The 3 Day Mass Split is a classic muscle building workout program. It is used by both beginners and experienced athletes. Three hard workouts per week will ensure consistent gains in muscle volume and strength without overtraining and with full recovery. This system works best on "natural" athletes who do not use pharmacological agents. For them, three workouts a week is the best option.
Today we'll look at how to create an effective 3-day muscle-building split and what exercises are included in the program.
What is split?
The training principle called “split” means that we “break” the body into separate muscle groups and train them on different days. The advantage of this approach is that muscle groups have more time to recover and grow. While one muscle is resting, we train the other. Doing just three workouts a week will lead to progress in the long run.
Classic split
Split can be made for 2-7 days. Also, for experienced athletes, a split program is acceptable, in which one muscle group is worked out more than once a week. Our system is built differently, in it each muscle is loaded once a week... This ensures full recovery before the next workout. This approach will lead to the growth of quality muscle mass.
Most often, during split training, synergistic muscles are trained in one day. For example, chest and triceps, back and biceps. The triceps get their share of the load during any chest press, and the biceps during the back rows. After completing the main load on a large muscle group, the athlete finishes off the already tired small muscle.
An alternative approach
There is another approach - to train antagonist muscles at a time. For example, biceps after a chest workout or triceps after a back workout. It can be used from time to time, but not on an ongoing basis - not everyone is suitable for such a hard training.
Let's say you worked your biceps on Monday and you have a back workout on Wednesday. Under these conditions, it is important to pay a lot of attention to recovery - it is impossible to fully train your back if your biceps have still not recovered since Monday. Over time, this will lead to overtraining of small muscle groups, which will no longer respond to any load and will weaken. As a result, weak triceps will not allow you to set records in the bench press, weak biceps will not allow you to pull up normally, etc. They will also not grow in such conditions.
Split for ectomorph
Ectomorphs find it difficult to build muscle, so a three-day weight split for people with this body type should be built around basic multi-joint exercises. They use the largest number of muscle groups.
In order not to overwork in the gym and not to enter yourself into a state of energy deficiency, it is recommended to do relatively short but intense workouts - no more than 45-60 minutes.
If you cannot meet the specified time limit, it is recommended to drink a cocktail of a couple of servings of BCAAs and 30-50 g of simple carbohydrates (for example, amylopectin or glucose) during your workout. This will suppress catabolism and energize. Drink the same thing after exercise. For maximum effect, choose the right nutrition for the ectomorph. Without consuming the required daily intake of protein, fat and carbohydrates, no workout will be beneficial.
The split itself looks like this:
| Monday (chest + triceps + shoulders) | ||
| Exercises | The number of approaches and reps | A photo |
| Bench press | 4x12,10,8,6 |  |
| Incline Dumbbell Press | 3x10 |  © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Dips on the uneven bars | 3x12-15 |  |
| Bench press with a narrow grip | 3x10 |  |
| Arnold press | 4x10-12 |  |
| Twisting on the bench | 3x12-15 |  |
| Wednesday (back + biceps) | ||
| Deadlift | 4x12,10,8,6 |  |
| Wide grip pull-ups | 4x10-15 |  |
| Dumbbell Row | 3x10 |  |
| Narrow Reverse Grip Row | 3x10 |  © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Lifting the bar for biceps | 3x12 |  © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Hanging leg raises | 4x10-15 |  |
| Friday (feet) | ||
| Squats | 4x12,10,8,6 |  © Vitaly Sova - stock.adobe.com |
| Leg press | 3x10-12 |  |
| Romanian Dumbbell Deadlift | 4x12 |  |
| Lying leg curls in the simulator | 3x12-15 |  © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Standing Calf Raise | 4x15 |  © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
As you can see, almost the entire training process is built around basic movements. Ectomorphs with basic training are best trained in this way. Only when you gain 5-10 kg of muscle mass and achieve decent strength indicators can you increase the training volume and add more isolated movements to it.
If you have no experience with iron or any other sports background, it is best to start with the fullbadi scheme - when the whole body is worked out in each workout. And only after a few months switch to split.
Mesomorph program for three days
Unlike ectomorphs, mesomorphs gain muscle mass much easier. Accordingly, the three-day split for mesomorphs for mass will be slightly different.
Mesomorphs may not line up their entire training around the base. The more varied you train, the better. Do isolated movements for stronger blood circulation, introduce elements from crossfit and martial arts, do cardio (if you gain fat along with muscles). Then you will have a healthy, strong and functional body. And if you pay more attention to your diet and take care of proper and healthy nutrition for the mesomorph, a beautiful, muscular figure is guaranteed to you.
