Machine workout plan for women: 3 days a week, glutes first
Three full-body sessions a week for 8 weeks, for beginners, using only machines and cables, with the glutes trained first in every session.
Every exercise in this plan runs on a machine or a cable, so you can start without learning barbell or dumbbell technique. Each day leads with a different lower-body movement: the leg press on Monday, the Romanian deadlift on the Smith machine on Wednesday and the machine hip thrust on Friday, which also comes second on Monday. The leg curl is in every session, the leg extension on Wednesday and Friday, the abduction machine on Wednesday. The glutes get 11.5 sets a week, most of them from the hip thrust and abduction, the quads 9 and the hamstrings 7.5. The upper body gets a pull and a press every day, so the back gets 9 sets a week and the shoulders and chest 4-5. Strength training works the same for women and men, so the plan suits anyone who wants to start on machines.
| Split | Days a week | Level | Weeks | Minutes | Sets a week | Equipment | In the app |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full body | 3 | Beginner | 8 | ≈40 | 45 | Machines | Machines · 3 days · Glutes |
Track this plan for free in SmartWorkout
The same exercises, sets, reps and RIR, ready in the app. Logging, rest timer and history are free. Automatic progression suggestions: Premium.
In the app: Plans → Machines · 3 days · Glutes
Good fit if
- You are new to the gym and want to start on machines, without free-weight technique.
- Your glutes and legs come first, and the upper body can grow more slowly.
- You can train three times a week, about 40 minutes each time.
Take another plan if
- You are comfortable with the barbell squat and dumbbells: the 3-day full body plan with glute and leg priority uses them.
- You train at home: take the 3-day dumbbell glute plan for home.
- Your weights go up only every week or two: take the 4-day upper/lower split with glute and leg priority, built for intermediates.
Weekly schedule
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full Body A | Rest | Full Body B | Rest | Full Body C | Rest | Rest |
Missed a day? Do the next session in order: the app runs the sessions in sequence.
Keep a rest day between sessions if you can: all three train the glutes and the hamstrings. If two sessions have to fall on consecutive days, make it B and C, which share only the leg extension and the leg curl.
The plan, week 1
Week 1 is calibration: pick a weight for the bottom of each range with one more rep in reserve than later. The RIR column shows week 1 → week 2 onwards; the grid below shows what changes in weeks 2-8.
Tempo 3-0-1-0: 3 s lowering, 0 s pause in the stretch, 1 s lifting, 0 s pause in the squeeze. X: lift as fast as you can while staying in control.
What RIR means →How to read tempo →
| Exercise | Sets × reps | RIR | Tempo | Rest | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WUWarm-up sets | 2 × 8 | – | – | 1:00 | |
A Leg Press | 3 × 8–12 | 3 → 2 | 3-0-1-0 | 2:00 | Feet a little higher on the platform for more glute work; go as deep as you can without your lower back lifting off the seat. |
B Machine Hip Thrust | 3 × 8–12 | 3 → 2 | 2-0-1-1 | 2:00 | Upper back against the pad, chin tucked; push through your heels and hold the top of every rep for a second. |
C Seated Leg Curl | 2 × 10–15 | 3 → 2 | 3-0-1-0 | 1:30 | |
D Cable Lat Pulldown | 3 × 8–12 | 3 → 2 | 3-0-1-1 | 2:00 | |
E Machine Chest Press | 2 × 8–12 | 3 → 2 | 3-0-1-0 | 2:00 | |
F Machine Lateral Raise | 2 × 12–20 | 3 → 2 | 2-0-1-1 | 1:00 |
15 working sets · ≈40 min
| Exercise | Sets × reps | RIR | Tempo | Rest | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WUWarm-up sets | 2 × 8 | – | – | 1:00 | |
