If I Were You, This Is How I Would Train

The Reality of Your Training vs. Mine

Before we dive into the best training plan for you, let’s get one thing straight—I am not you.

I’ve been a fitness professional for over 15 years. I step into a gym every single day for work. I’ve competed in sports at a high level, dropped below 10% body fat multiple times, squatted double my body weight, and power cleaned 1.5 times my body weight.

But that’s probably not your reality.

You’re a busy professional. You have a career, a family, responsibilities, and a life outside of the gym.

You don’t have hours to train like a professional athlete, and you don’t need to. Your goal is to be strong, lean, and pain-free while maintaining a high quality of life.

That’s why your training needs to be built for the real world, not a lab.

Why You Should Train 3x Per Week Full-Body

The best training plan is one you can stick to consistently. And for most people, the sweet spot is three full-body sessions per week.

Why? Because full-body training:

Maximises your time in the gym by hitting every muscle group multiple times per week.
Allows you to train effectively even if you miss a session.
Helps you recover better since you’re not hammering the same muscle groups on consecutive days.
Gives you room to include a weekend conditioning session if you want to improve endurance or just enjoy movement outside the gym.

This approach keeps you strong, athletic, and injury-free while fitting into your busy lifestyle.

The Best Split: Push / Pull / Full

A Push/Pull/Full split is one of the most effective ways to structure three-day-per-week training.

Unlike a traditional full-body split where you might hit everything every session, this allows you to split up movement patterns for slightly more focused training while maintaining flexibility.

The benefits:

You can train on back-to-back days if needed (push and pull workouts don’t interfere as much as two full-body sessions).
Each muscle group still gets trained twice per week, which is the sweet spot for strength and hypertrophy.
It allows an optional conditioning day (e.g., a weekend run or a quick circuit) without impacting recovery.

What Your Training Days Should Look Like

Here’s a breakdown of what a Push/Pull/Full training week might look like:

Day 1 – Push (Lower & Upper Body Pushing Movements)

Squat (Front or Back) – 4x5
Bench Press or Dumbbell Press – 4x6-8
Overhead Press – 3x8-10
Triceps Dips or Skull Crushers – 3x10-12

Day 2 – Pull (Lower & Upper Body Pulling Movements)

Deadlift or Romanian Deadlift – 4x5
Pull-Ups or Lat Pulldown – 4x6-8
Hamstring Curl or Nordic Curls – 3x10
Biceps Curls – 3x12-15

Day 3 – Full (Balanced Strength & Muscle Work)

Lunges or Split Squats – 3x8 per leg
Incline Dumbbell Press – 3x8-10
Seated Row or Face Pulls – 3x10-12
Arms & Core (Your Choice) – 3x12-15

If you want to include a fourth session, I recommend a simple conditioning day. Something like:

30-40 minutes of steady-state running, cycling, or rowing
Sled pushes or carries
A circuit of kettlebell swings, sled drags, and bodyweight movements

Real-World Optimised, Not Lab Optimised

Most fitness programs are designed in a vacuum.

They assume you have unlimited time, energy, and recovery. But you don’t. You live in the real world, where life happens, work gets busy, and family obligations take priority.

That’s why the best training program isn’t the most “optimal” one on paper—it’s the one that fits seamlessly into your life while still delivering results.

If you’re over 35 and serious about staying strong, athletic, and pain-free, start here. Three sessions per week. Push/Pull/Full. Hard, effective, and adaptable.

This is exactly how my clients train inside The Unbreakable Training Team—and it’s why they stay in shape for life.