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3 Day Workout Plans

3 day workout programs tend to utilize full body workouts during a training week, each multiple muscle groups per workout. They are a great way to organize strength training programs focused on linear progression, as well as many beginner routines for getting stronger and building muscle.

Best 3 Day Workout Programs

  1. Greg Nuckols 28 Programs (All Levels, Powerlifting)
  2. Ivysaur 4-4-8 (Beginner Strength/Powerlifting)
  3. SPF (Intermediate, Powerbuilding)
  4. Korte 3x3 (Intermediate/Advanced Powerlifting)
  5. Russian Power Routine (Intermediate/Advanced, Powerlifting)
  6. Building the Monolith (Intermediate/Advanced Strength/Powerlifting)
  7. GZCLP (Beginner/Intermediate, Powerlifting, Hypertrophy)
  8. 5/3/1 for Beginners (Beginner, Strength)
  9. Schwarzenegger Golden Six (Beginner, Bodybuilding)
  10. Frank Zane Workout (Intermediate, Bodybuilding)

The latest 3 day workouts are available below.

3 Day 20 Week Powerlifting Program by Powerlifting Academy

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This is a 20 week powerlifting program with 3 training days per week. It was originally published by Powerlifting Academy, a German coaching group. There is also a 16 week version available. [Read more…]

Kizen Back Hypertrophy Program Spreadsheet

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This is a Google spreadsheet for Kizen’s free back hypertrophy program.  If you want a huge, thick back, you’re in the right place. For the full scoop, sign up for free over at Kizen, but here’s the jist. [Read more…]

Fred Hatfield (Dr. Squat) 12 Week Peaking Program Spreadsheet

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This is a 12 week powerlifting peaking program designed by Fred Hatfield. It allows the athlete to input their current 1RM for the squat, bench press, and deadlift and programs every workout until meet day. It also includes a powerlifting meet attempt calculator. [Read more…]

Extended Russian Power Routine Spreadsheet

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The 9 week Extended Russian Power Routine is an extended version of the Russian Squat Routine that is designed to peak all three competition lifts. It is extended from the 6 week Russian Squat Routine to allow for more recovery since the lifter will be lifting at high intensity for squat, bench press, and deadlift. [Read more…]

Tim Swords 7 Week Front Squat Program Spreadsheet

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The Tim Swords 7 Week Front Squat Program is a free percentage-based peaking cycle from Tim Swords, an Olympic weightlifting coach with Team Houston Weightlifting / FuBarbell. The program runs 7 weeks with 3 squat sessions per week. Front squats are the primary movement, trained twice a week, and back squats are trained once per week. The cycle builds to a max front squat attempt in week 6 and a max back squat attempt in week 7.

The training philosophy comes straight from Olympic weightlifting coaching: high-frequency submaximal front squat volume in the early weeks, gradually tightening intensity until you’re doing heavy singles and a true max attempt. You’ll work off both your front squat and back squat 1RMs throughout. Weeks 1-3 stay in the 60-80% range, weeks 4-5 climb to 85-95%, and week 6 peaks with singles at 100% and a max attempt. Week 7 is a taper that ends with a max back squat. It’s built to peak, not to build general fitness.

This program is right for intermediate-plus lifters who can handle squatting 3 days per week and want a bigger front squat. It’s popular with weightlifters who compete and need to peak both lifts on a set timeline. If you’re newer to squatting or haven’t run a peaking block before, you’d be better served by a longer general strength cycle first, like the Hatch Squat Program. For other Olympic weightlifting-focused programs, check out the LSUS 10-5-3 Olympic Weightlifting Program.

[Read more…]

Westside for Skinny Bastards Program Templates (WS4SB)

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Westside for Skinny Bastards (WS4SB) is Joe DeFranco’s hybrid, Westside-style program for skinny lifters and hard-gainers who want to add size and strength at the same time. It’s built around a primary heavy lift plus supplemental and accessory work, and DeFranco published it as two different templates: the original 3-day version (Part 1) and a later 4-day revision (Part 3). Pick the one that fits your schedule and how much you want to train.

The program borrows the Westside Barbell idea of rotating a max-effort lift and a repetition (higher-rep) lift, but it trims the conjugate method down into something a high schooler, athlete, or working professional can actually run. You train the upper body twice a week and hit the lower body hard, with the max-effort method building strength and the repetition method adding muscle. It’s a loose template, not a strict percentage-of-1RM plan, so you’ll rotate exercises every few weeks and do a little interpreting as you go.

