D's 3-Day Gym Plan

Sized for 103 kg · 12-week block · as of 20 September 2026 · built on Bryan Johnson's Blueprint protocol and Anatoly's lifting method

103 → 98 kg

Target over 10–12 weeks

0.4–0.5 kg

Fat loss per week

~2,450 kcal

Daily intake (approx., calibrate in week 2)

165–185 g

Protein per day

3 + 2

Gym + yoga sessions per week

Goals and the honest math

Target: 5 kg of fat gone in 10–12 weeks (0.4–0.5 kg/week), muscle held or slightly up, waist visibly smaller. Three 60-minute gym sessions plus two 60-minute yoga sessions is enough training — the gym drives muscle, the kitchen drives the 5 kg.

Goal	What actually moves it	Weight in this plan
Lose 5 kg	A 500–600 kcal/day deficit held for 10–12 weeks; training adds only ~1,200–1,800 kcal/week at your size	Nutrition first, training second
Keep and build muscle	Heavy compound lifts, every muscle group twice a week, progressive overload, 165–185 g protein/day	All three gym days
Visible abs	Body fat low enough (roughly ≤12–14% for men) plus a trained rectus abdominis and obliques	Deficit + loaded core work every session
Belly fat specifically	Cannot be spot-reduced; it leaves with overall fat loss, moderate-to-hard cardio, sleep, and lower chronic stress	Deficit, intervals, Zone 2, sleep, yoga

At 103 kg, be clear-eyed about the abs goal. Whether 5 kg reveals abs depends on where you start. If you are around 180 cm, 103 kg is likely 20%+ body fat, and 5 kg brings you to roughly 16–18%: a much flatter stomach and upper abs in good light, but not a full six-pack. That usually needs a second 8–10 week block after a month at maintenance. The plan is built so the second block is the same plan, just continued.

What we borrow from Blueprint and Anatoly

Blueprint supplies the weekly skeleton and the cardio; Anatoly supplies how to lift. They disagree on volume (Johnson trains daily, Anatoly lifts heavy four days and rests three), so this plan takes the structure that fits three sessions.

Principle	Source	How it shows up here
Every session = warm-up, compound strength, then cardio	Blueprint protocol: 10 min warm-up, 20–30 min strength, cardio	Each day ends with a 6–18 min conditioning block
Norwegian 4×4 intervals raise VO2max (22% in the cited study)	Blueprint, Day 6	Day C finisher: 3 × 4 min at 85–95% max HR on the bike
Zone 2 steady state at 60–70% max HR	Blueprint	Day A finisher, plus walking after meals
Move 5–10 min after meals; break up sitting every 30 min	Blueprint	Daily habit in the belly-fat section
Mobility and yoga preserve movement patterns	Blueprint, Days 3 and 7	Your two yoga sessions cover this; no extra stretching needed
Heavy compounds first, pyramid up to 3–5 reps	Anatoly's routine: squat, bench, deadlift each get a day	Each gym day opens with one main lift at 4–5 reps
Accessories taken close to failure at 6–15 reps	Anatoly	Second and third exercises run 8–12 reps, 1–2 reps shy of failure
Pull-ups, dips, hyperextensions, leg raises as staples	Anatoly, Day 4	Pulldowns/pull-ups and dips on Day B, hanging leg raises on Day A
Strength without bulk: 290 kg deadlift at 78 kg bodyweight	Wikipedia	Strength is the metric, not scale weight
Consistency and recovery beat novelty	Both	Same three sessions for 12 weeks, deload in week 7

Weekly schedule

Lift Monday, Wednesday, Friday; yoga Tuesday and Saturday; Sunday fully off. Every lifting day gets a day of recovery before the next.

Day	Session	Duration	Why here
Mon	Gym A — Lower body + core	60 min	Fresh after Sunday off, heaviest legs day
Tue	Yoga	60 min	Active recovery for hips and hamstrings
Wed	Gym B — Upper push/pull + core	60 min	Legs rest, upper body works
Thu	Off (walk 30+ min)	—	Recovery before full-body day
Fri	Gym C — Full body + intervals	60 min	Hardest conditioning goes before the weekend
Sat	Yoga	60 min	Mobility, breathing, stress down
Sun	Off (walk 30+ min)	—	Full rest

Swap days freely, but keep at least one day between gym sessions and keep Day C before a rest day. If a week collapses to two gym sessions, do A and B and skip C — those two cover every muscle group.