A Smith Machine Romanian Deadlift | 3 × 8–12 | 3 → 2 | 3-1-1-0 | 2:00 | The bar runs on rails, so it stays close to your legs. Hips back, knees soft; stop when you feel the hamstrings stretch or before your back rounds. |
B Seated Leg Extension Machine | 3 × 10–15 | 3 → 2 | 3-0-1-0 | 1:30 | |
| CSeated Leg Curl | 2 × 10–15 | 3 → 2 | 3-0-1-0 | 1:30 | |
D Seated Hip Abduction | 2 × 12–20 | 3 → 2 | 2-0-1-1 | 1:00 | Lean slightly forward. The chart counts it as half a glute set: it trains mostly the side of the glutes. |
E Seated Cable Row | 3 × 8–12 | 3 → 2 | 3-0-1-1 | 2:00 | |
F Machine Shoulder Press | 2 × 8–12 | 3 → 2 | 3-0-1-0 | 2:00 |
15 working sets · ≈40 min
| Exercise | Sets × reps | RIR | Tempo | Rest | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WUWarm-up sets | 2 × 8 | – | – | 1:00 | |
| AMachine Hip Thrust | 3 × 8–12 | 3 → 2 | 2-0-1-1 | 2:00 | Upper back against the pad, chin tucked; push through your heels and hold the top of every rep for a second. |
| BSeated Leg Extension Machine | 3 × 10–15 | 3 → 2 | 3-0-1-0 | 1:30 | |
| CSeated Leg Curl | 2 × 10–15 | 3 → 2 | 3-0-1-0 | 1:30 | |
D Chest Supported Machine Row | 3 × 8–12 | 3 → 2 | 3-0-1-1 | 2:00 | |
| EMachine Chest Press | 2 × 8–12 | 3 → 2 | 3-0-1-0 | 2:00 | |
F Machine Reverse Flyes | 2 × 12–20 | 3 → 2 | 2-0-1-1 | 1:00 |
15 working sets · ≈40 min
Track this plan for free
Week by week
| W1 | W2 | W3 | W4 | W5 | W6 | W7 | W8 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phase | Calibration | Build | Build | Build | Build | Build | Build | Build |
| RIR | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Working sets | 45 | 45 | 45 | 45 | 45 | 45 | 45 | 45 |
| What to do | Find your weights | Reps, then weight | Reps, then weight | Reps, then weight | Reps, then weight | Reps, then weight | Reps, then weight | Reps, then weight |
| Done: Full Body A | ||||||||
| Done: Full Body B | ||||||||
| Done: Full Body C |
No planned deload: beginners recover between sessions at this volume. If two sessions in a row go backwards, take an easy week.
Saved only in this browser. The app keeps your weights and reps.
Worked example: Smith Machine Romanian Deadlift
Sample numbers of a simulated lifter, worked through with the manual rule on this page.
| Week | Weight | Reps per set | RIR | Next session |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 40 kg | 8 · 8 · 8 | 3 | Calibration done: add reps |
| 2 | 40 kg | 9 · 9 · 9 | 3 | Add reps |
| 3 | 40 kg | 10 · 10 · 10 | 3 | Add reps |
| 4 | 40 kg | 11 · 11 · 11 | 2 | Add reps |
| 5 | 40 kg | 12 · 12 · 12 | 2 | All sets at the top: 42.5 kg |
| 6 | 42.5 kg | 10 · 10 · 10 | 3 | Add reps |
| 7 | 42.5 kg | 11 · 11 · 11 | 3 | Add reps |
| 8 | 42.5 kg | 12 · 12 · 12 | 2 | Next run starts at 47.5 kg |
How to progress on this plan
The simplest method that works on any plan: double progression. Keep the weight and add reps while you finish your sets with the reserve in the RIR column. When every set reaches the top of the range, add one step and build the reps up again.
- Leg Press 3 × 8–12 at RIR 2: when all 3 sets reach 12 reps at RIR 2 or easier, add 2.5 kg next session.
- Machine Hip Thrust 3 × 8–12 at RIR 2: when all 3 sets reach 12 reps at RIR 2 or easier, add 2.5 kg next session.
- Cable Lat Pulldown 3 × 8–12 at RIR 2: when all 3 sets reach 12 reps at RIR 2 or easier, add 2.5 kg next session.
- Machine Chest Press 2 × 8–12 at RIR 2: when both sets reach 12 reps at RIR 2 or easier, add 2.5 kg next session.
- Smith Machine Romanian Deadlift 3 × 8–12 at RIR 2: when all 3 sets reach 12 reps at RIR 2 or easier, add 2.5 kg next session.
- Seated Cable Row 3 × 8–12 at RIR 2: when all 3 sets reach 12 reps at RIR 2 or easier, add 2.5 kg next session.
- Isolation exercises (10–20 reps) follow the same rule. With light dumbbells, the next pair can be too big a jump: use the in-between weight, or stay and go 1-2 reps above the range for a week or two.
