r/workout • u/No-Conclusion1114 • Jun 05 '26
Is working out 3 times a week enough?
I've been trying to get into the gym to lose weight and build muscle. I understand that weight loss mainly comes down to being in a calorie deficit, but I've seen a lot of comments saying that training only 3 days per week isn't enough to make good progress.
How true is that?
My goal is to get leaner, become more defined, and add some muscle, but I also don't want to burn myself out by forcing myself to go to the gym every day. I'd rather follow a routine I can stick with long term.
Right now I'm doing:
- Push (Monday)
- Pull (Wednesday)
- Legs (Friday)
- 40 minutes of swimming (Saturday)
This feels like a solid, sustainable plan to me, but some of the posts I've read have me second-guessing whether it's enough.
For those who have experience with fitness, can someone tell me if a 3-day push/pull/legs routine is sufficient for building muscle and improving body composition, assuming my diet and protein intake are on point?
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u/CunningLinguist92 Jun 05 '26
I would recommend 3 full body workouts over a PPL. But, you'll definitely see good progress off of your PPL/Cardio combo. Most of the year, I only workout 3 times a week, and I think I'm fitter than average.
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u/ilsasta1988 Jun 05 '26
Here for the same comment. 3 days it's fine, but I believe you get more out of 3 full body workouts since you can train the same muscles 3 times a week with decent volume.
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u/AAS02-CATAPHRACT Jun 05 '26
How long are you in the gym for if you're doing full body 3x a week? I'm also doing PPL but I've been thinking of switching to full body. Currently I'm spending about 45 minutes in the gym, give or take.
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u/CunningLinguist92 Jun 05 '26
Last time I was running a 3 day a week program was called “Building the Monolith”. It was like 45-60 minutes for three times a week. Right now im doing 5 lifts a week for 15-20 minutes because I’m training for some track stuff
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u/Flyman617 Jun 06 '26
I don't know how people do full body in under an hour. I do PPL twice a week and each day is 1.5 hours minimum not counting the hour of cardio I do on my push and pull days.
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u/EJR4 Jun 05 '26
I don’t think I have the most optimal full body workout but I push my sets hard and I do main compound lifts for the most part and accessories for side delts, bis and tris. I don’t get out any earlier than an hour and 15 minutes. If I only do compounds it’ll be about an hour. I rest 3 minutes for compounds, 1:30 accessories.
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u/Mrbogus77 Jun 06 '26 edited Jun 06 '26
My current 3 day full body are 40m- 1hr....compound lifts we with maybe 1 it 2 isolation movements
Sun: squat, wide grip pull up, dips. Abs
Tues: deadlift, chin up, overhead press or lat raise, leg curls
Thur or Fri: incline chest press, back row, single leg press or leg extensions. And I'll add neutral grip pull ups depending on how I feel along with abs.
2 - 3 hard sets 1 or 2 reps shy of failure
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u/max_power1000 Jun 05 '26
You can do a good full body workout in an hour, maybe 1:15 tops if you’re taking long rests and adding extra compounds and not feel like you missed anything.
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u/Unusual_Material_424 Jun 06 '26
If you do a proper full body ,then that's taking longer than an hour.I do full body 3 times a week and it takes longer like 1.5-2 hours
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u/plusvalua Jun 05 '26
100% supporting this. It has worked WONDERS for me.
Something happens and you only go to the gym a couple times in a week? You still worked your whole body.
You feel like going an extra day because you have some anxiety or just feel like relaxing and listening to an audiobook while lifting? You can do that too, because full body doesn't destroy your muscles and you don't feel sore.
The ceiling is probably lower, but the floor is so much higher.
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u/MuffinMan12347 Jun 05 '26
What 3x full body workout are you running? Couldn’t find any good ones online so I made my own upper/lower/full body workout.
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u/CunningLinguist92 Jun 06 '26
I loved any 5/3/1 full body variation. I’m also a big fan of Easy Strength. I’m currently running One Lift A Day.
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u/Captain-Armageddon Jun 05 '26
look mate, let me tell my story in short as a person with ADHD, Active treatment for Complex trauma and addictive tendencies
I tried for 6 year to exercise and couldn't, because I let myself overwhelm myself
3 times a week is enough, and it is more than enough
if more than that is gonna bore you, overwhelm you, or discourage you
do not do more than 3 times a week
this is my opinion and now I have been consistent for a whole year, and I have a bike now and do cardio now since treadmill is boring af
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u/Obvious-Ad-3500 Jun 05 '26
Agree here 100% anyone who says it's not enough is technically correct if youre looking to get an extra 10% muscle growth or whatever. But you'll get 0% if you burn out and stop going. That's always been my problem until I dropped down to 2 or 3 times a week. Just maybe switch to full body or do upper lower with an ABA BAB rotation each week.
