3x3 Met Con Routine by Brzycki

doctor_mike
doctor_mike Posts: 70
edited November 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
Hey all, I was wondering if anyone has tried the 3x3 Met Con routine developed by Matt Brzycki out of Princeton. 3X3 circuits are an advanced high intensity hybrid routine that targets cardio and metabolic conditioning using overload weight training principles. Matt Brzycki, strength coach at Princeton University, is credited with developing the concept and coining the term 3X3 workout. 3X3′s emphasize cardio and metabolic conditioning yet will add considerable muscle and strength. The 3 exercise circuit is worked 3 times non-stop for a total of only 9 sets. You choose 3 compound (multi-joint) exercises. A leg/hip exercise, an upper-body pull and upper-body push exercise. All the major muscle groups in the body will be worked hard with only three exercises. The weight on the bar will not change over all 3 circuits. Repetitions will decrease with each circuit. Weight increases once all reps are met for that exercise.

I am 170, 6-0 with 15% bf. My goal is to maintain weight and cut bf to 10% range. I am curious if any MFP'ers have tried this routine or a similar routine and what your experiences have been.

Here is a link to the full explanation of the routine:

http://www.yournutritionaladvantage.com/archives/2362

Thanks

Replies

  • JamesBurkes
    JamesBurkes Posts: 382 Member
    I do something vaguely similar but as I do a lot of cycling etc I wanted a cardio-routine that only used upper body; that way I could still get a killer cardio workout but I could also give my legs a day off to rest (and still build mass, hopefully).

    The way I work it is I do a basic back move (chins, rows), followed immediately by a basic chest move (presses, weighted dips) followed by a shoulder move (upright presses, upright rows). I do all moves to failure at around 8-12 reps. I then have 50 seconds rest before repeating the circuit for a total of six circuits. I then have enough of a rest to semi-recover (2-3 minutes) before doing another 6 circuits.

    It's easy to do at home with chin up bar and weights and my HRM shows that for the 30-40 minute workout my max and average HR is pretty much the same as I get when I do a hard spinning workout. It's tough.

    I only do this once a week, my other weight workout being a more traditional weights workout. However, since doing this I've noticed that my recovery times have got markedly better when doing my "normal" workout and my weights/reps have also increased. I personally think it's very effective and it suits my goals well. Interestingly, despite the lack of rests, I use pretty much the same weights and reps as I do in my usual workout, which kind of contradicts the accepted wisdom that you need 2 or 3 minutes rest between sets when using weights. It is horribly tough, though. I never look forward to it.....
  • JamesBurkes
    JamesBurkes Posts: 382 Member
    Just to add, this is tough and works for me and my goals. If you added squats or similar though, you would undoubtedly need more rests. Just doing these three moves gets you gasping like a fish out of water. Adding legs too would see your lungs exploding!
  • doctor_mike
    doctor_mike Posts: 70
    I do something vaguely similar but as I do a lot of cycling etc I wanted a cardio-routine that only used upper body; that way I could still get a killer cardio workout but I could also give my legs a day off to rest (and still build mass, hopefully).

    The way I work it is I do a basic back move (chins, rows), followed immediately by a basic chest move (presses, weighted dips) followed by a shoulder move (upright presses, upright rows). I do all moves to failure at around 8-12 reps. I then have 50 seconds rest before repeating the circuit for a total of six circuits. I then have enough of a rest to semi-recover (2-3 minutes) before doing another 6 circuits.

    It's easy to do at home with chin up bar and weights and my HRM shows that for the 30-40 minute workout my max and average HR is pretty much the same as I get when I do a hard spinning workout. It's tough.

    I only do this once a week, my other weight workout being a more traditional weights workout. However, since doing this I've noticed that my recovery times have got markedly better when doing my "normal" workout and my weights/reps have also increased. I personally think it's very effective and it suits my goals well. Interestingly, despite the lack of rests, I use pretty much the same weights and reps as I do in my usual workout, which kind of contradicts the accepted wisdom that you need 2 or 3 minutes rest between sets when using weights. It is horribly tough, though. I never look forward to it.....

    So if I read you correctly, you are doing 12 circuits total? Brutal...what's your resistance on the bars?
  • JamesBurkes
    JamesBurkes Posts: 382 Member
    Yep - 12 circuits in total. As far as resistance I go for my usual 8-12 rep weight, although this obviously gets reduced as I get more tired. But I tend to do bodyweight for chins, then when the reps get too low I switch to one arm dumbbell rows (essentially turning it into a four exercise circuit) with 130lbs (then going down as I get more tired). For chest I usually use 80lb dumbbells moving down (eventually) to press ups with a 20lb plate on my back, then just bodyweight press ups. Shoulder presses / Upright rows I usually start at 50lb dumbbells moving down to 25s by the end!

    I'm lucky in that I have four dumbbells, a chin up bar and a barbell at home and a good variety of weight plates. Sometimes I don't have time to switch weights so I may end up veering nearer 5 or 6 reps on some exercises, but the big rest after circuit 6 gives me enough time to get everything set up back to where I need it to be.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories