Free workout plans
Ready-made gym plans for 2 to 6 days a week, for beginners and intermediates: full body, upper/lower, push/pull, push/pull/legs and body-part splits, plus plans with a glute and leg or upper-body priority and plans for home with dumbbells and a bench. Each plan runs for 8 weeks and writes out every set, rep range, RIR and rest time, with the progression rules and a printable training log. You don't start from a blank page, and you don't have to guess what to do next week: the rules tell you when to add a rep and when to add weight.
Every split, every number of days
Rows are splits, columns are training days a week. A cell links to its plan, or says why there is none and which plan to take instead.
| Split | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full body | Another plan covers this better. Take: Upper/Lower · 4 days | Beginner: Another plan covers this better. Take: Upper/Lower · 4 days Intermediate: Another plan covers this better. Take: PPL + Upper/Lower · 5 days | Beginner: Another plan covers this better. Take: Upper/Lower · 4 days Intermediate: Another plan covers this better. Take: PPL · 6 days | ||
| Upper/lower | On 2 days a split trains each muscle only once a week. Take: Full body · 2 days | Beginner: Not in the catalog yet. The nearest plan: Take: Full body · 3 days | Beginner: Another plan covers this better. Take: Upper/Lower · 4 days Intermediate: Another plan covers this better. Take: PPL + Upper/Lower · 5 days | Beginner: Not in the catalog yet. The nearest plan: Take: Upper/Lower · 4 days Intermediate: Not in the catalog yet. The nearest plan: Take: PPL · 6 days | |
| Push/pull | On 2 days a split trains each muscle only once a week. Take: Full body · 2 days | Beginner: This rotation shifts weekdays every week and doesn't fit a weekly plan. Take: Full body · 3 days Intermediate: This rotation shifts weekdays every week and doesn't fit a weekly plan. Take: Upper/Lower · 3 days | Beginner: Not in the catalog yet. The nearest plan: Take: Upper/Lower · 4 days | Beginner: This rotation shifts weekdays every week and doesn't fit a weekly plan. Take: Upper/Lower · 4 days Intermediate: This rotation shifts weekdays every week and doesn't fit a weekly plan. Take: PPL + Upper/Lower · 5 days | Beginner: Another plan covers this better. Take: Upper/Lower · 4 days Intermediate: Another plan covers this better. Take: PPL · 6 days |
| Push/pull/legs | On 2 days a split trains each muscle only once a week. Take: Full body · 2 days | This rotation shifts weekdays every week and doesn't fit a weekly plan. Take: Upper/Lower · 4 days | Beginner: This rotation shifts weekdays every week and doesn't fit a weekly plan. Take: Upper/Lower · 4 days Intermediate: This rotation shifts weekdays every week and doesn't fit a weekly plan. Take: PPL + Upper/Lower · 5 days | Beginner: Beginners reach the growth zone in 3-4 sessions; more days add fatigue, not muscle. Take: Upper/Lower · 4 days | |
| PPL + upper/lower | – | – | – | Beginner: Beginners reach the growth zone in 3-4 sessions; more days add fatigue, not muscle. Take: Upper/Lower · 4 days | – |
| Body-part split | On 2 days a split trains each muscle only once a week. Take: Full body · 2 days | Beginner: A split practises each lift once a week; beginners learn faster with more frequent practice. Take: Full body · 3 days | Beginner: A split practises each lift once a week; beginners learn faster with more frequent practice. Take: Upper/Lower · 4 days | Beginner: A split practises each lift once a week; beginners learn faster with more frequent practice. Take: Upper/Lower · 4 days | Beginner: Another plan covers this better. Take: Upper/Lower · 4 days Intermediate: Another plan covers this better. Take: PPL · 6 days |
- The recommended plan for this number of days and your level.
- Each muscle once a week
Which plan should I choose?
The short answer
Take this plan
3-day full body workout plan · BeginnerThe recommended plan for this number of days and your level.
The short answer
- Beginner: You can add weight almost every session.
- Intermediate: Your weights go up every 1-2 weeks.
