To pack on muscle, you don't need to spend hours upon hours picking things up and putting them down. ​Phew​. Three one-hour strength-training sessions is adequate for building strength and gaining muscle mass, according to celebrity trainer Ebenezer Samuel, CSCS, head of training and innovation at the virtual training platform FlexIt.

The catch, however, is you need to be intentional with how you allocate those three hours. Samuel says for strength gains, completing three full-body workouts per week —each featuring one hinge, one squat, one push and one pull exercise — is most effective.

"Ideally, there will be some movement crossover between the days," Samuel tells LIVESTRONG.com. Why? "Repeating movement patterns helps people build proficiency with those movements faster. It also helps establish the mind-muscle connection," he says.

To make it as easy for you as possible, we asked Samuel to put together this three-days-per-week gains guide. Below, he offers a workout program designed for beginner and intermediate lifters.

What to Keep in Mind Before You Begin

​Tip 1:​ If any of the prescribed movements are too advanced, scale them down to the indicated alternative. Or, do the listed movement with less weight—or no weight at all. And if you're an advanced lifter with time to spare, you might consider opting for this five-days-a-week workout plan instead.

​Tip 2:​ Before starting your workout, warm up. “Your movement prep can be simple,” Samuel says. “One minute of jumping jacks, followed by one minute of high plank, followed by one minute of body-weight reverse lunges is sufficient for most exercisers,” he says.

If you do not yet have the strength to do a standard push-up, Samuel recommends doing incline push-ups, instead. (Not knee push-ups!). “Grab a weight box or stack some plates or books and put your hands on those instead of the ground,” he suggests. The higher the platform is, the easier the push-up will be.

There’s a reason the double dumbbell Romanian deadlift is featured all three days. Put simply: It works. “It’s one of the most effective exercises for teaching people how to properly hinge their hips,” Samuel says. "And if people can hinge their hips properly, their quality of life improves." After all, hinging at the hips is essential for being able to do daily activities like hauling a package from the steps or picking up your kiddo.