3 Day Split Workout Complete Guide 2026 Hevy #1 Workout Tracker

Start with medium weights that will challenge you for 10 to 12 reps, says Sariya. Essentially, you’ll want to feel you’ve reached 70 to 80 percent of your RPE (i.e., your fatigue level is at a 7 or 8 out of 10) by the time you’re doing your final reps in a set. When you feel you can do more than 12 reps, it’s time to increase your weight, but keep the same number of reps. This way, you’re always working toward your goal of building strength. With this beginner gym workout routine, you’ll now train six days a week, using 3–4 sets and 8–15 reps per exercise.

Day 1: Upper Body (Chest and Back)

Both movements have a good overloading potential and help develop strength for other upper-body lifts. Push/pull/legs is another effective way to organize a 3-day split. Unlike the classic 3-day split, it doesn’t split the workout sessions by targeted muscles, but rather by the different types of movements you have to perform.

Before You Start a New Workout Program

You can begin by going for a light walk, stretching gently, or trying a mobility class. Starting your fitness journey can be both exciting and overwhelming. Even https://learnmuscles.com/blog/2025/11/25/unimeal-weight-loss-app-review-12-reasons-to-trust/ the most confident lifters once stood where you are now—unsure, nervous, and surrounded by unfamiliar equipment. However, with a well-structured beginner gym workout routine, you’ll feel more confident, avoid injury, and build a strong foundation from day one.

HEAVY WEIGHT SESSION

This comprehensive program guides you through strength and cardio workouts that only take between 20 and 45 minutes. And, of course, it answers every burning question you could have about starting a fitness routine. Many of the things we do for fun (and work) count as exercise.

If you get strong at these movements, you’ll be strong at everything. I’ll explain the workout routine, and Marco will teach you the exercises with tutorial videos. You’ll likely come across many recommendations, ranging from 5 to 6 sets per muscle per week to 20+ sets. Yes, more sets generally lead to better growth, but there is a point of diminishing returns where each additional set brings less and less value. You can read more on the topic in our guide on sets per muscle. Finally, take an extra day or two to recover if you need it.

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For example, 3×8-10 means 3 sets of 8-10 reps. And you can rest about 2 minutes between each set. And when you’re training the entire body in each workout, it becomes really hard to get sufficient volume in for each muscle group without running into problems (e.g. insanely long workouts). They all involve 4 workouts per week, but without ever training on more than two consecutive days. Yet again, the exact days you choose doesn’t matter as long as you maintain that same structure. As I’ve mentioned, there are a few different ways to schedule full body workouts over the course of the week. It can be done using a 2-day split, 3-day split, or 4-day split.

week beginner’s workout routine for men to try

If you’re younger, you might be able to handle more intense workouts, but as you get older, your mobility, energy, muscle mass, and recovery needs can change. [5] You might need gentler exercises to work around back pain. You may want to move more for mental health, to keep your brain active and reduce dementia risk.

• You don’t need to wait until the soreness goes away before doing your next workout.
• You will need a high level of commitment but at least its not DIY.
• Well, if you are one of these people (shame on you, silly beginner!), this second version of the program is my attempt at helping you not listen to me in a way that doesn’t completely screw things up.
• “Swimming is good for individuals with arthritis because it’s less weight-bearing,” explains Dr. I-Min Lee, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.
• The muscles that are being worked the least are your arm muscles.
• And if you need to climb up something, that’s a row or a pull-up.

Power through intense HIIT, cardio and AMRAP circuits plus strength sessions loaded with high reps and lighter weights. Build power and stamina with a well balanced workout routine focused on strength training and cardio. Body weight squats could improve the strength and function of your muscles, tendons, and bones, which can help reduce your risk of injury and make everyday movements easier.

Bodyweight Single Leg Hip Thrust (at Home)

Like other things, this is somewhat individual and will largely depend on your available time to train and your experience level. For example, more experienced trainees might need to train for longer (say, 75+ minutes) to complete enough exercises and sets to create the necessary disruption for growth. The barbell and dumbbell bench press are proper and effective exercises for targeting the chest, shoulders, and triceps during push workouts.

Push/Pull/Legs 3-Day Split

Simply think of them as a necessary part of a safe and productive workout. Similar to adjustable dumbbells, resistance bands are compact, affordable, and highly versatile. You can use them to do alternatives to popular gym exercises like bicep curls, tricep extensions, lateral raises, and lat pulldowns. Create and log your workouts with Hevy and track your progress. It generally means workouts look identical, but the method used to program them differs slightly. Neither approach is better or worse; it mostly comes down to personal preference and how you want to organize your workouts.

Focus on proper form first.

Another notable difference from the push/pull/legs workout split is that, instead of dividing the upper body into push and pull, all upper-body muscles are worked in the same session. For example, day 1 on such a 3-day split can start with compound lifts like the bench press, barbell row, overhead press, and pull-ups. Whether you’re a new or seasoned gym-goer, workout routines catered to your experience level can help you progress toward your muscle and strength goals. A good rule of thumb is that any good workout program will include some form of a squat, hinge, push, pull and carry throughout the course of the week.

The Additional Frequency Just Isn’t Needed

Make sure to identify your goal before jumping into a schedule so that you maximize your efforts and work efficiently towards your goals. Your goals should be SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-specific). Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S., is the fitness director of Men’s Health and a certified trainer with more than 10 years of training experience. He’s logged training time with NFL athletes and track athletes and his current training regimen includes weight training, HIIT conditioning, and yoga. Before joining Men’s Health, he served as a sports columnist and tech columnist for the New York Daily News. Again note that the numbers written after the exercise (like 3×8-10) represent the amount of sets and reps to do for that exercise.