There is no strict limit on the duration of training, but it is advisable to meet at least an hour and a half:
| Monday (chest + triceps + front and middle delts) | ||
| Exercises | The number of approaches and reps | A photo |
| Incline Barbell Press | 4x10 |  © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Dumbbell press on a horizontal bench | 3x10-12 |  |
| Dips on the uneven bars | 3x10-12 | |
| Bench press with a narrow grip | 3x10 | |
| French press with a barbell | 3x12 |  |
| Seated Dumbbell Press | 4x12 |  © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Wide grip barbell pull | 3x12 |  © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Wednesday (back + biceps + back delta) | ||
| Deadlift | 4x12,10,8,6 | |
| Wide grip pull-ups | 4x10-12 | |
| Bent-over barbell row | 3x10 |  © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Narrow Reverse Grip Row | 3x10-12 | © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Horizontal thrust | 3x10-12 |  © tankist276 - stock.adobe.com |
| Dumbbell curls for biceps while sitting on an incline bench | 4x10 |  © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Swing dumbbells in an incline | 4x15 |  © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Friday (legs + abs) | ||
| Squats | 4x12,10,8,6 | © Vitaly Sova - stock.adobe.com |
| Front squats | 4x10-12 |  © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Barbell lunges | 4x15-20 |  © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Lying leg curls in the simulator | 3x12-15 | © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Standing Calf Raise | 4x15 | © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Reverse crunches on the bench | 3x10-15 |  |
| Twisting in the simulator | 3x12-15 |  |
The approach to training mesomorphs is somewhat different from performing exclusively basic exercises, as is the case with ectomorphs. More isolation comes in here - this leads to more blood circulation in the muscles. But mesomorphs need not be afraid to overtrain with so much exercise.
From time to time, you can add variety to your training process and replace most of the monotonous work with iron for CrossFit workouts - so you will become stronger and stronger.
Split mass for endomorphs
The main problem of endomorphs is a slow metabolism. Because of this, they have abundant subcutaneous fat accumulation. The key to solving this problem: regular strength training and cardio training, proper nutrition and recovery. Workouts should be long: it is desirable to have time to complete both aerobic and anaerobic work at a time.
Thus, a huge amount of calories is spent in the gym, and their consumption will continue after training. Therefore, for a more intense fat burning add 30 minutes of cardio at the end of each workout... Do it as you feel using your favorite cardio equipment: treadmill, exercise bike, ellipse, stepper, etc.
A three-day weight split for an endomorph might look like this:
| Monday (chest + triceps + front and middle delts) | ||
| Exercises | The number of approaches and reps | A photo |
| Bench press | 4x12,10,8,6 | |
| Incline Dumbbell Press | 3x10 | © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Seated chest press | 3x10-12 |  © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Bench press standing | 4x10-12 |  |
| French bench press | 3x12 |  |
| Kickback with dumbbells | 3x10-12 |  © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Wide grip barbell pull | 4x12-15 | © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Swing dumbbells to the sides | 3x12-15 |  © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Wednesday (back + biceps + back delta) | ||
| Wide grip pull-ups | 4x10-15 | |
| Bent-over barbell row | 4x10 | © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Narrow Reverse Grip Row | 3x10 | © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Dumbbell Row | 3x10 | |
| Hyperextension | 4x12-15 |  © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Standing biceps curls | 3x12 | © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Dumbbell Curls on Scott's Bench | 3x10 |  © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Rear Delta Leads | 4x15 |  © fizkes - stock.adobe.com |
| Friday (legs + abs) | ||
| Squats | 4x12,10,8,6 | © Vitaly Sova - stock.adobe.com |
| Leg press | 3x12 | |
| Romanian barbell deadlift | 4x10-12 |  |
| Dumbbell lunges | 3x10-12 |  © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Standing Calf Raise | 4x15 | © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com |
| Twisting on the bench | 3x12-15 | |
| Hanging leg raises | 3x10-12 | |
Doing cardio regularly after strength training will increase your calorie burn. As for strength exercises, they are almost the same as the mesomorph program, only a little more isolation is added. Rest until recovery between heavy sets of basic exercises, this may take 2-3 minutes. In isolation wards, try to take less breaks - about a minute, just to restore breathing.
Don't forget that you need a calorie surplus to gain mass. But endomorphs most often gain a lot of excess due to their genetics. Therefore, before dialing it is better to first dry out - the fat is much more willing to "stick" to the existing one.