- The machine hip thrust is the main lift and comes twice a week with the same 3 × 8-12: second on Monday, first on Friday. Each session builds on the last one, whichever day it was, so you get two chances a week to add a rep.
- The leg curl has the same 2 × 10-15 on all three days and the leg extension the same 3 × 10-15 on Wednesday and Friday, so each builds on its last session. The chest press repeats Monday's 2 × 8-12 on Friday the same way.
- Machines usually go up in 2.5-5 kg plates. If the next plate is too big a jump on a small exercise, stay at your weight and go 1-2 reps above the range for a week or two.
- After week 8, run the plan again with week 1 as calibration: enter a week-8 set in the starting-weights calculator below.
What to do next session
| You logged | Next session |
|---|---|
| All sets at the top of the range with the planned reserve | One weight step up |
| Below the top, with the planned reserve | Same weight, +1 rep on the sets that allow it |
| One rep less in reserve than planned | Same weight and reps: repeat the session |
| Sets below the range, or RIR 0 when the target was 2 | Keep the weight; if sets fell below the range, one step down |
| No progress for 2 sessions | Check rest and honest RIR; after a 3rd session, about −10% and build back up |
Your starting weights
Enter a recent set of the exercise: weight, reps and how many reps you had left. You get the week-1 weight for the bottom of the range with one rep more in reserve, from the widely used RPE chart (RTS).
Weekly volume per muscle
Working sets per muscle in a regular week, counted the way the app counts them: a set is 1 for a muscle the exercise trains directly and 0.5 for one it trains indirectly. Warm-ups don't count.
- Chest4 · 2×/wk
- Back9 · 3×/wk
- Quadriceps9 · 3×/wk
- Hamstrings7.5 · 3×/wk
- Gluteus12.5 · 3×/wk
- Side delts5 · 2×/wk
- Rear delts5 · 1×/wk
- Biceps–
- Triceps4 · 2×/wk
- Front delts4 · 1×/wk
- Calves–
- Abs–
- Trapezius7 · 1×/wk
- Lower Back1.5 · 0×/wk
Abs and calves are optional. From 10 sets a week the app labels a muscle "High volume": above its default target and still productive.
Substitutions
Choose your substitute in week 1 and keep it for all 8 weeks: the app tracks progress per exercise. Each substitute trains the same muscles directly, so the volume above stays the same.
Adapt the plan
- Short on time
- Cut from the end, not the start: the last exercise of each day is small upper-body work (the lateral raise on Monday, the shoulder press on Wednesday, the reverse flyes on Friday), and skipping it saves about 4-5 minutes. Keep the lower-body exercises and the row or pulldown of every day.
- Bulking or cutting
- Keep the plan as it is in both. On a cut, aim to hold your weights: reps that drop by one or two are normal, and you can skip the last set of the isolation exercises if recovery suffers.
- Bringing up one muscle
- Glutes and legs already have priority here. To bring up one upper-body muscle, add 2 sets of its machine on a day that already trains it (about 4 minutes).
- Over 40
- Warm up a little longer, keep one more rep in reserve on the heavy barbell lifts and take the full rest. Joints decide the pace, not the calendar.
- Training at home
- This plan needs gym machines. At home with dumbbells and a bench, take the 3-day dumbbell glute plan for home.
The same plan in the app
The app opens exactly this plan: all 8 weeks, the same targets, week 1 calibration included. Its description in the app:
A beginner full body (FBW) plan with glute priority on machines and cables only: three workouts a week (Mon, Wed, Fri), no free barbell and no dumbbells. Glutes get about 12 sets a week (machine hip thrust, leg press, Smith machine Romanian deadlift, hip abduction), quads and hamstrings 7-9, the upper body fewer. 8 weeks: week 1 is calibration (pick weights that leave 3 reps in reserve, RIR 3), weeks 2-8 at RIR 2. Progression: add reps first, then weight once every set reaches the top of its range at the target RIR.
Free: the plan, logging weight, reps and RIR, the rest timer, history, previous results and the calculators.
This page teaches the manual method. With Premium, the app suggests the weight and reps for every set after each workout, from the weights, reps and RIR you logged, including week-1 calibration and the deload. Its suggestions can differ from this simple rule because it uses more of your data.
Track this plan for free in SmartWorkout
The same exercises, sets, reps and RIR, ready in the app. Logging, rest timer and history are free. Automatic progression suggestions: Premium.
In the app: Plans → Machines · 3 days · Glutes