3 Day Exercise plan to Live Forever

I was asked by a client the other day if they had just 3 days a week to hit the gym what should they do?

Like most people, the goals of this lady were to improve strength, maintain fitness, stay lean and live a long healthy life. Obviously good nutrition was going to be the cornerstone of realising these goals, but it did get me thinking on what 3-day exercise routine would fit the bill. Here are all the key components that you need in your training routine to live a long healthy life. 

 

Weight training
Is a must have in any routine as it builds muscle strength and shape, which improves metabolism and supports joint stability. It also protects bone health and reduces injury risk over time.

Core work
Strengthens the muscles of the abdomen, lower back, and pelvis, enhancing posture and balance. A strong core is foundational for nearly all movement, from lifting weights to daily functional activities. There is good research to suggest that a strong core may also assist with digestion, pooping and bladder control.

Steady-state cardio
Sustained, moderate activity like jogging or cycling improves cardiovascular endurance and lung capacity. It also helps regulate body fat and supports long-term heart health.

Short high-intensity work
High-intensity intervals (like sprints or circuits) push the heart rate up, improving anaerobic capacity and metabolic flexibility. While these sessions are very short, they push up your VO2 Max, improving your exercise capacity and heart health. Our intensity exercise is going to be 1 minute flat-out, 1 minute rest and then a final minute flat out. If the end of the minute feels or looks like you ran out of batteries, excellent.

Here is a 3 Day routine that utilises our Big 4 Live forever tools. Probably best to space these 3 days out throughout the week.

DAY 1: Weights and High Intensity

Body Part	Exercise	Sets and Reps
Warm-up	rower	5 minutes
Chest	Incline Dumbbell Press	3 x 10 reps
Shoulders	Dumbbell Shoulder Press	2 x 10 reps
Triceps	Overhead dumbbell extension	2 x 10 reps
Back	Seated Rows	2 x 10 reps
Biceps	Barbell curls	2 x 10 reps
Legs	Leg Press	3 x 15 reps
Legs	Walking Lunges	2 x 15 reps
Calves	Standing Calf raise	2 x 12 reps
Core	Hyper-extensions	2 x 15 reps
Intensity	Ski Erg or Rower	2 minutes total

 

DAY 2: Cardio Day

 

DAY 3: Weights and High Intensity

Body Part	Exercise	Sets and Reps
Warm-up	Rower or Treadmill	5 minutes
Chest	Machine Chest Press	3 x 10 reps
Shoulders	Dumbbell Lateral Raises	2 x 10 reps
Triceps	Triceps Pushdowns	2 x 10 reps
Back	Lat Pull Downs	2 x 10 reps
Biceps	Machine curls	2 x 10 reps
Legs	Squats	3 x 15 reps
Legs	Romanian Deadlifts	2 x 15 reps
Calves	Seated Calf raise	2 x 12 reps
Core	Hanging Leg Raise	2 x 20 reps
Intensity	Boxing Bag or Spin Bike	2 minutes total

 

I think this is the minimum required to stay healthy. Having said that, if everybody actively performed this routine or something similar each week, we would be a very healthy society. There is a near infinite number of variations to this exercise routine however the key take home is the 4 fundamental components, weight training, steady state cardio, HIIT cardio and some core work. Give it a go, experiment with it and report back to me in 50 years.