Don’t Have Time To Workout? Try These Efficient 3-Day Splits To Conquer A Busy Week Without Sacrificing Your Health

You only need 3 days a week to create the body of your dreams.

Results are not proportional to time but proportional to intensity. When I cut back to a 3-day split from 6 days, I felt significantly stronger and much less beat up. Best of all, this means busy people like college students and parents don’t have to sacrifice their lives to get in shape.

Don’t believe me? Try these 3-day splits to add time back to your life and conquer busy weeks.

Split #1: StrongLifts 5x5

StrongLifts 5x5 is my favorite 3-day workout split.

5x5 is based on the idea of leveraging compound movements and linear progression. It helped me double my strength in 12 weeks, and it can do the same for you.

By focusing primarily on squat, deadlift, and bench press, 5x5 wastes no time. As a runner and college student, this split is my go-to to build strength after training for a race. The workout is simple but effective, using 5 sets of 5 reps of 3 exercises to hit all your muscle groups. I’m in and out in under an hour, but the intensity makes up the difference.

5x5 splits the days into Workout A and Workout B.

Workout A:

• Squat
• Bench
• Barbell Row

Workout B:

• Squat
• Overhead Press
• Deadlift

6 total exercises comprised to hit every muscle group with heavy weights for muscle growth. I’m convinced there isn’t a better option for people on a time crunch.

However, if you want a split with more variety, try this one…

Split #2: Science-Based Full Body Workout by Jeremy Ethier

Jeremy Ethier’s plan is based on science. It works.

His entire brand is built off the back of scientific literature, and guess what? That’s because science is proven.

By combining studies about frequency, fatigue, and muscle activation, Ethier has crafted a masterful plan for beginner and intermediate lifters to get the most out of their 3 days in the gym. Similar to 5x5, this split prioritizes compound movements. However, the rep scheme is different, and there are some isolation movements involved.

This science-based workout split is also differentiated by Workout A and Workout B:

Workout A:

• Bench Press
• Barbell Squats
• Pull-ups
• Lying Dumbbell Leg Curls
• Overhead Press
• Face Pulls
• Drag Curls

Workout B:

• Deadlift
• Incline Dumbbell Press
• Chest Supported Row
• Bulgarian Split Squat
• Lateral Raise
• Incline Dumbbell Kick
• Cable Crossover

I have used Jeremy Ethier’s workouts in the past, so I can vouch for their effectiveness. I’ll also be running this split for the next 6 weeks, so expect to see a review soon.

However, if you still aren’t satisfied, consider the most comprehensive split of all…

Split #3: Condensed PPL

PPL stands for push, pull, legs.

It’s pretty straightforward, as that’s how the workouts are split up. Every movement gets a respective day.

If you’re familiar with fitness, you know that PPL is usually performed 6 days a week — so why am I mentioning it? I’m advocating for a condensed version of PPL. Instead of doing everything 2x a week, cut it in half and do each workout once. You’ll still experience massive growth, just not at the same rate. And as I like to say, something beats nothing.

I also pulled the workouts for this split from Jeremy Ethier’s website, Built With Science. They are backed by plenty of literature to guarantee results.

Push Workout:

• Incline Bench Press
• Standing Dumbbell Overhead Press
• Paused Flat Dumbbell Press
• Lean-Away Dumbbell Lateral Raise
• Seated Decline Cable Flies
• Incline Dumbbell Overhead Extensions

Pull Workout:

• Pull-ups
• Barbell Row
• Reverse Grip Lat Pulldowns
• Chest Supported Rear Delt Row
• Close Grip Barbell Curl
• Face Pulls

Legs Workout:

• Barbell Squats
• Hip Thrusts
• Dumbbell Split Squats
• Glute Ham Raise
• Standing Single Leg Calf Raise
• Seated Calf Raise

As I leave you with all of these splits, I’d like to remind you of something:

The plan doesn’t matter if you aren’t consistent.

Part of picking a plan that works for you is choosing one you’ll stick to.

If you want more information about the best workout splits to save you time, check out my newsletter, Frugal Fitness. In 5 minutes every Friday, we save you 5 hours of research.