“3 Day Split” BODi Workout Program Review

Looking for an intermediate-level workout program that is intense enough to do just three times a week for total body results? Let’s investigate how the BODi “3 Day Split” 2024 branded special from Autumn Calabrese stacks up in my honest BODi workout reviews!

As background, this is my twenty-fourth BODi workout review (!) — and please note that I actually DO every workout video in the programs I review, so I can write from first-hand experience and be highly truthful. Moreover, as I most recently explained in my “Dig Deeper” BODi review, please always use caution and wise judgment when starting any new workout routine, and consult a professional first if needed.

“3 Day Split” Overview

Since her breakout workout program, “21 Day Fix” (which I got great results from), Autumn Calabrese has gone on to hit her mid-40s like me, and thus is doing a lot of work with exercises that match the lifestyle and bodies of perimenopausal women. The idea of “3 Day Split” is it’s intense enough to do just three days a week to fit a busy lifestyle, but has enough modifications to be lower impact.

There are a total of just six 30-50 minute workouts in this “branded special” (a workout program like “Kettlebell Academy” that’s shorter than traditional ones, and is filmed live with a BODCast). These Week 1 and Week 2 videos are meant to be repeated for Weeks 3 and 4 — albeit in a specifically different order — to total a four-week program.

The title “3 Day Split” comes from the fact that it’s just three days a week, most of the moves are done in sets of three, and the theme of each workout “splits” the body into different regions (ex: “Front”).

Equipment Needed for 3DS

What equipment is needed for “3 Day Split?” Thankfully, a whole lot less is required than Autumn’s other program, “9 Week Control Freak!” Here are affiliate links for recommended items.

1. To access the program, you can either get a subscription to the entire BODi platform (click here to see current offers and discounts for this — use the sale code LILLIEFIT25 for 25% off the price of full subscriptions!), or can just purchase “3 Day Split” on its own. For the second option, click here to see where to buy it, and use the discount code LILLIEFIT15 for 15% off.

2. A range of dumbbells. I used 5, 10, 15, and 20 pounders. (I love vinyl-covered weights like these.) You could probably stand to go a little heavier, too, but this range worked well for me.

3. For floor-based core work, I like having a squishy mat or puzzle piece foam flooring — or at the very least, a yoga mat.

4. Though I used to work out barefoot, “3DS” worked best for me with sneakers. I also opted for weightlifting gloves to avoid callouses.

“3 Day Split” BODi Review

So, what did I think of “3 Day Split?” Here are the positive aspects, plus the problems.

Positive Aspects of “3DS”

A. Excellent full-body moves and results.

I always felt GREAT after each workout in “3 Day Split!” Each video is chock-full of excellent, innovative moves that provide full-body exercise and get your heart rate up and muscles firing. How my body responded to this program was right up there with “Fire and Flow.”

B. Effective and efficient time use.

Further, because the workouts are longer (30-50 minutes) and pack an intense punch, I always felt fully “cleansed” and worked out at the end — not like, “Sheesh, I need to do another workout because that wasn’t quite enough,” as I sometimes did with “XB Pilates.”

As Autumn repeatedly says in the program, if we’re only working out three days a week, we need to really do it well! I also found the pace more efficient than “80 Day Obsession” — there is little wasted time in “3DS.”

C. No-impact modifications throughout.

With some important exceptions (see the “Problems” section of this article further down), “3 Day Split” offers lots of low-or-no-impact modifications for all moves (like “4 Weeks for Every Body“) to support folks of a wide range of body functionality and experience level.

D. Weight amounts are clearly communicated.

As I explained in my “Muscle Burns Fat #mbf” review, when the trainer suggests a specific pound amount for dumbbells to use, I find it wildly helpful. In “3 Day Split,” Autumn is excellent at saying what weights she’s using — and I found they often correlated exactly with what would push me to the perfect next level. For example, we both we are able to accomplish Hammer Curls with 15s for the first time in forever!

E. Inspiring speeches and motivating ideas.

This could be a pro or a con to “3 Day Split,” depending on your taste, but Autumn is always full of inspiring words and tough love speeches. For me, I love them! And the good news is that in this program, they don’t slow down the pace of the workout (unlike BODi’s “645”).