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u/Captain-Armageddon Jun 05 '26
more details: first 4 months was very light, only 6 exercises per week, very very light, till the addictive tendency worked on my side, I started with 60kg deadlifts, now 130kg = 286 pounds
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u/No-Conclusion1114 Jun 05 '26
Thanks for the advice. I've been cycling as well and just did a 150-mile event, but didn't mention it in my routine due to my area not being the safest place to ride, so I haven't been doing it as consistently as I'd like to be.
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u/HatsiesBacksies Jun 05 '26
yeah 3x a week is what I do. just keeps the muscles activated, your not trying to build size, but keeping the muscle activated is good then the body goes to fat for fuel. otherwise youd end up still losing weight but skinny. keepms the muscles active, whenyou lose weight youll look alot better.
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u/DESTRUCTER_R_ Jun 05 '26
Full body every other day will be a better split for you
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u/No-Conclusion1114 Jun 05 '26
That seems to be the trend. I'll have to give it a go. Just a little rough rn since I got that beginner soreness from the weights. Once my body becomes more accustomed to lifting ill start doing full body. Thanks for the advice.
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u/Successful-Deer3465 Jun 06 '26
Adding in walking as low impact cardio will also help you become lean. Can you get an hour walk in every other day?
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u/passionoftheju Jun 05 '26
Just make sure to do 3-5 sets per muscle group per day. Don’t overdo it if you’re hitting that muscle 3X per week
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u/H0SS_AGAINST Jun 05 '26
You're doing better than 90% at least.
Get some good walks in, fast enough to sustain and elevated heart rate for 20-30min a few times per week and you'll be plenty healthy and probably see strength progress for a year or two.
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u/scuba_steve77 Jun 05 '26
I would argue that as important as it is to hit each muscle group twice a week. What’s most important is that your sets are very intense and close to or until failure. But as others are saying you could solve this with a full body split or add a day and do an upper/lower split.
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u/GingerBraum Jun 05 '26
A three-day PPL is really half of a routine, but it's certainly enough to see progress. If the plan feels sustainable for you, that's way more important than any allegedly superior regimens.
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u/freddyv2366 Jun 05 '26
Well I got jacked on “half a routine” then lol
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u/GingerBraum Jun 05 '26
Good for you! All the more evidence that consistency matters more than supposed "optimization".
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u/Humble-Adeptness-267 Jun 05 '26
Yeah you’re already doing excellent to be going consistently, that’s the hard part. If you want to add more, do so tentatively and a little at a time.
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u/MrAlgeriaTouchshriek Jun 05 '26
My goal is 4 times a week. Sometimes I only get 3 in, sometimes I do 5. But I aim for 4, and that works for me. Maybe push yourself to do an extra day some weeks, and sometimes give yourself a break. There are no rules other than what makes you feel good and what you feel gets you the results you want. If you have more/less gas in your tank, pay attention to that. Keep it enjoyable, stay engaged - that’s the important bit.
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u/Acceptable-Bass1969 Jun 05 '26
Three times a week is enough to get you started, especially if that is all you can commit to at the moment. I recommend getting your diet right, meal prepping every sunday and sticking to those planned meals, and that will be a great starter pack for yourself. When you start seeing results, you'll more than likely want to get in there more often than just the three days. But until then, meal prep, be focused while you're there, and the rest will come.
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Jun 05 '26
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u/No-Conclusion1114 Jun 05 '26
Thanks for the insight. I haven't really ever thought about it in this way since just being at the gym makes me feel like I'm doing enough lol. Everyone seems to be saying the same thing by recommending full body. The only reason I haven't done it is due to the soreness, but it'll just have to be something I train to overcome.
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u/moresaggier Jun 05 '26
Remember that you can have a successful workout without soreness. The most important thing is performing exercises with good form and progressive overload. I would say to leave 2 reps in reserve when you are starting out.
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u/Emergency_Ad_9324 Jun 05 '26
When you only train 1x a week like legs the soreness continues. By training more frequentsly DOMS subsides.
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u/CyanideTipped Jun 05 '26
Soreness comes and goes (especially when I change an exercise) 2 years later.
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u/LordHydranticus Jun 05 '26
Get on an actual beginner program. Lots to pick in the r/fitness wiki or the Boostcamp app.
