Force Training
By Jim Wendler and Elite Fitness Systems

One of the most asked questions at Elite Fitness Systems is how to fit the standard four day program into three days. This is because of time constraints such as family, work and community responsibilities. Some people have tried combining two workouts in one day (for example, performing a max effort for both the squat and bench press in the same workout). I’ve been thinking of a 3/day work week for quite some time and discussed it with a few friends of mine. Being the generous people that they are, they decided to try it out. All of them have reported back extraordinary results. All of them reported bigger gains on max effort day, being faster on dynamic effort day, less elbow and shoulder pain and a better overall attitude in the gym. Is a three/day week training system superior to four/day week? No. It may be more effective for some and it could be more effective at certain times of the year for others. If you feel like you are overtrained, or teetering on the edge of overtraining, then a change may be what you need.

What I proposed to my friends is simple and easy to follow. Instead of repeating a specific workout (such as dynamic bench, max effort squat, etc.) every seven days, you will only repeat a workout every ten days. For example, here is what a sample overview for three weeks would look like. 

Week 1

Day 1 – Dynamic bench press
Day 2 – Max effort squat/DL
Day 3 – Max effort bench press

Week 2

Day 1 – Dynamic squat/DL
Day 2 – Dynamic bench press
Day 3 – Max effort squat/DL

Week 3

Day 1 – Max effort bench press
Day 2 – Dynamic squat/DL
Day 3 – Dynamic bench press

As you can see, some weeks you will only perform 1 lower body workout while on other weeks, you will perform 2 workouts for the squat and deadlift. This is obviously the same for the bench press. 

Why can this be effective? First, this kind of training schedule can done wonders for recovery and injury prevention. Because you are not performing a pressing exercise two days a week, every week, your shoulders and elbows have some time to recover. This is the same with your lower body. By not having a barbell on your back twice a week or a heavy load on your spine, your recovery between your workouts will be improved.

In addition to physical recovery, mental recovery will also be improved. All of the people that switched to a three day/week training scheme reported that they had much more enthusiasm in the gym and couldn’t wait to train. A good friend of mine was about to give up powerlifting as his mind and body were both in a state of decline. Once he switched his workouts, he squatted 800 (almost a 200lbs PR) and his elbow pain, which had plagued him for almost 4 years, has gone. Also, his enthusiasm has improved.

Second, you can handle more volume during your workouts. Because you have 4-5 days to recover, you can increase the volume and try some different things. I’ve found that many people save themselves on some workout days to persevere the numbers for the following workout.

Some will argue that in a 4 week training cycle, you will only perform 3 max effort workouts per month. This is a moot point because most people will take one max effort workout off per month. Also, be sure to perform abdominal work twice per week.

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