5 days a week
The classic week of chest, back, legs, shoulders and arms, built from our gym workouts. It works when weekly sets match; here is what research says about the trade-offs, and the one change the week needs.
Tap a day to open its session, with a follow-along player.
Every move links to its guide and 3D demo, with an easier and a harder option.
45 min · Intermediate
45 min · Beginner
55 min · Intermediate
40 min · Intermediate
35 min · Beginner
40 min · Beginner
Every set at 3 reps in reserve while you check your weights.
Double progression on every move: compound lifts at 1 to 3 reps in reserve, isolation moves at 0 to 2.
Optional: half the sets at easy weights, then restart at your previous weights.
Warm up, then pick a weight you think you could lift about 10 to 12 times at most. Do the bottom of the rep range (for 8 to 12, do 8) and ask: how many more could I have done with good form? Two or three more: that is your weight. Five or more: go up one step next set. None or one: go down one step.
For bodyweight moves, choose the version (the easier or harder option on each move's page) where you reach the bottom of the rep range with 2 or 3 reps to spare.
In the first two weeks, stop each set with 3 or 4 reps to spare. Most people misjudge how many reps they have left by about one, and you are still learning the movements.
Each exercise has a rep range, such as 8 to 12. Keep the weight the same and add reps, set by set and session by session, while still stopping 1 to 3 reps short of failure.
When every set reaches the top of the range, add the smallest weight step you have (roughly 2 to 10%, smaller jumps for the upper body and small muscles) and go back to the bottom of the range. Adding reps and adding weight both work; this rule uses both.
With body weight, add reps, then slow the lowering, then move to the harder option. If a lift stalls for 2 or 3 sessions, hold the weight, check your sleep and food, and consider a lighter week.
You do not need to train to failure. Stopping 2 or 3 reps short, often written as 2 to 3 reps in reserve (RIR), gives similar results for most people.
Big compound lifts stay at 2 to 3 reps in reserve; the last set of small isolation moves, such as raises and curls, can go to 0 to 2.
Heavy compound lifts in sets of 5 to 8 (squat, deadlift, bench press, overhead press, chin-up): 2 to 3 minutes. Other compound lifts in sets of 8 to 12: about 90 seconds to 2 minutes. Isolation moves such as raises, curls, extensions and calf raises: 60 to 90 seconds.
For muscle growth, resting more than about a minute gives a small advantage, with no clear extra gain past about 90 seconds. For strength the evidence on rest is mixed: 1 to 2 minutes is enough for beginners, and trained lifters may do better with longer rests on heavy lifts.
Short on time? Pair two moves that do not compete, such as a press with a row or a leg move with a core move, and rest after the pair. Supersets like this roughly halve session time while keeping the sets.
Not compulsory, especially for beginners. Take one every 6 to 8 weeks, or sooner if your performance drops for two sessions in a row and you feel run down or achy: same days, same exercises, about half the sets, and weights that feel easy (4 or more reps in reserve). Then restart at your previous weights.
Deloads are common practice: in a survey of competitive strength and physique athletes they lasted about a week, roughly every 5 to 6 weeks. Direct evidence is thin. In the one trial, a full week off mid-programme did not change muscle growth but slightly reduced strength gains, so a lighter week looks better than a week off if strength matters. Whether recreational lifters benefit has not been tested.
Warm up with 3 to 5 minutes of easy movement, the moves listed at the start of each session, then 1 or 2 lighter sets of the first lift. A short warm-up specific to the exercise is enough.
The cool-down is optional. Its stretches are there for comfort and flexibility; they do not add strength or muscle.
Source 8
Missed a session? Do the next one in the order rather than doubling up. Muscle soreness for a day or two after a new exercise is common and fades as you repeat it.
Stop and get medical help for chest pain or pressure, unusual breathlessness, dizziness or fainting. If a joint pain is sharp, gets worse during a set or lingers into the next day, swap to the move's easier option, and see a clinician if it persists.
WHO notes that people without contraindications generally do not need medical clearance before light or moderate activity. If you have a heart, lung or metabolic condition, are pregnant, or have osteoporosis with fractures, ask your clinician first.
Source 12
No. Training each muscle once a week builds about as much muscle as spreading the same sets over the week, and split and full-body routines give similar gains when weekly sets match.
For strength, training a lift more often helps, mostly because it adds weekly sets, with diminishing returns. In this plan each main lift comes round once or twice a week; in a body-part split, once. A missed day also costs more in a body-part split: that muscle goes untrained for a fortnight, while here it is still trained once that week.
Counting direct sets in the build phase, this plan gives about 13 hard sets a week for the chest, 9 to 14 for the back, 15 to 18 for the shoulders, 12 for the quads and about 9 each for the biceps and triceps, but only 3 to 5 for the glutes and hamstrings, because the leg day has no hip hinge.
More weekly sets build more muscle, with diminishing returns that arrive sooner for strength than for size. The 2026 ACSM position stand saw extra growth from about 10 or more sets per muscle a week, and a review of time-efficient training suggests about 4 hard sets a week as a reasonable floor for busy people.
That is why Wednesday adds 3 sets of Romanian deadlifts. Past about 12 to 15 sets per muscle the extra benefit shrinks.
A week where each day trains one or two body parts: chest, back, legs, shoulders and arms. Each muscle gets many sets once a week.
No. It works when weekly sets are matched. It gives less frequent practice of each lift, and a missed day costs more.
Both build muscle when weekly sets match. Push/pull/legs and the 5-day upper/lower hybrid train each muscle about twice a week, so each lift gets more practice and a missed day costs less.
The leg day here is squat-led with no hip hinge, so the glutes and hamstrings get only a few direct sets a week. Three sets of Romanian deadlifts fill the gap.
A general plan for adults without symptoms or restrictions, not a prescription. Start lighter than you think, stop for sharp or increasing pain, numbness, chest pain, faintness or unusual breathlessness, and get individual advice if you are pregnant, after an injury or surgery, or managing a health condition. Health disclaimer.