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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.

Ivysaur 4-4-8 Beginner Program Spreadsheet

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Ivysaur 4-4-8 is a free 3-day full-body beginner barbell program built around two weekly templates: Week A and Week B. Each session alternates between a 4×4 main-lift set and 4×8 volume work across the squat, deadlift, bench press, overhead press, barbell row, and chin-ups. The program runs 30 weeks with auto-advancing loads built into the spreadsheet.

The program was posted to /r/fitness by /u/ivysaur as a direct response to the shortcomings of Starting Strength and StrongLifts 5×5. Instead of a fixed linear jump each session, progression is driven by AMRAP sets. You hit your top set for as many reps as you can, and that number determines how much weight goes on the bar next week. It’s more volume than StrongLifts and you get to squat less often, which many beginners find easier to recover from.

It’s a good fit for true beginners and for lifters coming off StrongLifts or Starting Strength who want more bench and deadlift frequency. The weekly load jumps are aggressive, so you’ll hit a wall faster than you would on a slower LP program. Have a follow-on program ready. Once you’ve run out of steam on this one, the Heavy Light Medium (HLM) program is a natural next step.

[Read more…]

Sheiko Program Spreadsheets & Templates

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To best understand Sheiko’s training methodology, Lift Vault highly recommends you read or listen to his interview with Omar Isuf.

Sheiko programs are powerlifting programs attributed to Boris Sheiko, renowned Russian powerlifting coach. His programs are known for their high volume and great results for those who can complete them.

More of a loose working template than a strict program, many different variations of Sheiko powerlifting programs have been circulating Internet forums for years.

[Read more…]

GZCL Method Spreadsheets: General Gainz, UHF, Jacked and Tan 2.0, The Rippler & More [Complete]

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Updates:

  • May 18, 2020
  • I removed the spreadsheet previews for most of the spreadsheets because of negative impact to page load speed, especially for mobile users. All of the spreadsheets are still there, you will just need to click on the Google Sheets link with the green icon.
  • In depth post on GZCLP programs added to new post

Bred from the popular Reddit user /u/gzcl (also check out his blog and personal subreddit), these easy to use spreadsheets and calculators are based on the general “GZCL Method” for powerlifting.

[Read more…]

3 Day, 7 Week Raw Powerlifting Program

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Originally hosted by Mass-Lift, the 3 Day Raw Powerlifting Program is a no frills powerlifting program that has the athlete squatting 3 days per week, benching 3 days per week, and deadlifting 2 days per week (counting Romanian deadlifts).

After the competition lifts, a rotating set of assistance exercises are prescribed to develop strength in key movements and introduce hypertrophy. [Read more…]

Korte 3×3 Spreadsheet

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Developed by Stephan Korte, the 3×3 program is a two-phased powerlifting program: one high volume, one heavy weight. While only calling for three workouts per week, each session includes the squat, bench, and deadlift.

The program can be run as a 4 week or 8 week program, depending upon whether one or two phases are run.

[Read more…]

Russian Squat Program + Routine Spreadsheet (Original and Masters Versions)

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Whether it is run for the squat, deadlift, bench, or all three (known as the Extended Russian Power Routine), the Russian Squat Program (aka Russian Squat Routine or RSR) is a brutal peaking program that will help boost maximum strength when prepping for a meet.

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Strong Curves Spreadsheets + PDF: Beginner and Advanced Workouts

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Strong Curves is a system of separate 12-week programs created by Bret Contreras and Kellie Davis. You pick the program that matches your experience and equipment, run it for the full 12 weeks, then move up to the next one when you’re ready. Each program opens sessions with hip thrusts and glute bridges as the primary work, then moves into legs, upper body, and core. Bootyful Beginnings, the beginner program, runs 3 days per week.

The training idea is glute-focused hypertrophy with progressive overload. You start with bodyweight and band work, then add barbells as you get more experienced. Rep ranges shift each program so the weight goes up and the reps come down as you progress. It’s not a powerlifting program and it won’t build your squat and deadlift the way a strength-focused template would.

Strong Curves is a good fit for women and anyone focused on glute development at the novice to intermediate level. If you want a program built around the big-four lifts with linear progression, you’d get more out of something like Starting Strength first. Come back to Strong Curves when glute and lower body hypertrophy is the goal.

[Read more…]

New Rules of Lifting for Women Workout Program Spreadsheet

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While men and women’s bodies respond in very similar ways to weight training (provided in the spreadsheet), the New Rules of Lifting for Women by Lou Schuler, Cassandra Forsythe, and Alwyn Cosgrove also provides nutrition advice and descriptions of the exercises, which may be useful for novice lifters or those looking to refamiliarize themselves with the movements. [Read more…]

Ice Cream Fitness 2.0 (ICF) Spreadsheet

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Popularized by Jason Blaha, Ice Cream Fitness is a solid novice strength program that incorporates more accessory work than similar programs (e.g. Starting Strength, Strong Lifts) helping the user get stronger and add size.

In 2019, Blaha released Ice Cream Fitness 2.0. It reduces working sets to 3 sets of 5 instead of 5 sets of 5 and reduces some of the exercise variety. The core goal of the program, helping novices rapidly gain strength and size, remains the same.

[Read more…]

Starting Strength Routine Program Spreadsheet

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One of the most popular novice lifting programs, Starting Strength is a textbook (literally) strength program for beginner lifters to rapidly develop proficiency with basic compound movements and get stronger.

If you’re looking to start lifting and want something that works, this Google spreadsheet is a solid option. It is very similar to GreySkull LP and StrongLifts.

Graduates of the Starting Strength routine may be interested in Madcow or Texas Method.

[Read more…]

GreySkull LP Program Spreadsheet

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Created by John Sheaffer (aka Johnny Pain), Greyskull LP is a 3-day-per-week full body routine for novice lifters. You train Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, hitting squats and a press or bench variation every session, with deadlifts mixed in. Each session follows the same basic structure: two work sets of 5, then a final “5+” AMRAP set on the main lifts.

The AMRAP set is what separates Greyskull LP from programs like Starting Strength and StrongLifts 5×5. Those programs have you stop at 5 reps on every set. Greyskull LP keeps the linear progression (adding weight every session), but lets you go all out on the last set. That extra volume helps you build more muscle alongside the strength gains, and it gives you a longer productive run before you stall.

This is a beginner program. If you haven’t stalled on linear progression yet, you’re exactly who it’s designed for. If you’ve already burned through a novice LP and stalled multiple times, you’ll get more out of something like GZCLP, which is built for people who’ve outgrown the basic add-weight-every-session model.

[Read more…]