3-day full body workout plan
Three full body workouts on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Each one trains your legs, chest and back, but starts from a different part of each muscle, so over the week nothing gets missed.
Full body is what GymSensei gives anyone training three days a week or fewer, and it's the best place for a beginner to start. You practise every lift often while the weights are still light, and missing a day doesn't leave a muscle untrained for a week.
The week
- Monday: workout A, full body (quads, middle chest and back width)
- Wednesday: workout B, full body (hamstrings, upper chest and back thickness)
- Friday: workout C, full body (glutes, lower chest and rear delts)
Each workout lists seven exercises, most important first. Short on time? An hour covers the first six, 45 minutes the first five and 30 minutes the first four. The home version is what the app picks with a pair of dumbbells and no bench or bar.
Workout A: Full body
Quads, middle chest and back width.
| In the gym | Sets × reps | At home with dumbbells | Sets × reps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goblet squat | 3 × 8–12 | Goblet squat | 3 × 8–12 |
| Dumbbell bench press | 3 × 8–12 | Push-up | 3 × 10–20 |
| Wide-grip lat pulldown | 3 × 8–12 | One-arm dumbbell row | 3 × 8–12 |
| Dumbbell lateral raise | 3 × 10–15 | Dumbbell lateral raise | 3 × 10–15 |
| Lying leg curl | 3 × 10–15 | Floor glute-ham raise | 3 × 10–20 |
| Hammer curl | 3 × 10–15 | Hammer curl | 3 × 10–15 |
| Plank | 3 × 30–45 s | Plank | 3 × 30–45 s |
Workout B: Full body
Hamstrings, upper chest and back thickness.
| In the gym | Sets × reps | At home with dumbbells | Sets × reps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stiff-legged dumbbell deadlift | 3 × 8–12 | Stiff-legged dumbbell deadlift | 3 × 8–12 |
| Incline dumbbell press | 3 × 8–12 | Push-up | 3 × 10–20 |
| Seated cable row | 3 × 8–12 | Two-dumbbell row | 3 × 8–12 |
| Dumbbell split squat | 3 × 8–12 | Dumbbell split squat | 3 × 8–12 |
| Cable rope overhead triceps extension | 3 × 10–15 | Standing dumbbell triceps extension | 3 × 10–15 |
| Seated calf raise | 3 × 10–15 | Seated one-leg dumbbell calf raise | 3 × 10–15 |
| Lying leg raise | 3 × 10–20 | Lying leg raise | 3 × 10–20 |
Workout C: Full body
Glutes, lower chest and rear delts.
| In the gym | Sets × reps | At home with dumbbells | Sets × reps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barbell hip thrust | 3 × 8–12 | Single-leg glute bridge | 3 × 10–20 |
| Decline dumbbell bench press | 3 × 8–12 | Triceps dips | 3 × 10–20 |
| One-arm dumbbell row | 3 × 8–12 | One-arm dumbbell row | 3 × 8–12 |
| Face pull | 3 × 8–12 | Reverse fly | 3 × 10–15 |
| Leg press | 3 × 8–12 | Goblet squat | 3 × 8–12 |
| Incline dumbbell curl | 3 × 10–15 | Dumbbell curl | 3 × 10–15 |
| Russian twist | 3 × 10–20 | Russian twist | 3 × 10–20 |
Sets, reps and adding weight
The reps above are for building muscle or staying fit. To lose fat it's 10–12 on the big lifts and 12–15 on the smaller ones; to get stronger, 5–8 and 8–12. Bodyweight moves go up to 20 reps, and holds run 30 to 45 seconds.
On your first session, pick a weight you could lift for the top of the range and stop each set with two or three reps left in you. Stay at that weight until you reach the top of the range on every set, then add 2.5 kg on dumbbells and barbells or 5 kg on machines and cables, and start again from the bottom of the range.
Every sixth week is a lighter one: one set fewer on each exercise, same weights. Every six weeks the smaller exercises also change to the next option on their list, while the main lifts stay, so you can see them go up. How the plans work.
Other plans
Updated . General fitness and nutrition guidance, not medical advice.
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