3-day full-body workout plan
Three full-body workouts a week for a start in the gym. Each begins with the big lifts, a squat or leg press, a bench press and a row or pulldown, and ends with smaller exercises for shoulders, arms, calves and abs.
The first and the third workout repeat the same main lifts, so you learn them quickly; the second brings their alternatives. Every exercise has two working sets close to failure, so an hour is enough, and Liftava suggests the next weights and reps every workout.
- workouts a week
- 3
- minutes a workout
- 60
- exercises
- 24
- sets a week
- 48
- MonFull body
- TueRest
- WedFull body
- ThuRest
- FriFull body
- SatRest
- SunRest
A week as an example. Train on any days: the plan goes on in its order.
Full body A
- Barbell Back Squat2 × 6–8+ 2 warm-up
- Barbell Bench Press2 × 8–10+ 1 warm-up
- Seated Cable Row (V Grip)2 × 8–10+ 1 warm-up
- Seated Leg Curl2 × 10–12
- Cable Lateral Raise2 × 12–15
- Dumbbell Bicep Curl2 × 10–12
- Machine Standing Calf Raise2 × 12–15
- Reverse Pec Deck2 × 12–15
Full body B
- Leg Press2 × 6–8+ 2 warm-up
- Dumbbell Incline Bench Press2 × 8–10+ 1 warm-up
- Lat Pulldown2 × 8–10+ 1 warm-up
- Barbell Romanian Deadlift2 × 8–10+ 1 warm-up
- Dumbbell Lateral Raise2 × 12–15
- Cable Overhead Triceps Extension2 × 10–12
- Cable Crunch2 × 12–15
- Pec Deck Fly2 × 10–12
Full body C
- Barbell Back Squat2 × 6–8+ 2 warm-up
- Barbell Bench Press2 × 8–10+ 1 warm-up
- Seated Cable Row (V Grip)2 × 8–10+ 1 warm-up
- Seated Leg Curl2 × 10–12
- Machine Lateral Raise2 × 12–15
- Bayesian Curl2 × 10–12
- Leg Press Calf Raise2 × 12–15
- Cable Rear Delt Fly2 × 12–15
Rest after a set: 3 min after the day’s first exercise, 2.5 min after the other big ones, 1.5 min after the rest.
Hard sets a week
Sets close to failure each muscle gets in a week: a working set counts whole for each muscle the exercise mainly trains, half for one that helps.
Who it is for
For your first months in a gym, or for coming back after a long break: the plan builder gives both the same targets. In the app every exercise has a target effort, RPE 7 on the big lifts and RPE 8 on the smaller exercises. That leaves about three reps in reserve on a squat or a bench press, and about two reps in reserve on a curl.
How the weights go up
Liftava compares each set with the same set in your last workout. Until a set reaches the top of its range, the weight stays and the target is one rep more. The first exercise of each day has a range of 6–8, so it goes 6, 7, then 8 reps. Once you get 8 reps in a set, the next workout adds one weight step: 2.5 kg on a barbell, unless you set another step.
When you get fewer reps in a set than Liftava suggested, the weight stays and the next target is one rep more than you got. The suggested weight and reps are already in the logger when you start the workout.
How the plan is built
- With two days a week or more, every split trains each muscle at least twice a week.
- A day starts with the big movements (a squat or leg press, a press, a row, a hinge) and ends with smaller exercises for shoulders, arms, calves and abs, as many as fit the time you chose.
- Each movement has a list of exercises from the best to the furthest alternative. The main lifts keep to the best one or two all week, so a beginner learns their lifts; the smaller exercises take the next one each time, so two days do not repeat each other.
- Every exercise starts with two working sets close to failure. A workout longer than an hour adds a third, and once you train regularly so does an hour in a gym three days a week or more, for the exercises of the big muscles. A muscle you want to bring up gets a set more.
- Extra exercises and sets stop at a weekly ceiling for each muscle: 14 hard sets for a beginner, 18 for regular training, 20 when experienced (4 more for a muscle you bring up), counting what the presses and pulls give it too. The table under the plan shows how many each gets.