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Workout Summary
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Warmer weather got you changing your goals?
If you’re looking to get ripped, we’ve got a fantastic blueprint for you to get started with.
The program below, when paired with a slight calorie deficit (~250-500 calories below your bmr) and a balance diet plan, can help you with your fat loss goals.
The workouts themselves include a decent amount of volume to promote muscle hypertrophy. The reason for this is not only to increase calorie expenditure, but to also allow you to showcase some solid muscle when you’ve achieved your fat loss goals.
The program itself calls for you to make it to the gym 3 times a week for weight lifting sessions. On off days, you will still have some light activity to further promote recovery and also calorie expenditure.
Rest periods for this workout should be kept in the 0-90 second range. If you feel ready to take on your next set after 30 seconds go for it, but you shouldn’t take longer than 90 seconds to recover.
The weight you will want to use for each exercise will fall in the 70-85% range of your 1 rep max, and you’ll want to increase the weight you use from week to week whenever able.
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Day 1 – Upper
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| 1a. Push Up | 3 | 10 |
| 1b. Pull Up | 3 | 10 |
| 1c. Band Pull Apart | 3 | 10 |
| 2a. Incline Bench Press | 3 | 12, 10, 8 |
| 2b. Tricep Skull Crusher | 3 | 12 |
| 3a. Dumbbell Row | 3 | 12, 10, 8 |
| 3b. Dumbbell Alternating Curl | 3 | 12, 10, 8 |
| 4. Military Press | 3 | 12, 10, 8 |
Treadmill Burner HIIT:
Set treadmill speed to a challenging intensity that you are capable of performing. For 10-15 mins sprint for 10 sec intervals and rest for 20 seconds in between sprints.
Day 2 - Active Recovery
Recovery jog – low intensity for 2-3 miles.
Day 3 – Lower
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| 1a. Bodyweight Squats | 3 | 10 |
| 1b. Bodyweight Lunges | 3 | 10 each |
| 1c. Jump Tucks | 3 | 10 |
| 2. Squat | 3 | 12, 10, 8 |
| 3. Deadlift | 3 | 12, 10, 8 |
| 4. Leg Press | 3 | 15 |
Jump Rope Circuit:
3 rounds of 5 mins with the following intervals.
1 Min - Single Hop
1 Min - Double Hop
1 Min - Right Leg
1 Min - Left Leg
1 Min - Alternating Legs
30-60 seconds rest between rounds
Day 4 - Active Recovery
Recovery walk – low intensity 2-3 miles.
Day 5 – Full Body
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Squat | 3 | 12, 10, 8 |
| 2. Dumbbell Incline Press | 3 | 12, 10, 8 |
| 3. Barbell Row | 3 | 12, 10, 8 |
| 4. Dumbbell Lateral Raise | 3 | 12, 10, 8 |
| 5. Barbell Curl | 3 | 12, 10, 8 |
| 6. Barbell Overhead Extension | 3 | 12, 10, 8 |
Rowing Machine HIIT Cardio:
30 seconds maximum effort rowing followed by 30 seconds of low effort rowing for 15-20 min duration.
Day 6 - Timed Mile
Run 1 mile as fast as possible timed.
Day 7 – Off
Take a complete rest day on day 7 from the gym and cardio. If possible, spend your time doing something active (low intensity) with family and friends.
Wrap Up
This 3 day shredding program is perfect for anyone looking to get ripped but can only make it to the gym 3 days out of the week.
For more great workouts like this one, be sure to check out our workouts database.
Give it a shot, let us know what you think, and if you have any questions, please leave us a comment in the comments section below!
113 Comments+ Post Comment
What abs routine and what days would you do with this program?
Hey Cornell - you can do abs 2-3x per week.
Thanks Abigail
Eat below your BMR??? Your BMR represents the minimum amount of calories that your body needs to complete involuntary body functions. Not very good advice, you can have a nice deficit without going below your BMR.
Hello,
I am going off my town for a week, but I still want to keep up with my metabolism. Is there any suggestion to keep it up if I do not have access to a gym?
Awaiting for a prompt response,
Thank you,
Lisandro Torresani
Hi Lisandro,
Be active wherever you are. If you have access to a weight room, lift. If you don't, and it's safe, walk instead of taking other forms of transportation.
Hello, For the fullbody training should I complete all 3 sets of an exercise then move to the next ,or do all of them like one big set ?
Hi Les,
Perform all of the sets of each exercise before moving onto the next exercise.
Thanks Josh !