Day A — Lower body + core

Monday55–58 min

One heavy squat, a hinge, then unilateral and core work, and a Zone 2 finish. Click any picture for a form video.

0 · WARM-UP · 8 MIN

Bike 3 min, leg swings, deep squat holds, 3 ramp-up squat sets

Empty bar → 50% → 75% of working weight

Blueprint's 10-minute warm-up, compressed.

1 · MAIN LIFT · 12 MIN

Back squat

4 × 5 · rest 2.5 min

Anatoly's main lift. Leave 1 rep in the tank on sets 1–3; set 4 is hard. Brace hard, sit between the hips, drive up through the whole foot.

Watch: How to properly squat (Jeff Nippard) ↗

2 · HINGE · 7 MIN

Romanian deadlift

3 × 8 · rest 90 s

Hamstrings and glutes. Bar stays on the thighs, hips travel back, stop when the hamstrings pull.

Watch: Perfect Romanian deadlifts ↗

3a + 3b run as a superset: do 3a, go straight to 3b, then rest 60 s. About 9 minutes.

3a · UNILATERAL

Bulgarian split squat (dumbbells)

3 × 10 per leg · no rest

Blueprint's advanced-level pick. Start with 12–16 kg dumbbells; at 103 kg bodyweight this is already a heavy leg exercise.

Watch: Bulgarian split squat form ↗

3b · CORE

Hanging leg raise

3 × 10–15 · rest 60 s

Anatoly staple. Lower abs, no swinging; bent-knee raises until 12 straight-leg reps are clean.

Watch: Hanging leg raise tutorial ↗

4a + 4b as a superset, rest 60 s after 4b. About 7 minutes.

4a · HAMSTRINGS

Seated leg curl

3 × 12 · no rest

Better than the lying version for hamstring growth — the hip-flexed position loads a longer stretch. Thigh pad snug, lean slightly forward, curl fully under, 3-second return.

Watch: Seated hamstring curl form ↗

4b · CORE (OBLIQUES)

Captain's chair knee raise with twist

3 × 10 per side · rest 60 s

Forearms on the pads, back flat against the rest. Lift the knees and steer them to one side, lower slowly, alternate. The twist gives the obliques the work the Pallof press did. No captain's chair? Lie on a bench, grip behind your head, and do the same twisting leg raise.

Watch: Captain's chair oblique raises ↗ · Lying leg raise ↗

5 · FINISHER · 12 MIN

Zone 2: incline walk or bike

12 min at 60–70% max HR

You should be able to talk. Incline treadmill walk is joint-friendly at 103 kg; no running needed.

Watch: Zone 2 training explained ↗

Day B — Upper push/pull + core

Wednesday58–60 min

Heavy bench and a heavy vertical pull, then pressing and rowing paired to save time, core, and a short interval finish. This is the tightest day, so keep rests honest.

0 · WARM-UP · 8 MIN

Row 3 min, band pull-aparts, shoulder circles, 3 ramp-up bench sets

Empty bar → 50% → 75%

Shoulders warm before any heavy pressing.

1 · MAIN LIFT · 12 MIN

Barbell bench press

4 × 5 · rest 2.5 min

Anatoly's second main lift. Feet planted, shoulder blades pinned, controlled descent to the lower chest.

Watch: How to properly bench press ↗

2 · VERTICAL PULL · 10 MIN

Lat pulldown → pull-ups

4 × 6–8 heavy · rest 2 min

At 103 kg, start on the pulldown or assisted pull-up machine. Switch to bodyweight pull-ups once you can do 6 clean reps; add weight after 8. Pulldown is the same movement, not a lesser one.

Watch: Lat pulldown mistakes ↗ · Pull-up checklist ↗

3a + 3b as a superset, rest 75 s after 3b. About 9 minutes.

3a · PRESS

Standing barbell overhead press

3 × 8 · no rest

Braced core, glutes squeezed, no lean-back. Bar finishes over the mid-foot.

Watch: Overhead press explained ↗

3b · ROW

Seated cable row

3 × 10 · rest 75 s

Keeps shoulders balanced against all the pressing. Neutral (V) or wide grip, torso upright and still — no rocking back for momentum — pull the handle to the navel and squeeze the shoulder blades for a second.

