Intermediate 3-Day Full Body Strength Program

Your primary strength movement. Bar on upper traps, feet shoulder-width. Descend to at least parallel with a controlled pace and drive back up through the floor. Every rep should look identical.

Shoulder blades retracted and depressed, feet planted, grip slightly wider than shoulder width. Lower the bar to your mid-chest with control, then drive hard off the bottom to lockout.

Hinge to roughly 45 degrees. Pull the bar to your lower chest leading with your elbows, hold for one second, lower under control. Reduced to 3 sets on Session A to keep this heavy day manageable.

Light dumbbells, slight elbow bend. Raise both arms to shoulder height and lower with control. Direct side delt work keeps the shoulders balanced across a program with significant pressing volume.

Kneel at a high cable with the rope attachment. Flex your spine and crunch your rib cage toward your pelvis. Core strength is directly transferable to every main lift in this program.

Bar over mid-foot, hip-width stance. Set your back, push the floor away, and extend hips and knees together to stand. Lower with control. The deadlift is trained once per week and should be treated as the most important session of the week.

Bar at shoulder height, press straight overhead while tucking your chin. Brace your glutes and core throughout. Lock out fully before lowering.

Overhand grip, hands slightly wider than shoulder width. Pull until your chin clears the bar, then lower with control. Add weight with a belt or dumbbell when you can complete 8 reps across all sets with good form.

Hold a dumbbell at your chest and squat to depth. After heavy deadlifts, the goblet squat adds a quad-dominant pattern to Session B without loading the lower back further. Keep the weight moderate.

Elbow braced against your inner thigh, curl through a full range of motion. Direct bicep isolation that sits cleanly at the end of a deadlift-focused session without adding fatigue to the pulling muscles used on the main lifts.

Same movement as Session A at a higher rep range and lighter load. Volume squatting builds the work capacity, muscle, and movement efficiency that translates into Session A strength. Use approximately 75 to 80 percent of your Session A weight.

Bench at 30 degrees, grip slightly wider than shoulder width. Use approximately 75 to 80 percent of your Session A bench press weight. A different pressing angle from the flat bench develops upper chest strength and adds variety to the pressing stimulus.

Sit upright at the cable station. Pull the handle to your lower chest, squeeze your shoulder blades together for a full second, then lower slowly. Use a weight that matches the relative effort of your squat and bench on this day. challenging but not maximal.

Rear foot on a bench, dumbbells at your sides. Lower your back knee toward the floor and push back up through your front heel. Unilateral lower body work catches imbalances and develops leg strength that carries over to the squat.

Set the cable at shoulder height. Pull diagonally across your body from high to low, rotating through your torso. Rotational core strength that complements the anti-flexion cable crunches from Session A and is well suited to a strength program where core stability is trained to support heavy barbell work.

Lower rep range, heavier loading than Phase 1. Use a weight where you finish each set with 1 to 2 reps still in reserve. Hard but controlled, not a grind. Do not sacrifice depth or bracing for load.

Lower rep range, heavier loading than Phase 1. Aim to finish each set with 1 to 2 reps still in reserve. Stay tight, control the descent, and drive hard.

Same sets, heavier loading than Phase 1. Keep your hinge position honest as the weight increases. The lower back holds position isometrically. it should not be jerking the bar up.

Same sets and reps, slightly heavier dumbbells than Phase 1. Shoulder health work at the end of the heaviest session of the week.

Same sets and reps, slightly more weight on the cable. Core strength is even more important as the main lifts get heavier.

Lower rep range, heavier loading than Phase 1. The deadlift is trained once per week precisely because of the recovery demand at this intensity. Take every second of rest you need.

Lower rep range, heavier loading. The overhead press is the slowest progressing lift. Even small weekly increases across Phase 2 represent meaningful progress.

One extra set at a lower rep range. Add weight with a belt if you are consistently hitting 6 reps across all sets. Weighted pull-ups are one of the most direct routes to upper back and lat strength.

Same sets, slightly heavier dumbbell. The goblet squat on Session B rounds out the lower body work and makes this a genuinely full body session without stacking more posterior chain load after heavy deadlifts.

Elbow braced against your inner thigh, curl through a full range of motion. Direct bicep isolation that sits cleanly at the end of a deadlift-focused session without adding fatigue to the pulling muscles used on the main lifts.

One extra set at a slightly lower rep range than Phase 1 Session C. Use approximately 80 percent of your Session A weight. Volume squatting at this rep range and load drives the muscle and work capacity that supports your Session A numbers.

One extra set with heavier loading than Phase 1. The incline press develops the upper chest and front delt strength that supports the flat bench.

One extra set. Three pulling sessions per week, with the cable row as the volume-day horizontal pull, is one of the most effective structures for building pulling strength over 8 weeks.

Same sets, heavier dumbbells than Phase 1. Unilateral strength is an important part of overall leg development and squat performance.

Set the cable at shoulder height. Pull diagonally across your body from high to low, rotating through your torso. Rotational core strength that complements the anti-flexion cable crunches from Session A and is well suited to a strength program where core stability is trained to support heavy barbell work.