Hello,
Today, I just started the program. After the workout, I checked that I supposed to supersets, but I did dropsets. How should I perform the supersets taking in account the reps/weight relation.
Hello,
I have a question about the Rowing Machine. How can I replace the Rowing Machine if I do not have one in the gym.
Also, I am a college student-athlete, and I want to start. this 3-day workout on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays mornings. Taking in account, the daily practice I have every afternoon, is it fine if I follow the plan the same way?
Thank you very much
Hi Lisandro,
You can replace this with a form of cardio of your choice.
For the upper and lower body exercises that are labeled as 1a, 1b, 1c, etc, are these done as a superset? So 1a, followed by 1b, and 1c consecutive would be 1 set, then rest and repeat, and so on.....Thanks.
Hi Matt,
Yep - supersets and circuits.
Hi Josh!
Love your articles and insight on the M&S website. I just started this workout routine on the week of Christmas. My local gym closed early on Christmas Day (Wednesday) before I could get there to do the Day 3 - Lower workout. That being said, my question is what would you recommend doing when you have something come up on a weight training or recovery day where you can't complete that day's activity? Should you skip that workout/recovery day for that week and stay on the established 7 day plan, or should you pick back up with the "missed" workout the following day and adjust the rest of the weeks workout and recovery days accordingly by one day ultimately omitting the full day off on Day 7?
Hi Jason,
Either is fine. So long as you remain consistent with your training throughout your lifetime, one missed workout or reordering your training days to accommodate isn't going to impact results.
It's all about simply training, giving good effort, and being consistent.
So, my suggestion would be to utilize whichever strategy you feel will help you be able to do those things based on your personal preferences.
Hi Jason,
You might find some of these helpful: https://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/warming-up-for-dummies
Thanks for the response back. I appreciate it.
One other question related to this workout....do you have a recommended warm up routine that you perform before starting the workout?
Is the hiit necessary to see results
Hi Josh,
No, not particularly. It's all about training the muscles and eating in a caloric deficit to maintain muscle size/shape and lose body fat.
I like to workout on the heavy Bag and speed bag at a high intensity. On which days do you recommend adding 2 of my workouts?
Thanks,
Hi DB,
That could be you active recovery or your HIIT depending on how you utilize the activity.
Thank you
How often should we increase weights? Should we increase by set (12,10,8)? and how often during the 8 weeks should we increase the weight we use (Ie. go up every 2 weeks)?
thanks
Hi CJ,
Yes, as reps decrease you should increase the weight used.
Progress will be highly individualized. Up the weight used whenever you feel it is possible to do so and still maintain good form.
Hi, how to adjust this 3 day split for advance, by increasing the reps or the sets?
Also, the calorie deficit (250-500 below BMR) diet has to be followed for how long, every 10 days? and then do we have to increase the diet in 100 cals? (basically reverse dieting)
Macros has to be C 40%, P 30% F 30% ?
Hi Ishani,
You can make the program more advanced by increasing the reps or sets. You can also accomplish this by increasing the weight used.
For fat loss, you'll want your calories to be in a consistent deficit.
Your macro breakdown can be whatever you feel makes you the most consistent at dieting.
Thanks for the reply. One more question, my current workout is push pull legs, with 5 sets each exercise 15, 12, 10, 8, 6 reps. So can i do the same rep pattern with this workout as well?
Hi Ishani,
It's a little more complicated than a yes or no answer to that. It also highly depends on your goals.
I don't know what current program you're using and the total volume of that program. But if your goal is to build muscle, it's going to require a progressive increase in total volume over time paired with a calorie surplus consistently. It's also going to require periodization, which is something that isn't really addressed in these workout templates.
Most templates you're going to find online are going to be perfect for beginners (or others if they know what they're doing), but it's going to take alittle experimentation, self-driven education, or hiring a professional to understand how to accomplish this based on your individual needs.
Hi Josh, thanks for this workout! I'm just wondering why the day 2 and day 3 sessions both have squats in them because I was just concerned about leg recovery. If ever, would it also be possible to substitute the day 3 with Front Squats instead? Thanks again!
Hi Jake,
Sure, you can sub in front squats if you wish.
I just want to say thanks for putting these programs and information together. It's very comprehensive and easy to follow.
You're welcome, Christina! Glad you found them helpful.
I have 3 day workout schedule. Normally i workout 6 days per week. And sleep 7-8 hours. So in my rest day can i do cardio ? Is it good or bad.?
