Three to five rule
Strength template built on threes and fives across every variable
Three to five days a week, three to five exercises, three to five sets, three to five reps per set, three to five minutes of rest between them. Load sits near your heaviest for those reps. It is a memory aid, not a periodized plan. The rule exists because the numbers that matter for strength cluster in similar ranges: low reps, high load, long rest. Lifters use it to start a strength block without reading a textbook first, then adjust once they know how they respond.
People on record
Sorted by strength of stance
Does it: documented as part of their own routine. Recommends: explicitly advises other people to do it. Discusses: covered it substantively without clear personal adoption; this can include criticism or disagreement.
- Andy GalpinRecommends
Exercise physiologist · Perform podcast
Three to five days, exercises, sets, reps and minutes of rest. He credits the heuristic to work going back about 80 years and offers it as a rough starting point for strength and power, not as a finished program.
Source: Perform: The Fundamentals of Training for Muscle, Strength & Longevity
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