day split going to the gym 3 days a week.

    If you are asking about routines at a basic level, your body can recover WAY faster than hitting every muscle 1x a week. And your rmucles likely have nowhere near the work capacity to handle a lot of different exercises that hit the same muscles that you already worked in a productive manner.

    Bench, squat, row/chinup. Rinse repeat. No need to overcomplicate things at first.
  • Posts: 919 Member
    @waldo56. That's actually what I was looking for. A full body 3 day split. That was just me using bad terminology. I might do either or simply because martial arts is a full body workout as is. Granted it is mostly cardio but we do a lot of heavy legs(body squats and lunges) and chest (push up galore) and abs. But yea thank for you ALL of the workouts. I'm going to compile my own list. I found a good list on bb.

    ADVANCED PROGRAM 1

    Heavy Workout

    Squats – 5 sets of 5, 1 set of 10.
    Perform 2 warmup sets followed by 3 all-out sets of 5 reps. Pick a weight that makes you struggle to get 5 reps on all 3 work sets. Add weight at the next heavy workout and again whenever you manage 5 reps on all 3 sets. After the last set, drop down in weight for 1 set of 10 reps. The 10 reps should be next to impossible to perform.

    Flat Bench Presses – 5 sets of 5, 1 set of 10.
    Follow the same plan as squats.

    Deadlifts – 5 sets of 5.
    The same as above, but omit the higher-rep set.

    Push Presses – 5 sets of 8.
    Do 2 warmup sets of 8 followed by 3 work sets, going as heavy as possible for 8 reps.

    Barbell Curls – 5 sets of 8
    As above.

    Incline Situps – 3 sets of 45.
    Perform 15 reps as regular situps, 15 twisting to the right, and 15 to the left.


    Light Workout

    Squats – 5 sets of 5.
    Use a weight that’s 60 to 65% of the weight you used in the heavy workout. You’ll probably need only one warmup set, so you can do the remaining 4 sets with you work weight. Concentrate on speed and explosiveness. The concentric portion of each lift should be done as quickly as possible.

    Flat Bench Presses – 5 sets of 5.
    As above.

    Good Mornings – 5 sets of 5.
    This exercise is great for building strong lumbars. Perform 2 warmup sets followed by three heavy sets of 5 reps. Heavy, of course, is relative on this exercise. The mechanics of the exercise don’t allow for great poundages, thus, it falls on the light day.

    Seated Dumbell Presses – 5 sets of 8.
    Do 2 warmup sets followed by 3 all-out work sets.

    Concentration Curls – 5 sets of 8.
    As above.

    Crunches – 3 sets of 45.
    Perform these as you did the incline situps in the heavy workout. I put them on the light day because they don’t involve the effort that other ab exercises do.

    Medium Workout

    Squats – 5 sets of 5, 1 set of 2.
    Perform 2 warmup sets just as you did on the heavy day followed by 3 sets of 5 reps with a weight that’s less than what you used at that workout. I like to use around 85% of what I did on the heavy day. After your 5th set rest a few minutes and do a heavy double with more weight than you used on your heavy day. That will prepare you for the upcoming heavy day, when you’ll attempt to use the weight used for a double here 5 reps.

    Flat Bench Presses – 3 sets of 5, 1 set of 2.
    Same as above.

    Stiff-legged Deadlifts – 5 sets of 5.
    Do two warmup sets followed by 3 heavy sets of 5. The weight you use on these should be somewhere between what you use on the good mornings in the light day and the deadlifts in the heavy day.

    Behind the Neck Presses – 5 sets of 8.
    Do 2 warmup sets followed by 3 heavy sets.

    Barbell Curls – 5 sets of 8.
    As above.

    Hanging Leg Raises – 3 sets of 45.
    Perform these to the front, right, and left side.

    Here are some tips to help you get the most out of this program:
    - Stick with it for least 8 weeks.
    - After a month on the program, increase the weight you use on the light and medium days. Go to 75% on the light day and 90% on the heavy day.

    ADVANCED PROGRAM 2

    This program incorporates the heavy/light/medium system, but goes about it differently. In this routine you perform different lifts on each day, and the exercise itself determines what day it falls on.

    Keep in mind that what follows is just an example. Feel free to exchange the exercises on the light and medium days regularly as long as they fall within the guidelines.

    Heavy Workout

    Squat – 7 sets of 5.
    Don’t deviate from the instructions for this exercise, no matter what. The full squat, or some version of it, should be the cornerstone of every workout in every routine. Here, however, you do 2 more sets than you did previously. Perform 3 progressively heavier warmup sets followed by 4 work sets of 5. Once you can get 5 reps on each of these sets increase the weight at the next session.

    Flat Bench Presses – 7 sets of 5.
    Same as above.

    Deadlifts – 7 sets of 5.
    Same as above. If you’ve followed the first two programs faithfully, you should be capable of handling this workload.

    Alternate – Dips/Chins – 4 sets of 5.
    After a good rest, and a few warmup sets, perform a set of dips, rest, do a set of chins, rest and continue back and forth until you complete all 8 sets.

    Alternate – Barbell Curls/Pullover and Presses – 4 sets of 5.
    Same as above.

    Incline Situps – 3 sets of 60.
    20 reps in each direction.


    Light Day

    Olympic-style Pause Squats – 5 sets of 5.
    Use a fairly close stance and squat as low as possible, pausing at the bottom for a second before starting the ascent. Perform 2 warmup sets. Shoot for a weight that’s at least 75% of what you use on the work sets for your squats in the heavy workout.

    One-arm Dumbell Bench Presses – 5 sets of 5.
    This exercise will be tough when you first try it because of the coordination it takes. Stick with it, however, as it will greatly aid your regular flat-bench presses. Five sets each arm.

    Round-back Good Mornings – 5 sets of 8.
    Use caution with this exercise and go much deeper into the negative portion of the lift. Add small amounts of weight slowly.

    Superset – Dumbell Curls/Lying Dumbell Extensions – 5 sets of 8.
    Do a set of curls and go directly into the extensions, then rest and repeat.

    Crunches – 3 sets of 60.


    Medium Day

    Bottom Position Squats – 5 sets of 5, 1 set of 3.
    Set the pins in the rack below parallel. This exercise will bring new meaning to the words hard work if you’ve never performed it before.

    Incline Bench Presses – 5 sets of 5.
    Do 2 warmup sets followed by 3 work sets.

    Power Cleans – 5 sets of 5.
    This is one of the best back exercises in existence. The beauty of it is that you can work your lower, middle and upper back all in one exercise. If you’ve been lifting for a number of years and have never done any cleaning, you’ve done yourself a disservice. Do 2 warmup sets and 3 work sets.

    Close Grip Chins – 5 sets of 5.
    Use a regular knuckles-front grip on these. Add weight on the 3 work sets when possible.

    Lying Barbell Extensions – 5 sets of 5.
    Add weight slowly and in small increments.

    Hanging Leg Raises – 3 sets of 60.

    Here are some tips for getting the most out of the program:
    - Remember, this workout is only a guideline. There are many applicable substitute exercises you can use to tailor the program to your own needs and limitations.
    - If you feel overtrained or run down, avoid taking a layoff at first. Try switching to exercises that require the use of lighter weights for a week or two. That will decrease your total workload and may get you back on track when you return to the heavier exercises.
    - After the first month, don’t be afraid to add a back-off set to your core exercises.

    If you’ve never tried full-body workouts you owe it to yourself to give them a try. They may be retro but you can bet your butt they still work.
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