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LATEST NEWS |
PhD Nutrition 3-Day Training Plan Finding it difficult to get to the gym? The PhD 3-Day Plan maybe the answer. By Jason Rickaby- Author/Competitive lifetime Drug-free Body builder We all experience periods in our life when things get a bit hectic and going to the gym to blast out heavy sets 6 days per week seems like not much fun. The modern-athlete often has to fit his/her love of the gym around a busy 6-day working week, without much time to make it to the gym during a rushed lunch hour. When they arrive home, it's often a case of making the mistake of "sitting down for 5 minutes", which often turns into an hour and then going to the gym seems like a pipedream. Often, as we get more mature, there comes the added delight of children, spouses and other additional responsibilities. Quite often, 3 days per week is quite literally the MAXIUMUM amount of days you can possibly spare. This is where the PhD 3-day plan comes in. My advice to those with a busy schedule is: Train in the morning! Most athletes working in a city can find a gym that opens at 7am, which provides ample time to train, shower and be at the office for 9am, no problem. Potential problems of only training 3 days per week? 1) Not enough frequency to build muscle! I believe that to make the most of the physique, you should be looking at no more than 4-5 days rest between body parts. Solution: The PhD 3 day plan splits the body in half, allowing each body part to be trained every 4th or 5th day. 2) Everybody these days wants to be lean, so do I but is 3 days exercise per week enough? Solution: The PhD 3 day plan is based around fast-paced workouts of no more than 50 minutes weight-training and 10 minutes cardio, but it's intense enough to ensure elevated metabolic rate for hours after training. Follow the plan and ensure a good, moderate-carb diet and yes, you can lose body fat and stay lean by training 3 days per week. 3) Can I fit enough sets into each workout? Solution: By keeping rest periods down to a minimum it's easy to fit 30-40 working sets into a 50 minute period and still lift heavy and hard. 4) I've heard that you should train a body part on it's own to make it bigger? Solution: Incorrect presumption. If you have a lagging body part, simply train it first in the workout whilst you are fresh. If not, always train the body parts in a descending order of muscle mass. Here we go: I have based the 3 day plan around the working week (Mon-Friday). Often adults with families may want to spend weekends at home. If not, you can easily substitute the Friday workout and switch it to Saturday. Monday: Upper Body- 10 minutes warming up rotator muscles, chest/delt area and shoulder girdle 1) Barbell row: 4 sets of 8 reps (Rest 1 minute between sets) 2) Dumbbell bench press (Incline if you want to target upper pecs): 4 sets of 8 reps (1 minute rest between sets) 3) Dumbbell side delt raise: 3 sets of 15 reps (1 minute rest between sets) 4) Lat pulldown: 3 sets of 10 reps (1 minute rest between sets) 5) Parallel bar dips: 3 sets of max reps (weight added if needed), (1 minute rest between sets) 6) Barbell clean and press: 3 sets of 6 reps (rest 1 minute between sets) 7) Standing barbell curl: 4 sets of 10 reps (rest 1 minute between sets) 8) Close grip Bench press- grip at shoulder width: 4 sets of 8 reps (rest 1 minute between sets) 5-10 mins High Intensity Interval cardio on bike or treadmill: Jog for 30 seconds at slow pace, followed by sprinting for 30 seconds. Then return to jog for another 30 seconds before the second sprint and so on until 5-10 circuits of each period are completed. Wednesday: Lower Body- 5-10 minutes on stationary bike to warm up and stretching groins, quads, glutes and hamstrings. 1) Barbell back or front squats: 4 sets of 6-8 reps (90 seconds rest between sets) 2) Seated leg curl: 4 sets of 6-8 reps (90 seconds rest between sets) 3) Leg Press: 3 sets of 12 reps (90 seconds rest) 4) Romanian dumbbell dead lifts: 3 sets of 8 reps (rest 90 seconds) 5) Dumbbell lunges: 3 sets of 15 reps each leg (Rest 90 seconds) 6) Standing calf raise: 6 sets of 10 reps. (Rest 90 seconds) 7) Reverse ab crunches: 5 sets of 8-15 reps (Rest 60 seconds between each set) 5-10 mins High Intensity Interval cardio on bike or treadmill: Jog for 30 seconds at slow pace, followed by sprinting for 30 seconds. Then return to jog for another 30 seconds before the second sprint and so on until 5-10 circuits of each period are completed. Friday or Saturday- Repeat Monday training. Monday- Repeat Wednesday's Lower body training. Continue in this cycle until 8 sessions of each workout have been completed. Then simply change exercises, rep ranges, or mix exercise selection around. This is how I trained at the start of the year when beginning PhD Nutrition. We were very busy and I could only manage 3 sessions per week. I managed to stay lean and get stronger on the very same plan. Good luck! As always, please let us know your experiences with any of the PhD Nutrition training/supplement/nutrition plans featured on this site. |
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