Pilates, walking and weights: I'm a personal trainer, and here's why the 3-2-8 method is trending

Woman holding two light dumbbells during workout with left arm extended in front of her and right arm bent — (Image credit: Shutterstock)

Have you come across the 3-2-8 workout? It’s not new, but it’s still a trending workout split that prioritizes strength training and balances it with low-impact exercise. As a personal trainer, I’m mostly wary of social media fitness routines, but this one caught my attention for better reasons than usual.

The trend involves scheduling three strength training workouts and two low-impact Pilates or barre sessions, while aiming for 8,000 steps daily. The goal is to prevent overtraining, build strength, balance and stability in your muscles and increase overall daily movement to combat sedentary time.

Although I don’t believe everyone needs to work out five days a week, introducing low-impact activities into your daily routine means you could avoid burnout typical of HIIT training or running. So here’s a bit more on what you can expect from the 3-2-8 workout and how to get started.

What are the benefits of the 3-2-8 workout?

A woman doing power walking — (Image credit: Getty Images)

Strength training builds stronger muscles, bones, joints and ligaments and contributes toward functional strength and longevity. The more lean muscle mass you have compared to fat, the healthier your metabolism and (generally speaking) the faster you can turn over calorie burn.

Resistance training also improves stability and balance as you age, combats age-related muscle and bone density loss and keeps you mentally and physically sharp. The stronger and more resilient your body is, the less chance you have of developing injury or succumbing to mobility issues.

Pilates is a low-impact workout method that prioritizes muscle endurance, stability, posture and balance. You’ll learn a better range of motion through gentle load, control and breath, so coupled with strength training, you’ll get a more well-rounded workout. Think muscle-building, mobility and movement.

Finally, the research shows that we don’t need 10,000 steps per day to benefit from walking; as little as 7,000 steps can be just as beneficial, and your perfect daily step count goal could be more individual to your age than originally thought. For the 3-2-8 workout method, aim for roughly 8,000.

Staying active and reducing sedentary time is great for maintaining a healthy metabolism, combating weight gain, keeping you mobile and boosting cardiovascular health.

What does the 3-2-8 workout method look like?

a woman lifting a heavy dumbbell — (Image credit: gilaxia)

Here's how it looks:

3 strength workouts: Resistance training, bodyweight, or weighted routines. This could be full-body or split into upper, lower and core.
2 low-impact workouts: Pilates or barre.
8,000 steps: Think hot girl walks, color walking, or walking workouts.

For resistance days, focus on workouts that include your body weight, dumbbells, barbells, or kettlebells. Your program should focus on building strength and muscle, while including all the major muscle groups and increasing your heart rate as you move through challenging resistance. Here’s a beginner-friendly full-body 4-week program to get you started.

Pilates routines don’t need to be in the studio, as there are plenty of Pilates workouts you can do for free online. Barre or even yoga are both low-impact options to try, if you prefer.

Finally, whether you enjoy walking on the best under-desk treadmills or getting outdoors, try to aim for 8,000 steps; I like to track my steps using my smartwatch to remove the guesswork. Walking at different times of day is a great way to spread movement and reduce sedentary time if you can't get all your steps done in one go. Remember, accumulation and consistency will get you lasting results!

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Sam Hopes is a level 3 qualified trainer, a level 2 Reiki practitioner and fitness editor at Tom's Guide. She is also currently undertaking her Yoga For Athletes training course.

Sam has written for various fitness brands and websites over the years and has experience across brands at Future, such as Live Science, Fit&Well, Coach, and T3.

Having coached at fitness studios like F45 and Virgin Active and personal trained, Sam now primarily teaches outdoor bootcamps, bodyweight, calisthenics and kettlebells.

She also coaches mobility and flexibility classes several times a week and believes that true strength comes from a holistic approach to training your body.

Sam has completed two mixed doubles Hyrox competitions in London and the Netherlands and finished her first doubles attempt in 1:11.

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