If you have 3 days per week to commit to strength training, you can see a lot of progress towards your physique goals.
In this article, we will provide a 3 day workout split for women.
The workout routine will take advantage of full body workouts to maximize the amount of time spent in the weight room.
And sure, the weight room can be an intimidating place. But, with the template provided in this article, you will be well on your way to accomplishing your goals.
What makes this workout template great for women?
Well, we have included foundational movement patterns that any woman will benefit from gaining strength in.
Additionally, we have curated some additional accessory lifts that help target areas women are often attempting to target with their workouts such as the legs/glutes, shoulders and arms.
So, let’s get to it!
3 Day Workout Split for Women Overview
As mentioned, this workout template will utilize a full body workout split. Each workout will begin with a lower body focus before transitioning to the upper body. Each day’s upper body will have a different emphasis (shoulders, back, and arms).
This routine does not cover cardio, which is recommended. However, you will need to determine how to best incorporate it into your weekly routine.
Low intensity cardio, such as walking, can be performed 5-7 times per week. Alternatively, moderate intensity cardio, such as jogging, can be incorporated 3-4 times per week. Or, HIIT can be performed 2-3 times per week. Lastly, any combination of the different forms of cardio can also be performed.
When determining which days to perform your strength training workouts, pick a weekly schedule with a rest day between each workout you can perform consistently.
For instance, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. If you have weeks where you need to restructure your routine or miss a workout, that is completely fine so long as you hit them weekly as consistently as possible.
A workout such as the template below can be performed for as long as you wish. You can keep it fresh by changing your exercise variation, the reps/sets, or the rest periods you use between exercises.
With all workout templates you find on Legacy Muscle or elsewhere on the internet, it is important to remember that it is simply a template. It was written in a very generalized way and will not be individualized to your personal needs, goals, and capabilities. It is important to modify it either yourself or with the help of a personal trainer to make it individualized to you.
Full Body Workout 1 (Back-upper body focus)
| Exercise | Set Range | Rep Range |
| Squat | 3-5 | 6-12 |
| Dumbbell Lunge | 3-4 | 8-12 Each |
| Glute Bridge | 3-4 | 10-15 |
| Dumbbell Row | 3-5 | 6-12 |
| Seated Cable Row | 3-4 | 8-12 |
| Lat Pull Down | 3-4 | 6-12 |
Full Body Workout 2 (Shoulder-upper body focus)
| Exercise | Set Range | Rep Range |
| Romanian Deadlift | 3-5 | 6-12 |
| Leg Press | 3-4 | 8-12 |
| Hip Abduction Machine | 3-4 | 10-15 |
| Dumbbell Shoulder Press | 3-5 | 6-12 |
| Dumbbell Lateral Raise | 3-4 | 8-12 |
| Cable Face Pulls | 3-4 | 10-15 |
Full Body Workout 3 (Arm-upper body focus)
| Exercise | Rep Range | Set Range |
| Barbell Hip Thrust | 3-5 | 6-12 |
| Goblet Squat | 3-4 | 8-12 |
| Cable Pull Throughs | 3-4 | 10-15 |
| Dumbbell Incline Bench Press | 3-5 | 8-15 |
| Dumbbell Curls | 3-4 | 8-15 |
| Cable Tricep Extension | 3-4 | 8-15 |
3 Day Workout Split for Women Wrap Up
3 day workout splits can help women achieve their physique, strength, and health goals.
A 3 day strength-based workout frequency provides an optimal amount of training frequency for those looking to improve their physique and get stronger.
3 days per week in a weight room is also a frequency in which most people can commit to as it does not require you to completely dedicate your free time to working out and fitness.
For those performing 3 day workouts, you can optimize your time spent in the gym by performing full body workouts.
Within your full body workouts, you can get creative in how you would like to split up your workouts to target specific muscles in your body.
The workout template in this article took an approach that emphasizes lower body exercises in each workout and more targeted upper body exercises each day per week.
If you find this workout helpful, please consider bookmarking Legacy Muscle as we hope to add more women’s-specific workouts to our database in the future. And, if you know someone who might enjoy the workout routine, please share it with them!