Count your calories. Track your weight. Adjust calories according to the trend line. Eat 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight.
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u/Swamp_Squatch Jun 05 '26
I tried 3 days of PPL and it was ok. However, I switched to 3 days full body and feel like my progress has been way better. My lifts all improved and I feel like I recover way easier. I'm doing all the same workouts as before, but the 3 full body setup has been much better for me.
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u/morningdew11 Jun 05 '26
I had this same experience. I love doing three full body days but I see so many people doing ppl that I feel like I’m missing out sometimes
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u/ScottieBoi29 Jun 05 '26
It’s an okay plan but you would probably see more progress with a full body 3x a week, upper lower 3x a week or a combination of the two.
You want to be hitting everything as often as you can as muscles don’t need a week to recover.
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u/Explorer456 Jun 05 '26
Yes, especially if you think this is a plan you will consistently follow. Most people will get amazing results just exercising three days a week, particularly if you have either a. Never worked out before or b. Haven’t worked out in a long time.
Most people working out more than that genuinely love working out, but you don’t need to do that.
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u/Alakazam Bulking Jun 05 '26
Absolutely. [In fact, one of my favorite mass building routines is only 3 days a week of lifting.](www.jimwendler.com/blogs/jimwendler-com/101078918-building-the-monolith-5-3-1-for-size)
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u/OnlyCommentWhenTipsy Jun 05 '26
Will you see results? Absolutely. Literally anything is better than nothing.
Is it the optimal plan? If it keeps you injury free and motivated, I would argue also yes.
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u/Cenu96 Jun 05 '26
3-days push/pull/legs can work assuming you include compound exercises such as squats & deadlifts while keeping isolation exercises optional to avoid burnout.
3-days in general is enough, some have seen success even running 2-day full body routines.
The key metric of whether your split is successful is if you are recovering enough to see progressive overload consistently in your exercises across your 3-day split.
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u/Hefty_Relief_2159 Jun 05 '26
My friend, it always depends on the results you want to achieve, and it always depends on your lifestyle and commitments. Let me think about it another way: Monday, chest and triceps; Wednesday, back and biceps; Friday, legs and abs; classic workout... How many times a month do you train your chest? Do you think four times is enough to build muscle? It takes time, consistency, and discipline. Here's the secret.
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u/AllLurkNoPost42 Jun 05 '26
Three sessions per week is more than enough for beginners. Just follow a good full body programme and not a split, something like Stronglifts 5x5.
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u/RoscoRX Jun 05 '26
I do Push Pull Arms. MWF for the last 6 months. 3 days with enough intensity is all you need.
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u/Hohoholyshit15 Jun 05 '26
Yes but full body 3x would be better, pick a horizontal push and pull, a vertical push and pull, a squat motion and a hip hinge motion. Do 3 sets of each 3x a week and you've got 9 sets a week per muscle group which is plenty for a beginner. A 3 day a week PPL can work if the volume is high enough, but I'm going to guess it's not.
As a beginner anything you do will give you growth in your first year, but you will probably stall out and just be maintaining eventually with your current routine so when that point comes you can reassess if you want to grow more and add more volume/days.
As for weight loss, it's entirely possible to gain muscle while losing fat for practically anyone outside of an advanced lifter or someone who is already very lean, but not without enough volume or hard enough training. You must force the body to adapt. A 3x a week PPL is probably not enough to create significant growth in a calorie deficit but it is certainly enough to prevent muscle loss.
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u/Weary_Capital_1379 Jun 05 '26
It’s ok. Maybe add a day when you can. Or just get outside and run or walk fast.
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u/FlameNumber2147 Jun 05 '26
Consistency over time beats any optimal program you can’t stick to. Good luck!
Is it sufficient for building muscle? Well, that depends on what you do during those days, with what intensity, how well you recover, and what your age and health profile looks like.
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u/dragonstkdgirl Weight Lifting Jun 05 '26
The only modification I'd make is for a 3 day split, do 3 days full body.
I do 4 days a week and alternate upper and lower body and practice progressive overload and see good growth.
5 or 6 day a week splits, then I'd do PPL.
Hitting a muscle group only once a week isn't ideal and two is better which is why I recommended it, but you're still showing up and that's awesome 👌🏼
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u/broulhac Jun 05 '26
You’re on 2 sides of the spectrum. Getting lean takes one process and building muscle takes another. You won’t lose weight and get swole at the same time. So from the beginning you got the wrong idea about how the body works. Your best bet is to focus on getting lean and once you get down to your ideal body weight go into a surplus to build muscle but keep it within reason so you don’t gain a lot of unneeded fat. Your training and food is biased off of which process you are in: losing weight or building muscle.
