The (3,3) Gym Program

A time efficient workout requiring less than 2 hours a week which ensures you see results every workout. It’s a great way to build lean muscle mass in a healthy way; blending Powerlifting concepts with a skew towards higher reps for health.

(3,3) = 3 exercises, 3 muscle groups, 3 workouts per week.

In 2022, I gained 2.5kgs of pure muscle using this program. I increased my weights (bench, squat, etc.) by 25%. Considering that this is a program focusing heavily on high repetitions and time optimization, that’s a lot.

All of this is from my learnings in powerlifting, psychology and 20 years in the gym. It’s a short sharp mentally focused program. When you know you only have three core exercises to do, it makes it a lot easier to get out of bed in the morning and have laser focus on what’s left to achieve in the gym.

What is the (3,3) Program?

A combination of intensity (you hit every muscle group twice a week; optimizing muscle stress & recovery time) + powerlifting (core powerlifting exercises & techniques for strength) + simplicity (it’s a super simple program, and less complexity means 100% mental energy on the exercise at hand) + results (you always increase the number of reps or weight each workout for consistent results) + health (skews the priority towards higher reps over big weights, and bonus: when you get to 5 sets of 20 reps it’s really an intense cardio workout too!) + time optimization (done properly, this only requires 30–45 minutes in the gym 3x a week).

How it works

Train 3 times a week for 30–45 minutes.

Each session rotates between 2 programs (Program 1 and Program 2 below).

This ensures you hit every muscle group twice a week — every 3 to 4 days. I train Monday, Wednesday and Friday for example. I have found this is a good optimum for maximizing muscle stress and muscle recovery.

For each exercise, it’s 12 to 20 reps.

When starting on a new weight, it’s 12 reps. Then the next session where you do the same exercise, increase by 2 reps (e.g. 14, 16, 18, 20). Higher reps is a play from the bodybuilding greats and is also generally considered healthier for the body.

When you get to 20 reps, increase the weight and reset to 12 reps.

This means you always see improvement and results every workout! If you ever hit a roadblock (difficulty in doing 2 more reps in a session), you can just try to increase by 1 rep that session instead of 2. Always seeing incremental gains is a great psychological booster and motivator.

Weight loss benefit: when your reps increase in the latter stages of each program cycle, you will see a significant fat burning and weight loss benefit kick in as you get into the 50–100 rep range per exercise per session. Squats in particular have a powerful calorie burning effect.

The dual programs

Simple is best. It makes it easier to get out of bed. It means you can visualize each exercise and targets as you walk to the gym. It means you can maximize your mental energy on squeezing out that extra rep. It means you can visualize exactly what you have left to achieve in the current workout. The power of this simplicity in psychology cannot be underestimated. You want to strip complexity from your workout program.

Program 1:

• Chest: Bench Press (3 sets)
• Tris: Tricep Pulldown (5 sets)
• Bis: Bicep Curl (5 sets)

Program 2:

• Legs: Squats (3 sets)
• Shoulders: Shoulder Press (5 sets)
• Back: Seated Row / Deadlift (5 sets)

End of workout (both programs):

• Random Drop set: Pick one of the above exercises (or a random exercise for that muscle group) and do it to failure with dropsets. A bit of randomness makes things fun and shocks the muscle group, helping it to grow.
• Stretch your legs/back after every session — a simple 5 minute lifesaver to protect from back injury and support recovery.

That’s it.

You may want to incorporate a one week break every 3–4 months. During these off weeks you typically see your strength improve and muscles grow and you will come back better than ever. In my experience, you don't want to take off much more time than that though. 3 or more weeks and you will likely be losing strength and your infinitely valuable routine (the power of habit).

However, the process of resetting the reps from 20 to 10 has a great psychological and physical benefit too. It’s a great release in mental burden and makes you feel great that first session back. It leaves you with a bit of extra fuel in the tank for the next session. It also allows your muscles to recover, diminishing the need for a quarterly break. I have found that I have been able to run this program for extended periods (up to 6 months) with no breaks and continued to see improvements.

I am not a health expert.

This program is based upon my 20 years experience in the gym. I have been consistently working out since I was 13 and spent two years as a competitive powerlifter in a professional powerlifting club. Bear in mind, I am not a health professional. Consult your doctor or fitness coach before using this program to extremes. Every ‘body’ is different. It is also important that you understand how to perform each of these exercises properly and with good technique. I follow powerlifting guidelines for technique. I found this model works great for me, but you may need to adjust it for you and your health condition.