Will Working Out 3 Times A Week Build Muscles?

Working out 3 times a week is a great strategy to build muscles especially if you don’t get enough time to hit the gym.

Or if I’m not wrong you would have heard this from a trainer or friend that full body workout is more effective than hitting a single body part a day. In most cases, this question is asked by an intermediate or advanced lifter.

If you are finding out a person who has tried this strategy for long enough… Then I MIGHT BE OF HELP BECAUSE I HAVE BEEN DOING THIS FROM PAST 1 YEAR 😊

There are literally so many different types of muscle building strategies out there which will make you confuse which one to pick and continue.

And you know what?

I have been confused with the same and there was a time, I haven’t stick to a single workout routine for long enough…

Which actually SLOWED DOWN MY GAINS ☹

So, do you want to be that guy jumping around from one article to another finding the perfect answer or a perfect muscle building plan WHICH REALLY WORKS!!!

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Stick to this article as I am going to provide you a full proof plan based on my experience which will help you to see noticeable gains within a span of next few months…

READY…Let’s Start!

And if you already don’t know me… My name is Gympanzie, an Online Coach & Fitness Trainer from India.

Now I don’t get this question a lot but I get a few DM’s on my Instagram profile.

So, we all know this when you are a beginner or new to resistance training your body has more room to gain muscle and lose fat at a faster rate! WHY…

• Your body reacts to this new kind stress and gets a sudden boost in metabolism.
• As metabolism boost up you burn more fat as a source of fuel.
• At the same time when you start lifting, due to mechanical tension which is when you contract or stretch your muscle a signal is sent to your body to start the process of muscle building or hypertrophy.

Basically, whatever you do in your beginning years of weight training you will see some gains like I still remember I have gained around 6 kgs of muscles including some fat in my first year of training.

And being a natural lifter, it becomes hard to gain muscle at later stages.

After a while, you have to experiment a lot with your training style and volume.

Will working out 3 times a week build muscle?

YES ABSOLUTELY!!!

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According to my experience:

• Increasing your number of days, you train (Frequency)
• Lifting heavier weights (Progression) with proper form “NO EGO LIFTING”
• Increasing the number of sets, repetition & weights (volume) is the most important thing you need to focus if you want to grow your muscles bigger.

And seriously I have seen some amazing definition and better-looking physique than before.

You can expect slightly better gains if you train each muscle group two times or 3 times a week.

That simply means you have to work out more frequently!

Make sure that you understand the concept of calorie in versus calorie out to gain muscle and lose fat. READ ONE OF MY MOST READ ARTICLE ON THIS TOPIC!

Now let me explain to you how to do it?

Muscle Building Training Split Calendar

You can see this chart and select any of this muscle building training split, to begin with, well I personally do full body 3 times a week training split as it gives me enough time to rest and recover in between.

There are two ways you can do it either a Full Upper, Full Lower & then on the 3^rd day you can pick your lagging body part maybe Upper/Lower as you have only 3 days to train.

Otherwise, train full body every alternate day….

Most of the gym junkies will not be able to control themselves to stay at home and rest for full one day, so on that day, you can schedule a slow cardio session like jogging, walking, hiking, cycling which are some examples.

I would not recommend High-Intensity Interval Cardio (HIIT) and I will explain that in my next point what are some disadvantages of training 3 times a week.

But seriously don’t stress your muscles on rest days, enjoy with your friends and family on these days…

Muscle Building Training Split Exercise Selection

Let me share with you my day 1 sample plan:

• Wide Grip Pull Up (Back)

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• Neutral Grip Lat Pulldown (Back)

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• Machine Chest Press (Chest)

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• Machine Seated Chest Fly (Chest)

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• Dumbbell Alternating Shoulder Press (Shoulder)

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• Barbell Bicep Curl (Biceps)

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• Dip (Triceps & Chest)

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• Machine Leg Press (Legs)

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• Smith Machine Calf Raises (Legs)

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Now on day 3… I change my workout routine targeting different muscle group, for example, you can see on day 1, I did vertical pulling movements for the back so next time I will pick up horizontal pulling movements like barbell or dumbbell rows also deadlifts.

Similarly, I will choose a few exercises to hit my upper chest like incline dumbbell bench press on day 3 as I have already targeted my middle chest on day 1 same for other body parts as well.

I hope you are getting my point this way I keep my workout interesting every single day by covering all muscle groups.

How Many Sets & Repetitions?

Try to understand this part very clearly!

As doing more of everything does not result in better gains, your body can only handle too much and will warn you at certain times to step back and relax.

That simply means you don’t have to overtrain!

• Start with 2 sets for a bigger muscle group (back, chest and legs) in week 1 and 2
• 1 set for a smaller muscle group (arms, shoulders, calves, and abs)
• Keep your rep range in between 8 – 15 for each exercise.

• If you can recover well enough you can move upwards and try adding one more set that means 3 sets for a bigger muscle group and 2 sets for a smaller muscle group in week 3.
• At the end of the week, you will be doing “12 to 18 sets per week for bigger muscle groups and 6 to 12 sets for a smaller muscle group” which is recoverable for most individuals.

I do not think that you should go above this as I have myself faced joint pains beyond this point.

Advantages of Training 3 Times a Week

• You get more time to rest and recover.
• Better muscle gains (Till this point it is very clear that training 3 times a week helps in adding more volume maximize muscle protein synthesis or MPS. Do not forget to progressively overload or adding weights)
• People with a busy and stressful lifestyle can take advantage of this approach.

Disadvantages of Training 3 Times A Week

There is only one disadvantage which I have faced until now using this approach is Overtraining and experiencing joint pains, especially in the elbow and shoulder area if you don’t recover fully.