The 3-2-8 Trend Is The Well-Rounded Workout Routine That Should Be On Your Radar
Being a beginner in the fitness world can be overwhelming. It's not uncommon to find conflicting advice from people who have succeeded in achieving their health goals. Everybody's tips differ because every body is different. Even if you follow the workouts and diet recommended by someone with the same physique as yours, your results might differ because of your lifestyle, metabolism, and how your body stores fat.
Once you know that, it can be quite difficult to find an effective workout routine. You might end up strength training every day of the week and giving your muscles too much too soon. While cardio exercises are great for keeping your heart and mind in good shape, overdoing them can keep you from getting into proper shape. If you're too intimidated to take on a high-intensity workout, you'll end up sticking to lighter exercises that might not help you achieve your goals.
In reality, a good workout routine needs to have a combination of all of these activities. While a personal trainer is your best bet for a tailor-made plan, it might not be a viable option for many. Don't worry, though, there are plenty of ways to strike a good balance and reap the benefits of each. One such easy-to-follow method is the weekly 3-2-8 workout routine. Yes, it's a TikTok exercise trend, but it isn't gimmicky in the slightest, and it's also trainer-approved.
The 3-2-8 method splits your workout week
3-2-8 is a simple workout routine developed by TikToker, fitness influencer, and certified personal trainer Natalie Rose. This regime involves strength training three days a week, doing two sessions of low-impact exercises like Pilates, barre, or yoga, and walking 8,000 steps daily too. Nourish Move Love founder and certified trainer Lindsey Bomgren explained why she loves this trend to Well+Good: "[It's] a well-rounded workout routine that encourages those who love strength training to incorporate more mobility, balance, and core training through Pilates classes."
Bomgren added, "On the other hand, it encourages Pilates lovers to focus on larger muscle groups and heavier weights to build strength. It's a win-win." For strength training days, Rose suggested splitting the three workouts into full-body, lower-body, and upper-body. As a beginner, strength training can seem scary, but you should know it doesn't have to be. You can start with bodyweight moves like squats, planks, push-ups, and lunges, perfect your form, add light weights, and work your way up to the heavier stuff. The 3-2-8 method also helps prevent overstraining and injury.
The key to effective strength training isn't lifting the heaviest possible weight from the get-go, but progressive overload. In simple terms, progressive overload means constantly challenging yourself with extra load to ensure your muscles keep changing to adapt. While the most common form of this principle is to increase the weight, you can also increase your reps, control the tempo, and rest less in between moves.
It encourages you to stay active throughout the day
When you're doing strength training and pushing your limits, it can be hard to believe that low-impact workouts can also provide a plethora of benefits while keeping things relatively chill. Pilates, barre, or yoga can help you gain better flexibility, posture, and balance while strengthening your core, and making exercise a lot more enjoyable by improving mobility and reducing the risk of injury.
We've all heard that walking 10,000 steps a day is a fantastic and safe way to stay in shape, but it might not be a realistic goal for every day. However, walking 8,000 steps a day could be more achievable if you take simple steps like parking your car a little further away, walking through your commute as much as possible, and always taking the stairs. With 8,000 steps, you reap pretty much the same mental and physical benefits as the 10,000 steps. This goal of the 3-2-8 encourages you to stay active throughout the day and reduce the ill effects of a sedentary lifestyle.
While the 3-2-8 routine covers different bases in several areas of fitness, it does miss out on cardiovascular health, so you'll have to carve out time to get the CDC-recommended 150 minutes of weekly cardio in too. Remember that 3-2-8 isn't set in stone; if it feels too low or high impact, adjust the ratio of workouts accordingly but just make sure you get a bit of everything in there each week.