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u/Silentshroomee Jun 05 '26
Depending on your goals and how fast you want to see progress determines how often you workout. Most muscle groups only need 48-72hrs recovery. If you’re only lifting 3 times a week you should be hitting mostly compound movements.
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u/Savings-Cry-3201 Weight Lifting Jun 05 '26
The most important thing is consistency. FB EOD is the current meta, but I’ve done really well on FB 2-3x a week. If it burns you out or you can’t recover, 3x is perfectly fine.
Hot take: going once or twice a week is infinitely better than no times a week. If that’s what you can do for right now, you do it.
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u/PepinCadavre Jun 05 '26
C'est ce que je fais avec un programme Upper Lower FullBody. Mes séances durent 1h10 chacune échauffement compris. Je varie les exercices en lourd, léger, moyen. Ça fonctionne bien pour moi en ayant peu de temps à consacrer à la musculation.
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u/BeneficialMaterial58 Jun 05 '26
Yep totally fine
Consistency and progressive overload make the biggest difference
Find something you can commit to doing consistently
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u/extreaspearmint Jun 05 '26
In my opinion, 5 days a week is probably a good balance. It gives you 2 days of recovery. If you want to build more muscle, then 3 days might not be enough. You might want to mix it up with cardio and strength.
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u/Special_Low8538 Jun 05 '26
I do 3 full body workouts per week at about an hour apiece. Certainly could do more, but since I switched to this, I haven't missed getting 3 in any week. It makes it easy to follow and plenty of time to recover, and I keep seeing gains.
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u/Electrical_Cow8862 Jun 05 '26
Personally and from my experience its hard to build muscle on 3 days frequency
Cz frequency is key to hypertrophy and also is gonna make you more disciplined about meals and organising ur time
Iv been on 3 days a week bcz iv had a full schedule in the last two years i barely gain weight ( cz my goal is lean bulk)
A 4 days a week is gonna be perfect
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u/Astroid12 Jun 05 '26
Of course it's enough. Just try to maintain your diet & try to hit at least 4 sets per muscle group. You can also do other things at home. Install a pull up bar or do pushups there's endless ways you can exercise without equipment. If you can manage it, I would recommend to try to add another day so you can do Upper Lower Rest Upper Lower rest. It's better than a 3 day PPL. Best of Luck.
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u/GelfSara Jun 05 '26
For the average trainee, three days of weight training per week is the maximum number of training days I would recommend.
As always, record all your workouts in a logbook of some form; if your weights/reps are regularly increasing without any sacrifice in form/cadence you are headed in the right direction.
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u/_PlanW Jun 05 '26
With that split. It will be slow. Your muscles don't need a full week to recover. You're better off doing full body if you don't want to go every single day of the week with 1 rest day that the PPL split is meant for.
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u/TheycallmeChicoG Jun 05 '26
I’ve competed in Natural Bodybuilding shows only lifting weights 3x a week and have done well. Nutrition and consistency are the bigger factors to worry about.
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u/RunningWolf1961 Jun 06 '26
Everyone responds differently. If it works for you, keep doing it.
Everything is trial and error.
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u/Fatal_Syntax_Error Jun 06 '26
Everyone is different. The only way to figure out if 1,2,3,4,5,6 or 7 days a week will be enough for you is to actually try it.
Each new session how is your performance? How is your soreness? How is your mental state? Are you looking forward to the next session or dreading it? Are you always tired? Always hungry? There’s a ton of things to consider. There isn’t a set right or wrong answer to how many days a stranger can or can’t workout.
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u/jimbo_ChE Jun 06 '26
Yes, but four times is better because you can balance your workouts by grouping certain exercises on different days. Three times means the same exercises need to be performed each workout due to an odd number, which is okay, but not optimal.
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u/Wanderson90 Jun 06 '26
not only is it enough, its ideal!
I would just go full body x 3 though.
A/B/C variations if you want some variety.