Watch: Seated cable row form ↗

4a + 4b as a superset, rest 60 s after 4b. About 7 minutes.

4a · PUSH

Dips (bodyweight)

3 × 8–10 · no rest

Anatoly staple. At 103 kg bodyweight dips are already loaded — use the assisted machine if 8 reps aren't clean, add weight only after 12. Stop 1–2 reps shy of failure.

Watch: Dips, chest vs triceps ↗

4b · SHOULDER HEALTH

Face pull (cable)

3 × 15 · rest 60 s

Rear delts and rotator cuff — shoulder insurance for the bench and dips. Light weight, pull to the forehead, thumbs back.

Watch: Face pull form ↗

5a + 5b as a superset, rest 45 s after 5b. About 6 minutes.

5a · CORE

Ab wheel rollout

3 × 8–12 · no rest

The best rectus abdominis exercise you can load. From the knees; tuck the pelvis, roll out only as far as the lower back stays flat.

Watch: Ab wheel rollout guide ↗

5b · CARRY

Farmer's carry (heavy dumbbells)

3 × 30 m · rest 45 s

Blueprint's grip and stability work. Start around 30 kg per hand; tall posture, ribs down, short quick steps.

Watch: Farmer's carry tutorial ↗

6 · FINISHER · 6 MIN

Tabata on assault bike or rower

20 s all-out / 10 s easy × 8, then 2 min easy

Blueprint's Tabata prescription for advanced trainees. Bike or rower, not jumping — kind to the knees at your weight.

Search: Tabata assault bike ↗

Day C — Full body + Norwegian intervals

Friday57–59 min

Heavy deadlift, a quick full-body circuit, then the week's VO2max work: three 4-minute hard efforts on the bike.

0 · WARM-UP · 8 MIN

Bike 3 min, hip hinges, glute bridges, 3 ramp-up deadlift sets

60 kg → 50% → 75%

Groove the hinge before loading it.

1 · MAIN LIFT · 13 MIN

Conventional deadlift

4 × 4 · rest 3 min

Anatoly's signature lift. Reset every rep, no touch-and-go. Bar over mid-foot, lats tight, push the floor away.

Watch: How to properly deadlift ↗

2 · PRESS · 6 MIN

Incline dumbbell press

3 × 10 · rest 75 s

Upper chest. Bench at 30°, elbows about 45° from the torso, full stretch at the bottom.

Watch: Incline dumbbell press ↗

3a + 3b as a superset, rest 60 s after 3b. About 8 minutes.

3a · LEGS

Dumbbell walking lunge

3 × 10 per leg · no rest

Blueprint's lunges and step-ups, loaded. Long stride, torso tall, back knee kisses the floor.

Watch: Walking dumbbell lunge ↗

3b · ROW

Single-arm dumbbell row

3 × 10 per arm · rest 60 s

Blueprint's Day 1 row. Hand and knee on the bench, pull to the hip, no torso twist.

Watch: Dumbbell row form ↗

4a + 4b as a superset, rest 45 s after 4b. About 6 minutes.

4a · POWER

Kettlebell swing

3 × 15 · no rest

Blueprint's power move. 20–24 kg bell; hips snap, arms stay loose, the bell floats to chest height.

Watch: Kettlebell swing and hip hinge ↗

4b · CORE

Side plank

3 × 30 s per side · rest 45 s

Blueprint's Day 5 core. Obliques and the sides of the waist; hips stacked and lifted, body in one line.

Watch: Side plank tutorial ↗

5 · FINISHER · 18 MIN

Norwegian intervals (bike)

4 min at 85–95% max HR, 3 min easy, × 3

Blueprint's Day 6 protocol, cut from 4 rounds to 3 to fit. Skip the last easy block. Bike or rower rather than treadmill at 103 kg. This is what raises VO2max.

Watch: The Norwegian 4×4 for longevity ↗

If the deadlift session ran heavy and you have nothing left for the intervals, do 2 rounds well rather than 3 badly. Rough max HR: 220 minus age; a chest strap is more accurate than a wrist.

Progression over 12 weeks

Main lifts progress by load, accessories by reps, and week 7 is a deload. In a calorie deficit the realistic win is holding or slightly raising your lifts while 5 kg comes off — if strength is climbing, you are not losing muscle.