Hi Chathura,
Sure, you can do cardio on your rest day. Often times, that is preferred.
Hi Josh!
how many grams of protein/carbs per body weight do you recommend for this program? and how many kg / pounds do you recommend increasing each workout per week?
Hi Luis,
There's an email course sign up after the intro of this article that I wrote and covers all of that information and more fairly in-depthly and really well. When you sign up for it the email should send part 1 pretty quickly - make sure it doesn't end up in your spam folder and if it does, please move it into your inbox :)
I love this workout because it's the perfect mix of strength and cardio in about 45 mins, 3 days per
week. I can't find anymore structured like this. Can you put out more like it for when this one is exhausted?
Hi Dawn,
Glad you like it! We'll def see what we can do!
Hi Josh,
My name is Robert and I currently 23 years old and weighing roughly 164. I do not know my current body fat percentage, but I am looking to lose my stomach fat and chest fat, but also get more muscle (skinny fat). Do you think this would work for me, or do I need to go often/higher intensity?
I have been going to the gym for 3-4 weeks now, and have lost about 11 pounds while eating roughly 1700 calories a day (two eggs in morning, steak and broccoli for lunch, chicken/steak/fish for dinner with a vegetable, and chicken, zucchini, and broccoli afterwards). Do you think this is good, or do I need to make adjustments?
Thank you.
Hi Robert,
The program listed is an excellent one to start on. Unfortunately, you can't choose where you lose fat from. It takes being consistent with your diet and exercise for the long-term to get to a healthy body composition and weight.
In terms of diet, it might be a little low - but again, there are too many factors that would need to be analyzed to determine optimal nutrition. I'd recommend reading the following resources - they should help you be able to create a diet that is perfect for your own individual needs.
Start Here: https://www.muscleandstrength.com/tools/bmr-calculator
Go Here: https://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/how-to-calculate-perfect-macros
Finish Up Here: https://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/how-to-create-a-bodybuilding-...
Hope this helps!
Hi Josh
My name is imre i am 182cm high And weights 91kg
Im 15 years old.
I want that vcut And sixpack And stuff.
Will this program help me?
Hi Imre,
I'd recommend giving this a read and then choosing a program for yourself from there: https://www.muscleandstrength.com/expert-guides/teenage-bodybuilding
Hi Josh
I,m a 56yr old dad bod. Fat round the tummy and man boobs lol....going to try the 3day split shred.. I've also problems with curls due to breaking my right arm and leg so squats are tricky any tips for alternatives
Hi David,
With injury history, I generally recommend people work with a trainer in person. Injuries affect one's movement patterns and adds an element that is too difficult to recommend advice on over the internet.
I'm sure it's not the answer you were hoping for, but it's the best I can provide.
Hi Josh,
I'm 18 years of age, 6'3 and 203 lbs with a big frame. I would say i'm slightly muscular with fat around the chest, belly and love handle regions. I recently joined a local gym last week and I've been doing general workouts using different machines, cable machines and dumbbells without really a plan of attack. However I have loved going to the gym every time and I am excited to continue. Do you reckon that this workout plan is good to lose fat in the regions mentioned and also would it be okay to possibly go another extra 4th day to lift weights as I'm worried about losing muscle and my big frame? Thanks
Hi Joe,
That's awesome dude! Yes, this program is perfect for those with fat loss goals and yes you can add an additional day to the workout if you'd like.
It is important to know that you can spot reduce/select where you want to shed weight from. You can train the area and try to build muscle in problem areas, however, when it comes to fat loss - where you lose fat is going to be highly dependent on your genetics.
Hope this helps!
Hey Josh,
I currently train 4-5 days per week heavy compounds plus accessories and will be switching to give this routine a go. Goal is to lean out a bit for the summer. Currently 5'10" 165, been eating about 1900-2000 cals on this cut But i never really do cardio. Do you think I should add in some Cals for the additional cardio, of just stick to the 1900-2000 and see how the body responds and adjust accordingly
Hi Mike,
That's tough man, as I'm unsure how many calories you'll burn using this program vs the one you've currently been on. You can certainly experiment with a few extra calories and see how your body reacts.
Hello -
I am 5 foot 10, weigh about 78kg (172 pounds) and have around 14-15 percent body fat. I want to lose a bit of weight to look leaner and more cut, however I dont want to lose muscle at the same time. With this program I am doing 3 1hour sessions of Resistence (hypertrophy) and 2 cardio days (high intensity). would you reccommend i continue this, or add more cardio instead? thank you