Some of my favorite wisdom drops: “Your arrow will land where your focus is.” “Hard work will put you where luck will find you.” “Everyone secretly wants a hard workout. If it’s not hard, aren’t you mad you wasted your time?” TRUTH, all!

F. Exercises are functional and useful.

Unlike “LIIFT4,” results of “3 Day Split” are all about functionality — not stiff, traditional movements that actually can lead to injuries because they’re not well-rounded.

Problems With “3DS”

1. Injury risk with insufficient modifications. This is a challenging program!

“3 Day Split” is no joke. Though it’s labeled as “Intermediate” level, I would categorize it as “High Intermediate” due to the intensity, duration, and limited or delayed modifications — specifically during the Cardio day, and, believe it or not, the warm-ups. (“Chop Wood, Carry Water” is a similarly surprisingly challenging program, though for different reasons.)

In particular, there are numerous videos in “3DS” which feature getting up from a full kneeling or kneeling lunge position — especially during warm-ups! Speaking for myself, this move is a killer for my knees if I don’t add significant extra modifications that aren’t mentioned. Like I learned the hard way with “Job 1,” always listen to your body to change moves as needed.

2. Music with words is weird and distracting.

As mentioned in my analysis of the new “BODi Blocks” structure on the platform, BODi has been playing around with different formats of music, and the choice of background sound for “3 Day Split” is… questionable. They may change this down the road, but at the time I am writing this article, the generic synthesized background music for “3 Day Split” has words — a very distracting and odd feature that I didn’t like.

3. No on-screen timer.

Though I always feel like a diva when I grouse about workout programs not having on-screen timers, my recent experience doing BODi LAVA (which DOES have a timer) is that they help so much! Not having a timer for “3DS” did impact my motivation and pacing.

4. A little repetitive.

Much of the structure of “3 Day Split” revolves around the number three, and thus most sets are repeated three times. Though I did get used to it and got into a flow after a time, I did realize during “XB Sweat + Sculpt” that having more variety during each video keeps me more excited.

5. Live-filming flubs and awkwardness.

As a “Branded Special,” “3 Day Split” is filmed relatively live, and with a “BODCast” of people at home on screens in the back. This led to some awkward moments such as Autumn asking for her line cue, or saying something accidentally in the “Base Camp” video which was kind of shocking! In contrast, full, polished programs like “Sure Thing” with Megan Davies are more edited.

6. There aren’t many videos.

For a program with so many great moves, it’s frustrating that “3 Day Split” is only six videos long! A benefit of Real-Time programs like “LIIFT MORE” is that the fresh (versus repeated) videos keep you motivated to push play.

7. Workouts are close to an hour long.

Moving to the flip side of length, each video of “3DS” is relatively long — most in the 45 to 50 minute range — meaning I usually budgeted a full hour to each. While this is an absolutely worth it investment in health, busy working mothers like me often have more ease in fitting 30 minute workouts (as with “Let’s Get Up” with Shaun T) into a day, versus an hour.

8. Less cast spice.

When a workout cast is exciting (as with “6 Days of the Work“) it’s very motivating to press play, because it’s like watching a sitcom. Dylan and Monica were lovely, but stayed mostly in the background.

Further, unlike the non-screen cast of “Tough Mudder T-Minus 30,” the BODCast of at-home folks projected on the walls has always struck me as odd, as you either can’t see what the people are doing, or sometimes they’re doing totally the wrong thing! (Happily, “Raf the Cameraman” who I’ve always been fascinated with, is back!)

“3 Day Split” BODi Review, in Sum

Overall, I think “3 Day Split” is a great addition to the BODi library (click to see all the options you can check out with a trial). It has some of the best and most satisfying moves I’ve seen (and felt!) in a while.

That said, it doesn’t come near the top of the ranking of best BODi workout programs for me. It’s simply too short, and lacks the polish of a full program.

I think it’s totally worth it to do when you’re between other programs to exercise more, though! So what about you? If you’ve done “3DS,” what did you think? If you haven’t what questions do you have? Do share!

Want more? Check out my detailed review of BODi — the online workout platform and app.