Weeks	Main lifts (squat, bench, pulldown/pull-up, deadlift)	Accessories	Cardio finishers
1–2	Find a weight for 4×5 (4×4 deadlift) with 1–2 reps in reserve	Pick loads that make the top of the rep range hard	Run as written; log heart rate and bike watts
3–6	Add 2.5 kg/week to squat and deadlift, 1.25–2.5 kg to bench, one plate step on the pulldown; when a set fails, repeat that weight next week	Double progression: hit the top of the range on all sets, then add 5–10%	Zone 2: +2 min every 2 weeks. Norwegian: raise the watts, not the time
7	Deload: same exercises at 60% of week-6 loads, 2 sets each	Same, 2 sets	Zone 2 only, skip intervals
8–11	Switch main lifts to Anatoly's 5×3 pyramid: 5 sets climbing to a top triple, add 2.5 kg/week	Continue double progression; swap one accessory per day if bored	Norwegian back to 3 rounds; try 4 if the session allows
12	Test week: work up to a heavy 3 on each main lift and record it	Light	Easy

Rules: never add weight at the cost of form; if sleep was under 6 hours, drop the top set rather than skip the session; if two sessions in a row feel flat, take the deload early.

Nutrition for the 5 kg cut, sized for 103 kg

Eat about 500–600 kcal/day under maintenance and 165–185 g protein/day; that is the whole strategy. At 103 kg your maintenance is probably around 2,900–3,100 kcal (approximate — it depends on height, age and how much you walk), so the target is roughly 2,400–2,500 kcal/day. That gives a deficit of about 3,500–4,000 kcal/week, which is 0.45–0.5 kg of fat/week and 5 kg in 10–12 weeks.

Lever	Target at 103 kg	Why
Calories	~2,400–2,500 kcal/day to start. Confirm in week 2: track intake and weight for 14 days; if the weekly average isn't dropping 0.4–0.7 kg, adjust by 150 kcal	Fast enough to finish in 12 weeks, slow enough to keep muscle and lifts. A 5% bodyweight loss at your size tolerates a slightly larger deficit than a lighter person's would
Protein	165–185 g/day (1.6–1.8 g/kg), spread over 4 meals of 40–50 g	Morton et al. 2018 found muscle gains plateau around 1.6 g/kg. At a higher bodyweight the need tracks lean mass, so 1.6–1.8 g/kg covers it without forcing 200+ g down every day
Fat	75–90 g/day, mostly olive oil, nuts, fish	Hormone health; below this cuts feel worse than they need to
Carbs	The remainder: ~220–260 g on gym days, ~150–180 g on yoga and rest days, most of it in the meals before and after training	Fuels the heavy sets and the intervals; Anatoly cycles carbs by training load
Fibre and volume	35–40 g fibre; vegetables, legumes, berries at every meal	Fullness per calorie — the Blueprint plate is mostly this
Alcohol	Zero or near-zero for 12 weeks	Empty calories, worse sleep, and it directly favours abdominal fat storage
Eating window	Finish dinner 3+ hours before bed; a Blueprint-style early last meal	Better sleep, which is a belly-fat lever in its own right
Creatine	5 g/day, any time	Anatoly's one staple supplement; keeps strength up while cutting. Expect +1 kg of water in week 1 — it is not fat

What a 2,450 kcal, 175 g protein day looks like

Meal	Example	Approx.
Breakfast	4 eggs + 100 g egg whites scrambled, 2 slices sourdough, tomatoes, berries	620 kcal · 48 g protein
Lunch	200 g chicken thigh or fish, 150 g cooked lentils or farro, big salad with 1 tbsp olive oil	680 kcal · 55 g protein
Pre/post-gym	250 g Greek yogurt (2%), 1 banana, 20 g nuts	420 kcal · 28 g protein
Dinner	200 g lean beef, white fish or prawns, 200 g roast vegetables, 120 g cooked rice or potatoes, olive oil	730 kcal · 50 g protein

Your Mediterranean cooking already fits this: lean protein, legumes, olive oil, vegetables. The change is portion arithmetic, not a new cuisine. Weigh yourself daily and average the week; if the weekly average drops more than 1 kg for two weeks running, add 150–200 kcal back — faster than that starts costing muscle.

Belly fat and abs

Belly fat leaves through the deficit and moderate-to-hard cardio, not through ab exercises; the ab work in this plan builds the muscle that shows once the fat is gone. Visceral fat (behind the wall, pushes the belly out) goes first and responds strongly to cardio; subcutaneous fat (the pinchable layer) is last to go and only the deficit moves it.

