Strength training program, 3 or 4 days a week

A strength training program built on low reps and long rests, for three days a week.

Who it is for

The beginner tab keeps the main lifts at 6-8 reps with 2 minutes of rest, on machines and dumbbells, in about 50 minutes. Once those feel familiar, the experienced tabs move the squat and bench press to 3-5 reps with a barbell, on 3 or 4 days.

• You want to lift heavier, not just get tired, and you have about an hour
• You are new and want a strength start without a barbell on day one
• You squat and bench already and want sets of 3-5 with a clear rule for adding weight
• You can train three days, or four if you split upper and lower body

How to lay out the week

On the beginner tab, train Monday, Wednesday and Friday and run the days in a loop: A, B, C, then A again, even if a new week has started. Each day trains the whole body. Day A leads with the leg press, day B with the goblet squat and a dumbbell Romanian deadlift, day C with the reverse lunge. The first two weeks repeat A and B only. The experienced 3 day tab keeps the loop but puts the barbell back squat and bench press on day A and the Romanian deadlift first on day B, at about an hour each. The 4 day tab splits the body: upper on Monday and Thursday, lower on Tuesday and Friday.

How to add weight

Strength work moves in small, regular steps. On the beginner tab, when every set of a main lift reaches 8, take the next plate or dumbbell and drop back to 6. On the experienced tabs, the squat and bench press work at 3-5 reps. Reach the top of the range in every set, then add 2.5 kg on the bench and 5 kg on the squat and the Romanian deadlift. Dumbbell lifts go to the next pair up. Rest the full 3 minutes on those sets, because short rests take reps away. If a lift stalls three sessions in a row, take 10 % off and climb again.

If you use Claude or ChatGPT, you can connect it to AIm later: it reads the same log.

Warm-up

1. Three easy minutes on a bike or a rower, at a pace where you could talk.
2. Ten bodyweight squats, ten hip hinges and ten band pull-aparts.
3. Build up to the first lift: the empty bar or a light setting for 8, then about 50 % for 5, 75 % for 3, then your working sets.

Mistakes to avoid

• Chasing a new top weight every session with reps that change shape. A rep you have to fight out of position does not count.
• Cutting the rest to a minute on the main lifts. The 2 to 3 minute rests are what let you lift heavy again.
• Skipping the build-up sets and loading the working weight cold.
• Dropping the small exercises. Leg curls, face pulls and the plank keep the big lifts moving.

Strength training for beginners

Heavy sets of 6-8 are easier to learn on a leg press, a lat pulldown and machine presses, where the path is fixed and you can push close to your limit without balance getting in the way. The goblet squat, the dumbbell Romanian deadlift and the reverse lunge teach the movements you will later load on a barbell. After three to six months of steady gains, move to an experienced tab.

Strength or muscle: what changes in the plan

The exercises look like those of any gym plan. The dose is what differs: the main lifts sit at 3-8 reps instead of 8-12, rest is 2 to 3 minutes instead of 60 to 90 seconds, and the heaviest lift of the day always comes first. Smaller exercises like curls, calf raises and lateral raises keep their usual 10-20 reps, because very heavy curls add little.

Three days or four

The experienced 3 day tab trains the whole body each time, with the back squat and bench press at 3-5 reps on day A. The 4 day tab gives the upper and lower body two days each: the bench press and back squat are heavy on the first pair, and the incline dumbbell press at 4-6 reps leads the second upper day. Pick the one that matches the days you can really keep.