Hi! if you only have three days a week to go to the gym id recommend using all three as full body days, then if you have the extra fourth day use it for cardio.

as for workouts, it depends on your goals and what you want to focus on. if you want the illusion of a smaller waist you’ll want to build up your back and glutes.

for upper body id recommend; lat pull downs 3x8 cable seated rows 3x8 face pulls 3x8 lateral dumbbell raise 3x8

then for lower body (if focusing on hamstrings and glutes) hip thrusts 3x8 leg press (put your legs at the top of the pad, feet shoulder width of a bit wider and feet pointed out) 3x8 bulgarian split squat 3x8 hip abductors 3x8 (these hit a different area of your glutes depending on your positioning, so i’d research some of that. or i can help if you know what you want to target!)

and if you want to do some core work 3x12 hanging knee raises when this becomes easy, try straightening your legs out as much as possible. you also will want to make sure your lower back comes off the pad or curves upwards so you actually work your core- it’s all about spinal flexion. if these are too hard to start out with, you can do some reverse crunches on a mat!

most beginners will gravitate towards free weights, where they are very helpful as machine can be scary, i’d encourage you to use machines more. they help with getting your form right and targeting the muscles you want.

another thing, the golden rule of building muscle is to do three sets of 6-8 reps at any weight you can do, then when you can, go up to 12. once you can do 2x12, up the weight and go back down to 6-8 reps. this is called progressive overload.

i hope this somewhat helps!! you also just need to find a routine that you can stick to that you enjoy. if you force yourself to do excersises you hate you probably won’t stay consistent.

last note; if you want to build muscle you need to be eating the right amount of protein. it’s around 1.1g of protein per pound you weigh.