3-day full body routine: how to build it, with a full example
By Rodrigo Grille · Updated
Training your whole body three days a week is one of the most efficient ways to organize your gym time when you’re short on it: every muscle gets work several times a week, and if you miss a day, nothing goes untrained.
Why full body, three days a week
With a split (chest one day, back another…) each muscle gets trained once a week, and missing a session means a muscle group goes untrained. In a full body routine every day covers the whole body with different exercises, so the work is spread out and sessions are shorter.
Three days leave at least one rest day between sessions: Monday, Wednesday and Friday, or Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. If your week moves around, the one rule is not to train the same exercise two days in a row.
How each day is built
Each session has one exercise for each main movement pattern plus a few small ones:
- A push: a chest or shoulder press.
- A pull: a row or a pulldown.
- A knee-dominant leg movement: leg press, Bulgarian split squat or leg extension.
- A hip or hamstring movement: a leg curl.
- Two or three small exercises: side or rear delts, biceps, triceps, calves or adductors.
Machines, cables and dumbbells make it easier to train close to failure safely, repeat the same form every week, and keep heavy loads off your spine.
Sets, reps and rest
With 1 or 2 hard sets per exercise, taken close to failure with good form, there’s enough work to progress without dragging the session out. Before the big lifts, do one or two light warm-up sets.
- Big lifts (leg press, presses, rows, pulldowns): 6 to 12 reps and 2 to 2.5 minutes of rest.
- Small exercises: 10 to 15 reps and 60 to 90 seconds of rest.
If you’re new to lifting, leave one or two reps in the tank for the first few weeks while you learn each exercise.
Full example
This is the 3-day program that comes with Nacho. Each day takes about 40 minutes including rest.
Day A · Legs & Chest
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leg Press | 2 | 8–12 | 2:30 min |
| Smith Machine Bench Press | 2 | 6–10 | 2:30 min |
| Lat Pulldown | 2 | 8–12 | 2:00 min |
| Seated Leg Curl | 2 | 8–12 | 90 s |
| Dumbbell Lateral Raise | 2 | 10–15 | 60 s |
| Single-Arm Cable Pushdown | 2 | 10–15 | 60 s |
| Seated Calf Raise | 2 | 10–15 | 60 s |
Day B · Back & Glutes
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chest-Supported Machine Row | 2 | 8–12 | 2:00 min |
| Dumbbell Bulgarian Split Squat | 2 | 8–12 | 2:00 min |
| Smith Machine Incline Press | 2 | 6–10 | 2:00 min |
| Lying Leg Curl | 2 | 8–12 | 90 s |
| Leg Extension | 2 | 10–15 | 75 s |
| Reverse Pec Deck | 2 | 12–15 | 60 s |
| Bayesian Cable Curl | 2 | 8–12 | 75 s |
Day C · Shoulders & Arms
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Machine Shoulder Press | 2 | 6–10 | 2:30 min |
| Neutral-Grip Lat Pulldown | 2 | 8–12 | 2:00 min |
| Pec Deck Fly | 2 | 10–15 | 75 s |
| Hip Adduction Machine | 2 | 10–15 | 75 s |
| Dumbbell Lateral Raise | 2 | 10–15 | 60 s |
| Incline Dumbbell Curl | 2 | 8–12 | 75 s |
| Parallel Bar Dips | 2 | 6–15 | 90 s |
| Leg Press Calf Raise | 2 | 12–15 | 60 s |
The days rotate: if one week ends on Day B, the next one starts with Day C, so none of them falls behind.
How to progress on this routine
Use double progression: when you hit the top of the rep range on the first set of an exercise, add weight next session; until then, go for one more rep. There’s a worked example in the progressive overload guide, and to keep count, see how to log your lifts.
If the machine is taken
Change the order: do the next exercise and come back to it. And if your gym doesn’t have a machine, swap it for one that trains the same thing: a dumbbell reverse lunge instead of the Bulgarian split squat, or a pulldown with a different grip instead of the lat pulldown.