All plans
| Plan | Days | Level | Minutes | Sets a week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full body · 2 days | 2 | Beginner | 45 | 33 |
| Full body · 2 days | 2 | Intermediate | 55 | 43 |
| Full body · 3 days | 3 | Beginner | 40–45 | 47 |
| Full body · 3 days | 3 | Intermediate | 50 | 61 |
| Upper/Lower · 3 days | 3 | Intermediate | 45–50 | 61 |
| Upper/Lower · 4 days | 4 | Beginner | 30–40 | 60 |
| Upper/Lower · 4 days | 4 | Intermediate | 40–50 | 75 |
| Push/Pull · 4 days | 4 | Intermediate | 40–55 | 72 |
| PPL · 3 daysEach muscle once a week | 3 | Beginner | 40 | 45 |
| PPL · 3 daysEach muscle once a week | 3 | Intermediate | 50–55 | 63 |
| PPL · 6 days | 6 | Intermediate | 30–40 | 83 |
| PPL + Upper/Lower · 5 days | 5 | Intermediate | 30–45 | 74 |
| Body part split · 3 daysEach muscle once a week | 3 | Intermediate | 40–50 | 56 |
| Body part split · 4 daysEach muscle once a week | 4 | Intermediate | 40–50 | 73 |
| Body part split · 5 daysEach muscle once a week | 5 | Intermediate | 30–50 | 82 |
| Full body · 3 days · DumbbellsHome, dumbbells | 3 | Beginner | 40–45 | 48 |
| Upper/Lower · 4 days · DumbbellsHome, dumbbells | 4 | Intermediate | 40–45 | 76 |
| Full body · 3 days · GlutesGlute and leg priority | 3 | Beginner | 35–45 | 42 |
| Upper/Lower · 4 days · GlutesGlute and leg priority | 4 | Intermediate | 35–50 | 65 |
| Upper/Lower · 3 days · GlutesGlute priority | 3 | Intermediate | 45–50 | 59 |
| Upper/Lower · 5 days · GlutesGlute priority | 5 | Intermediate | 30–40 | 75 |
| Machines · 3 days · GlutesGlute priority | 3 | Beginner | 40 | 45 |
| Dumbbells · 3 days · GlutesHome, dumbbellsGlute priority | 3 | Beginner | 35–45 | 44 |
| Full body · 2 days · GlutesGlute priority | 2 | Beginner | 45 | 33 |
| Push/Pull/Legs + Arms · 4 daysArm priority | 4 | Intermediate | 40–50 | 78 |
| Upper/Lower · 4 days · ChestChest priority | 4 | Intermediate | 40–50 | 72 |
| Upper/Lower · 4 days · V-taperShoulder and back priority (V-taper) | 4 | Intermediate | 45–50 | 79 |
| Full Body to Split | 3 | Beginner | 35 | 54 |
The progression path
Start where your days and level fit, run the plan for 8 weeks, then repeat it or take the next step. You are intermediate when your weights go up only every 1-2 weeks. Home plans and priority plans have their own lines.
Gym
- 1
Beginner
- 2
Beginner
- 3
- 4
Intermediate
- 5
Home, dumbbells
- 1
Beginner
- 2
Intermediate
Glutes and legs
- 1
- 2
- 3
Intermediate
Upper-body priority
- 1
Intermediate
- 2
How to get everything out of a plan
- 1
Stick to the plan
Changing plans and exercises all the time costs you more than a weaker plan. Strength in a lift grows as you repeat it, and you can only add weight where you know what you lifted last week. Run one plan for a whole block, 8-12 weeks, and only then judge whether it works.
- 2
Control your progression
You can't add weight every week forever. Sometimes you add kilos, sometimes reps, sometimes you hold, and it's easy to misjudge by eye.
That's why we track your progression step by step, from workout to workout and week to week. After every workout you get the exact weight and reps for each set, worked out from your results and RIR, with calibration in week 1 and a deload. You just train.
Coming soon: weekly summaries and guidance for an off day.
Plans and the log are free. To start, you get 5 workouts with progression suggestions for free, and calibration doesn't count toward them. After that, suggestions are in Premium.
How to choose
Three questions decide it. First, how many days you can train every week, busy weeks included: a 3-day plan you keep for 8 weeks builds more than a 5-day plan you drop in week 3. Second, your level, judged by how your weights move, not by how long you have trained; after a long break most people progress like beginners again for a few months. If in doubt, take the beginner version: its sessions are shorter, and week 1 calibrates your weights anyway. A beginner with 5 or 6 free days does best on the 4-day upper/lower plan, with walks, cardio or mobility work on the other days. Third, how you like to train: the whole body in every session, or different muscles on different days. With 2-3 days, full body is the default (intermediates can also take the 3-day upper/lower plan); from 4 days, upper/lower, push/pull, push/pull/legs on 6 days and PPL + upper/lower on 5 train every big muscle group twice a week in sessions of 30-55 minutes. Plans marked “Each muscle once a week” (push/pull/legs on 3 days and the body-part splits) work too, but you practise each lift less often, so strength comes more slowly; their pages name the better choice.
