Beginner / familiar · 3 days a week

Express

Five lifts, two sets each. About 45 minutes, three days a week.

Five lifts a session, two sets each, big lifts first. Sessions are short because there are few exercises, not because rests are cut. Needs: Gym machines, cables and dumbbells.

  • You can lift three days a week but have about 45 minutes
  • You want the big lifts and nothing extra

Not the right fit if you want lots of arm and shoulder isolation work. Bodybuilding has more of it.

A 2021 review found that a few hard sets per muscle a week, from big two-limb lifts, already build strength and muscle. That is what each session here is made of. Time-efficient strength and muscle training: 2021 review

Your week

  1. Mon
    Full Body5 exercises · about 46 min
    Exercises
    • Leg press2 × 8–12
    • Machine chest press2 × 8–12
    • Lat pulldown2 × 8–12
    • Dumbbell Romanian deadlift2 × 8–12
    • Seated cable row2 × 8–12
  2. Tue
    Rest
  3. Wed
    Full Body5 exercises · about 46 min
    Exercises
    • Leg press2 × 8–12
    • Machine chest press2 × 8–12
    • Lat pulldown2 × 8–12
    • Dumbbell Romanian deadlift2 × 8–12
    • Seated cable row2 × 8–12
  4. Thu
    Rest
  5. Fri
    Full Body5 exercises · about 46 min
    Exercises
    • Leg press2 × 8–12
    • Machine chest press2 × 8–12
    • Lat pulldown2 × 8–12
    • Dumbbell Romanian deadlift2 × 8–12
    • Seated cable row2 × 8–12
  6. Sat
    Rest
  7. Sun
    Rest

Every exercise has a target. Log what you lift and the next week is written from it: same lifts, with the weights you earned.

Where it goes

  1. Week 1 · Foundation

    Learn the lifts. Leave about 3 reps in the tank.

  2. Weeks 2–3 · Build

    Add reps while your form stays clean.

  3. Weeks 4–5 · Progress

    Same five lifts, with more weight on any lift where you reached the top of the range.

    30 working sets a week. The weights go up, not the workload.
  4. Week 6 · Consolidate

    Repeat your best numbers and lock them in. The next block starts from there.

General fitness guidance, not medical advice. Check with a doctor before you start if you have a medical condition, an injury or symptoms, or are pregnant, and stop if something feels wrong.

Start this plan free

7 days free, no card to start.