I work shift work and my days are 16 hours long. I only train on days that I am not working. So my training days do not fit into a neat 7 day weekly schedule. I can train 2 or sometimes 3 days in a row and then need to take 3 days off because of work, then train 2 or 3 days, and off again for a few days. I am trying to decide between a 3 or 4 day program. Either ppl hypertrophy, powerbuilding 2nd gen 3 or 4 day, or Bodybuilding 1 2nd gen 4 day. Would a 3 or 4 day program be better for my circumstance?
Hi Gaby,
Welcome to the forum. We’re glad to have you here.
I’m not too worried about you being able to lift 3 or 4 times each week, provided you can do ~ 12 total lifting sessions (for a 3 day per week program) over the course of a month. The back to back to back scheduling is also of little concern, as this doesn’t seem to really reduce training adaptations. In this way, preserving the dose of training over a longer period of time than a week (e.g. months) is really our goal. Seems like you can do that!
I would probably favor a 3-day/wk program to give you more flexibility for scheduling lifting sessions and getting some conditioning in. If you have no powerlifting-specific goals at the moment, I’d favor the Hypertrophy, Push-Pull-Legs (Hypertrophy), or Bodybuilding programs, available here:
Thank you Jordan. I can definitely get 12 training days in a month, maybe a few more. So overall, it doesn’t matter when or how I get the days in, just as long as I get them in. I think I will do the 3 day bodybuilding template. Thanks again.
Yep, you got it.
Think of it like energy balance and weight management. People typically focus on daily Calorie intake, often getting frustrated if they don’t lose weight after a few days. The reality is, energy balance is struck or “accounted for” over a much longer time - weeks to months. In the same way the effects of training are attributed to the total training load accumulated over weeks and months, a person’s weight is the result of the energy balance over weeks to months.
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