Quick comparisons
Full body or split?
At the same weekly sets, both build about the same muscle. The difference is how often each muscle is trained: the 3-day full body plan works chest, back and legs two or three times a week, the 3-day split once, in one long session per muscle group. Practising a lift more often builds strength faster, and a missed session costs less, because every muscle has other sessions that week. Take the split if you like spending a whole session on one or two muscle groups.
3-day full body workout plan · 3-day body-part split workout plan
Upper/lower or push/pull/legs?
Both train every big muscle group twice a week, but they need different numbers of days: upper/lower does it in 4 sessions, push/pull/legs in 6 shorter ones of 30-40 minutes, and PPL + upper/lower in 5. On 3 days, push/pull/legs trains each muscle only once a week, so for three days we recommend full body or, for intermediates, the 3-day upper/lower plan. The 6-day plan gives a little more work (83 weekly sets against 75 in the intermediate upper/lower plan) for two more training days.
4-day upper/lower split workout plan · 6-day push pull legs workout plan · 5-day push pull legs + upper/lower split
Push/pull or upper/lower on 4 days?
Both train every big muscle group twice a week with similar weekly sets. Upper/lower gives the legs two days of their own. Push/pull spreads the leg work over all four sessions, squats and leg extensions on push days, leg curls and the Romanian deadlift on pull days, so there is no separate leg day. Push/pull has only an intermediate version; if you are starting out, take upper/lower.
4-day push/pull split workout plan · 4-day upper/lower split workout plan
5 days: PPL + upper/lower or a 5-day split?
Both take five days. PPL + upper/lower trains every big muscle group twice a week: heavy upper and lower days at the start of the week, then push, pull and legs. The 5-day split gives each body part its own day, so chest, back and quads get all their weekly work in one session. Take the split if you enjoy one long session per muscle; otherwise PPL + upper/lower lets you practise the main lifts twice as often.
5-day push pull legs + upper/lower split · 5-day body-part split workout plan
Plans for women
Strength training works by the same rules for women and men: the same rep ranges, the same RIR and the same progression. So every plan on this page works as it is, and you don't need a separate, lighter plan. If your main goal is glutes and legs, take one of the glute priority plans below. They move sets from the upper body to the glutes: the 3-day beginner full body plan gives the glutes 12 sets a week instead of 8.5, half of them from the hip thrust, and the 4-day intermediate upper/lower plan 16 instead of 11.5. The upper body gets fewer sets, mostly for the back and shoulders.
- 3-day full body workout plan for women
- 4-day upper/lower split for women: glute and leg priority
- 3-day glute-focused split for women: lower, upper, lower
- 5-day workout split for women with glute focus
- Machine workout plan for women: 3 days a week, glutes first
- Glute workout plan at home with dumbbells: 3 days a week
- 2-day full body workout plan for women with glute focus
Plans with an upper-body priority
- Push pull legs + arms: 4-day arm-focused split
- Chest-focused upper/lower split: 4 days a week
- V-taper workout plan: 4-day upper/lower split for shoulders and back
At home with dumbbells
- 3-day full body dumbbell workout plan at home
- 4-day dumbbell upper/lower split at home
- Glute workout plan at home with dumbbells: 3 days a week
Every plan is free in the SmartWorkout app
The same exercises, sets, reps and RIR, ready in the app. Logging, rest timer and history are free. Automatic progression suggestions: Premium.
Why the plans are free
Nobody should have to pay for the plan itself. Good plans are free online, but they get lost among hundreds of random ones: spreadsheets with no source, AI plans and plans nobody has checked. So we are building a single library with one plan for each situation, meaning the number of days, your level, your equipment and the muscle you want to bring up, and every plan follows the same rules, which we publish openly. The plans will always be free, on the website and in the app. What you pay for is coaching: after every workout, Premium suggests what to do in the next one. The only thing you buy separately is AI credits, because we pay the providers for every use of a model.