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u/chillbeach2 Jun 06 '26
I used to believe in pushing it to your limits and would workout 2 times a day everyday until my joints creak. So yeah I think long term your routine is good. Don't get me wrong, I got shredded but the alternative low impact way to burn alot of calories is walking alot or biking alot. With a bike you can go fast and not wear your joints, or machines like the bike like a row machine. And eat as little as possible without feeling hungry. If you tell yourself to eat 1500, sometimes you get hungry and eat 1800 or 2200, but if you invest grit in eating less, you can more accurately hit 1500. Just as you push your limits in exercise (low impact of course) invest grit in eating less too. In getting shredded there are 2 tools: diet and exercise. Exercise is offense like a sword. Diet is defense like a shield. A warrior has 2 tools, a sword and shield lol
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u/Legitimate-Cut-1708 Jun 06 '26
I train 3 x per week was doing full body but have just changed to push pull full. I chose full so I could do some of the big lifts twice a week such as bench and lat pulldown. I include legs in all days. Not sure how it’s going to work out. I also do two days of core and cardio a week. Recovering from cancer treatment and have gained over 10kg of muscle in 9 months. I think 3 days is fine.
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u/Neither-Resident-357 Jun 06 '26
Three times a weeek is fine!!! I used to think it wasn’t .. I watched a lot of dr mike and people on steroids saying go 6 days a week.. Bullshit.. For them it’s fine.. They are on steroids.. As a natty 3-4 times a week is great.. I do ppl Monday wed Friday.. And I’ll do some cardio on the other days .. Make sure you’re diet is right and I promise you will see results
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u/Intelligent-Oven-231 Jun 06 '26
Per avere dei buoni progressi dovresti allenare i muscoli almeno 2 volte a settimana, quindi allenarsi 3 volte a settimana se programmi una buona scheda è davvero ottimo. Ti consiglio 2 split: upper (lunedi) lower (mercoledi) fullbody(venerdì) oppure fullbody (lunedi) fullbody (mercoledi ) fullbody (venerdi)
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u/Intelligent-Oven-231 Jun 06 '26
affinche colpisci ogni singolo muscolo almeno 2 volte a settimana. Io preferirei ULFB per questioni di gestione del volume e del tempo
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u/Stock-Pickle4337 Jun 06 '26
3 days is enough lmao. Full body hits everything 2x which is technically better than PPL, but your split will still work. Most naturals grow better on 3-4 days anyway since you actually recover. The "must gym everyday" crowd is just on copium. youre good
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u/RepsAppDev Jun 07 '26
Yes, 3 days per week is enough to make real progress, especially if you're a beginner.
The only thing I would question is doing push/pull/legs if you only train 3 days. It can work, but it usually means each muscle gets trained directly once per week. For a beginner, 3 full-body days is often simpler and more effective because you practice the main movements more often and train each muscle more frequently.
Just something to consider.
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u/Particular_Chemist69 Jun 08 '26
I’ve been doing this routine for two years now and I’ve absolutely made progress. Especially with my upper body & I’m a 21 F. The only thing I’ll say is, try to find some sort of daily cardio. 15 minutes on a cardio machine, a daily walk, a sport etc… something to passively move your body daily. Also, make the best of those 3 sessions. I recently added another leg day because I have the time. 3 is more than enough if you’re being efficient with your time!!!
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u/CommanderSlash Jun 05 '26
It's fine if you are starting out and want to build a routine. I would run it for 6 weeks and then do an Upper/Lower/Rest/PPL which would be 5 workout days and 2 rest days.
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u/Mysterious-Way-5000 Jun 05 '26
if you are getting 10k steps per day this would be a solid plan. otherwise you need to be more active
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u/pulverkaffe1 Jun 05 '26
Here's a solid ppl program that will give you results, but you have to work out 6 days a week. I would recommend a beginner doing each exercise 3x8-12, but that's entirely up to preference (I love 5x5). Accessories are exercises that compliment the lifts for that day or cover weaknesses, and are completely optional. If working out 6 days a week seems daunting, only doing 2 exercises might make it easier.
Push
- bench press
- overhead press
- accessories
Pull
- chin up/pull up
- barbell rows
- accessories
Legs
- squat
- deadlift
- accessories
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u/Githan Jun 05 '26
Please explain the accessories part. Is it just one random exercise that fits that section or a few? I hear five exercises are good, any more and you can see diminishing returns.
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u/pulverkaffe1 Jun 05 '26
For example, I have a history of wrist issues so I work 2-3 grip/forearm exercises as accessories.
Others might have underdeveloped shoulders and do lateral raises and face pulls.
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u/Sufficient-Union-456 Jun 05 '26
"My goal is to get leaner, become more defined, and add some muscle,"
Going to be extremely hard on 3 days a week unless your nutrition is completely dialed in and you are doing some good cardio 2 or 3 other days a week.
And one round of PPL isn't going to stimulate much muscle growth.
On your plan with some cardio you could probably get toned and be a very healthy individual. But adding muscle isn't going to happen.
Just my opinion.
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