Works	Evidence / source	In this plan
Moderate-to-high intensity aerobic work	Vissers et al. 2013 meta-analysis: aerobic training cut visceral fat by >40 cm² in men within 12 weeks, even without calorie restriction; low intensity did not	Norwegian intervals (Day C), Tabata (Day B), Zone 2 (Day A)
Sustained calorie deficit	The only thing that removes the subcutaneous layer over the abs	Nutrition section
Sleep 7–9 h	Short sleep raises cortisol and appetite; both push fat to the abdomen	Early dinner, fixed wake time
Stress down	Chronic cortisol favours visceral storage	Two yoga sessions, Blueprint's meditation habit
Walking after meals, 5–10 min	Blueprint's daily rule; blunts the glucose spike and at 103 kg burns 120+ kcal/day with no recovery cost	Every day, after lunch and dinner
Loaded ab and oblique work 2–3×/week	Abs grow like any muscle: progressive load, 8–15 reps	Hanging leg raises, captain's chair twists, ab wheel, side plank across the three days

Does not work	Why
Crunches every day for spot reduction	Fat loss is systemic; no study has shown local fat loss from local exercise
Waist trainers, sweat belts, fat-burner pills	Water loss or nothing
Cutting carbs entirely	You lose glycogen water and your lifts, not extra belly fat
Extra low-intensity cardio	The meta-analysis above found low intensity does not move visceral fat

The honest timeline at 103 kg: the first 5 kg takes the belly down noticeably and shows upper abs in good light. A defined six-pack at your size most likely needs a second block — 4 weeks at maintenance after week 12, then repeat the same plan for another 8–10 weeks. Extend rather than cut harder.

Tracking and checkpoints

Track four numbers weekly; the scale alone will lie to you when muscle and fat move at once.

Measure	How	Green	Adjust when
Weekly average weight	Daily, morning, after bathroom, averaged Sunday	Down 0.4–0.7 kg/week	Flat 2 weeks: cut 150 kcal. Down >1 kg two weeks running: add 150–200 kcal
Waist at the navel	Tape, relaxed, Sunday morning	Down about 0.5–1 cm/week	Flat while weight drops: fine, fat is coming off elsewhere first
Main lift loads	Logged every session	Holding or rising	Two consecutive drops on the same lift: check sleep and protein, then deload
Norwegian interval watts	Power or speed held for the 4-min blocks at the same HR	Rising every 2–3 weeks	Falling: under-recovered, drop to 2 rounds for a week

Checkpoints

Week 2: maintenance calories confirmed from the data, all working weights set, week-0 photos and waist measurement taken
Week 4: about 101 kg, waist 2–3 cm smaller, no lift lost
Week 7: deload; photos front and side in the same light as week 0
Week 8: about 99.5 kg; decide whether to hold calories or trim 100 kcal
Week 12: 98 kg, heavy-triple test on squat, bench, deadlift; compare photos and waist to week 0; decide on block two

After week 12, eat at maintenance for 4 weeks at the new weight and keep lifting — that is what makes the result stick, and it sets up the second block if you want the full six-pack.

Sources

Bryan Johnson — Exercise and Fitness Protocol for Longevity — weekly structure, Norwegian 4×4, Zone 2 and HIIT prescriptions, post-meal walks
Anatoly (Vladimir Shmondenko) workout routine — Dr Workout — pyramid main lifts at 3–5 reps, accessories to failure, staple bodyweight and core moves, creatine
Vladimir Shmondenko — Wikipedia — best lifts and bodyweight
Anatoly's official programs — his stated approach to cutting, core, and self-coaching
Morton et al. 2018, BJSM — protein intake and muscle gain with resistance training
Vissers et al. 2013, PLOS One — exercise type and intensity versus visceral fat
Form videos: Jeff Nippard (squat, bench, deadlift), Squat University (Bulgarian split squat, seated leg curl, seated cable row, dumbbell row, face pull), Renaissance Periodization, NASM and others, linked on each exercise card

Maintenance calories, body-fat percentages for visible abs, sleep and cortisol effects, and the ab-visibility timeline are estimates from general training knowledge, not tied to a single study. Height and age would tighten the calorie estimate.