WS4SB is geared toward ectomorphs and athletes who want general size and strength rather than a competition powerlifting total. If you’re brand new to lifting and want something simpler to start with, a straight linear program like Starting Strength or StrongLifts 5×5 is an easier on-ramp. Inspired by Westside, this program is not affiliated with Westside Barbell or Louie Simmons, and it is not a powerlifting program.

[Read more…]

All Pro Simple Beginner Routine Program Spreadsheet

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The All Pro Simple Beginner Routine (ASBR) is a classic strength and hypertrophy workout routine for novices. It supposedly originated on BodyBuilding.com and this particular version was modified a bit by tr3pid.

There is an extensive FAQ section that is copied from the spreadsheet below. [Read more…]

Strength Power and Fortitude 4 Week Powerbuilding Program Spreadsheet

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The Strength Power and Fortitude (SPF) 4 week powerbuilding program by Brogan Pratt is an off season program for powerlifters designed to help build base strength and work capacity. It can be run as a 3 day or 4 day program and resets every 4 weeks, using an AMRAP set on week 4 to gauge progress.

[Read more…]

GZCLP Program Spreadsheets, Progression Tips, and Accessories

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GZCLP is a linear progression strength program for beginners. It is a simpler variation of the GZCL program methodology with more rapid progression. The GZCLP program is available in three day and four day versions. It is highly customizable, allowing the individual to select a variety of lifts to perform over the course of the program.

[Read more…]

3 Peaking Template Spreadsheets by Barbell Medicine

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Following up on the popular Bridge Program, the crew at Barbell Medicine introduced a free peaking program for athletes preparing for a powerlifting or strengthlifting meet. [Read more…]

Powerlifting Academy 3 Day 16 Week Program Spreadsheet

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This is the Powerlifting Academy 16 week program spreadsheet, 3x weekly training version. There is also a 20 week version available.

Powerlifting Academy 16 Week Program Overview

  • 3x weekly training
  • Competition lifts are the primary focus, but the following variations are also used:
    • Squat
      • Pause squats
    • Bench Press
      • Bench press, closer grip
      • Bench press, close grip (what is often called CGBP)
    • Deadlift
      • Deficit deadlifts (3-6cm deficit)
      • Deadlift from boxes (8-12cm raised from floor, i.e. rack pulls)

[Read more…]

Benching the Monolith Program Spreadsheet

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Benching the Monolith is a version of Jim Wendler’s Building the Monolith program that focuses on, you guessed it, the bench press. [Read more…]

GZCL Jacked and Tactical (Bench + Squat Only)

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This is a variation of Tactical Barbell programming combined with the GZCL program framework. It only programs the bench press and squat movements. Deadlifts are not included. This is ideal for athletes that are either unable to deadlift or looking to focus primarily on improving their bench press and squat. [Read more…]

5 Blaine Sumner Program Spreadsheets

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This is the free program spreadsheet collection offered on Blaine Sumner’s site.

It contains:

  • linear progression program
  • high frequency program
  • off-season program
  • equipped lifting program
  • bench-only program

All of the above programs are 12 weeks in length and are programmed off of percentages of the lifter’s training max. [Read more…]

Building the Monolith Program Spreadsheet (kg + lb)

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Building the Monolith is a 6-week strength and size program from Jim Wendler, the creator of 5/3/1. You train 3 days a week, and every session pairs a heavy lower body lift with a press and a pull. Loads run off a training max set at 85% of your true 1RM, which keeps the high-rep work like 5×5 squats and 10×5 pressing hard but doable.

It’s a brute-force plateau breaker. Standard 5/3/1 runs slow monthly waves; Building the Monolith front-loads a huge amount of squatting and pressing over six hard weeks to pack on muscle and work capacity fast. You can see its DNA in later high-volume templates like GZCL and nSuns. Wendler wrote it for lifters who had stalled and wanted a short, punishing block to shake things loose.

This one’s built for advanced lifters trying to break a plateau. You need a solid strength base and the recovery to handle the volume while eating and sleeping to match. If you’re a novice or still adding weight every week on a linear program, you’ll get more out of standard 5/3/1 for now. For a bench-focused take on the same idea, check out Benching the Monolith.

