What is a good gym workout plan for a beginner?
Train two to four days a week and work every major muscle group: legs, back, chest, shoulders, arms and core. Use 8–12 repetitions for most exercises and 1–3 sets each, as the American College of Sports Medicine advises for people new to weights. Machines and dumbbells are the easiest place to start. The planner on this page builds that week for you.
How many sets and reps should I do?
In your first weeks, do 2 sets of each exercise: 8–12 reps for big lifts like the leg press or chest press and 12–15 for small ones like curls and lateral raises. After about a month of regular training, move to 3 sets. Pick a weight you could lift 2 or 3 more times at the end of each set.
How long should I rest between sets?
Rest about 60 seconds after small exercises and 90 seconds to 2 minutes after big ones. A 2018 review found that 60–120 seconds is enough for people new to weight training.
Should I train one muscle group a day or the full body?
Both work. Training each muscle twice a week tends to build a little more muscle than once a week (Schoenfeld 2016). The full-body, push/pull and upper/lower routines and every 6-day option train each muscle at least twice a week; the 3-day push/pull/legs and 5-day one-muscle-a-day routines train each muscle once.
What is a push pull legs routine?
It splits training by movement. Push day works the muscles that push (chest, shoulders, triceps), pull day the muscles that pull (back, rear shoulders, biceps) and leg day the legs and core. Done 3 days a week, each muscle is trained once a week; done 6 days, twice. The 4-day push/pull routine adds front-of-thigh exercises to push days and back-of-thigh exercises to pull days.
What is progressive overload?
Slowly asking your muscles to do a little more over time, so they keep adapting: first more reps, then more weight, and later more sets. A simple method is double progression: stay at one weight until you reach the top of the rep range in every set, then add 2–10% and build the reps back up (ACSM 2009). The workout log on this page does this for you.
When should I increase the weight?
When you can do the top of the rep range in every set for two sessions in a row, add the smallest weight step, about 2–10% (for example 1–2.5 kg on a dumbbell exercise). Then build the reps back up.
Is it normal to feel sore after the gym?
Yes. Muscle soreness that starts the next day and fades over two to three days is common when you begin or add a new exercise, and it eases as you get used to training. Sharp pain in a joint, pain during an exercise, or swelling is not normal: stop that exercise and get it checked.
How much protein do I need when I start lifting?
ICMR-NIN sets the daily requirement for Indian adults at 0.83 g of protein per kg of body weight (2020). People who lift weights regularly may gain a little more muscle with 1.2–1.6 g per kg; above about 1.6 g per kg, studies found no extra gain (Morton 2018). If you have kidney disease, ask your doctor first.
Do women need a different gym plan?
No. The same exercises, sets and reps work for women and men. Choose the weight that suits your strength today and add to it as you get stronger.
Can I work out 6 days a week?
Yes, if you recover well. Every routine here has a Monday to Saturday option with Sunday off. Keep 1 or 2 reps in hand on each set, sleep 7 or more hours, and take an extra rest day if you feel run down or your lifts drop for a week. If you are new to the gym, the weights + cardio routine is the gentlest way to train 6 days, because only 3 of them are weight days.
Can I swap an exercise in my plan?
Yes. Tap Change next to any exercise to see others that train the same muscles, for example dumbbells instead of a machine your gym does not have. The recommended one is marked. Your choice is saved on your device and used every week. Exercises that do not suit a pain area you ticked are greyed out.
Do I need to warm up and stretch?
Warm up, yes: 5 minutes of easy cardio and a few moving stretches. A review of 32 studies found that warming up improved performance in most of the measures tested (Fradkin 2010). Hold stretches after training, when your muscles are warm: about 30 seconds each, twice, for the muscles you used (ACSM 2011). Your plan lists both for every workout.
How much cardio should I do?
The WHO advises adults to do 150–300 minutes a week of moderate activity, such as brisk walking or cycling, plus strength training on 2 or more days. Cardio days in the weights + cardio routine give you 40–90 minutes a week; walking on other days makes up the rest.