[Read more…]

The Bridge by Barbell Medicine Program Spreadsheet

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Created by Jordan Feigenbaum and Austin Baraki at Barbell Medicine, the Bridge is a strength program designed for athletes that are finishing a novice program like Starting Strength or Strong Lifts 5×5 and are ready for a “bridge” to intermediate level programming.  [Read more…]

USSR Yearbook Squat Routines 1974 and 1976 Spreadsheets

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The original strains of what became the Russian Squat Routine, the 1974 and 1976 USSR “Yearbook” routines are very specific and should only be used when preparing the squat for competition. These are not general, off-season programs to be run repeatedly.

Differences:

  • 1974 is a 3 week program, 1976 is a 6 week program
  • Both are high itensity; but 1976 stays at or above 80% of 1RM for all 6 weeks of the program
    • 1974 dips into the 60% range on the lighter workout days, but stays at or above 75% the rest of the sessions
  • 1974 works primarily with 3-5 rep ranges, 1976 works with significantly more sets of 2 reps, likely as a result of the higher intensity
  • 1974 comes with two 3 week flavors that can be run sequentially (flavor 1, then flavor 2), repeatedly (flavor 1 or 2, then repeat for the next 3 weeks) to achieve the 6 week cycle

[Read more…]

Greg Nuckols 28 Programs Spreadsheet

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Greg Nuckols released 28 free training programs through his site, Stronger by Science. The bundle covers squat, bench press, and deadlift individually, with templates for beginner, intermediate, and advanced lifters at 1, 2, or 3 training days per week for each lift. Every program runs on a 4-week cycle, and you test your 1RM at the end of each cycle. The math: 3 lifts x 3 skill levels x 3 frequencies = 27 programs, plus a 4th deadlift variation (low volume, medium volume, and high volume in addition to the standard beginner version) = 28 total.

The design comes from Nuckols’ data-driven approach to strength training. Instead of a single fixed program, the bundle gives you a modular system: pick your lift, your experience level, and how many days per week you can train that lift. You use the squat, bench, and deadlift programs together, each running at whatever frequency fits your schedule. Intermediate and advanced templates add lift variations (front squats alongside back squats, for example), while beginner programs focus on the competition lifts to build the movement pattern first.

These programs are a good fit for intermediate and advanced lifters who want a percentage-based, structured template they can customize by frequency. Beginners can run them too — the 1x per week beginner versions are the most approachable entry point. You’ll need a 1RM estimate for each lift to get started. If you’re brand new to powerlifting, you might get more mileage from a full-body novice program first. See also: Greg Nuckols High Frequency Program (free spreadsheet).

[Read more…]

Brandon Lilly’s Cube Method Program Spreadsheet

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The Cube Method is a 10-week powerlifting program from Brandon Lilly, built around the squat, bench, and deadlift. You train four days a week: one day each for the big three, plus a fourth bodybuilding day for your weak points. Each main lift gets worked once a week, and week to week it rotates through a heavy day, an explosive day, and a rep day so you’re never grinding the same style twice in a row.

The cycle runs as three 3-week waves and finishes with a meet week where you test new maxes. Every load is figured as a percentage of your 1RM, and the loads climb wave over wave while the reps drop.

Lilly wrote the program, in his words, “out of my absolute frustration with my training, myself, and the sport of powerlifting.” It’s a back-to-basics answer to overcomplicated programming. Instead of chasing one quality at a time, the Cube develops heavy strength, bar speed, and rep volume together and rotates them so each lift sees all three. If you’ve run Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1 or the Juggernaut Method, the wave idea will feel familiar. The Cube just spreads the three styles across your lifts each week instead of moving every lift through the same block together.

It’s built for intermediate and advanced lifters who already have a solid 1RM and a meet or a test day on the calendar. The percentages run high, so you need real numbers to work from. If you’re newer and still adding weight to the bar most weeks, you’ll get more out of a linear program like GZCLP first, then come back to the Cube once that stalls.

[Read more…]

8 Week Hypertrophy Specific Training Program Spreadsheet (HST)

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Popularized by Bryan Haycock, hypertrophy specific training (HST) is a training routine based upon the principles of mechanical load, chronic stimuli, progressive load, and strategic deconditioning.

This training style is best utilized by bodybuilders, though it can be used by powerlifters and other athletes to spark muscle growth and work capacity in the off-season. [Read more…]