Which weekly workout plan should I follow?

How many days a week should I work out?

As many as you can keep up, from 2 to 5. The NHS asks adults for strength work on at least 2 days a week, covering legs, hips, back, tummy, chest, shoulders and arms.

ACSM, a US body of sports doctors and scientists, sets days by experience. It advises 2 to 3 days for beginners, 3 to 4 after about 6 months, and 4 to 5 after years of training.

Then pick the split, which is how you share the muscles across your days. Each one below trains every muscle at least twice a week.

Upper means chest, back, shoulders and arms. Lower means legs, hips and tummy.

Push is chest, shoulders and the backs of your arms. Pull is back and the fronts of your arms.

New to the gym? Start with our beginner gym plan. Otherwise, count the days you can train most weeks and pick that row.

3 day and 4 day gym workout plans

Start every session with a warm-up of at least 6 minutes. Then do the big moves first. ACSM puts large muscle groups before small ones.

So a full-body day might be squat, chest press, row, shoulder press, then a curl. An upper day is the same minus the squat. A lower day is squat, lunge, glute bridge and a plank.

For moves to slot in, see our best strength exercises or the full-body dumbbell workout. Write your days into your diary for next week.

5, 6 and 7 day gym workout schedules

Five lifting days is the top of the ACSM range, and it’s meant for people with years of training. Six goes past it.

Want to move every day? You don’t need to lift every day.

The NHS also asks for at least 150 minutes of moderate activity, such as brisk walking, on top of strength work. Or 75 minutes of vigorous activity instead. Use the spare days for that.

Three 50-minute walks make the NHS’s 150 minutes. The NHS says you can spread activity over 4 to 5 days a week, or every day.

Set on 6 lifting days? Run push, pull, legs twice, with Sunday off. Keep the weekly sets the same as your 4 or 5 day plan.

Does the split matter, or the sets?

The sets matter more. That other number is your weekly sets per muscle: how many hard sets each muscle gets in a week.

Think of it like a weekly food shop. One trip or three, you bring home the same food. Your muscles care most about the total too, though one trip a week may do a little less than two.

A review of 25 studies found no real difference in muscle growth when weekly sets matched.

An earlier review of 10 studies, also with weekly sets matched, found twice a week beat once for muscle growth. So aim for twice, as every split above does.

In 15 studies, each extra weekly set was linked with a little more growth. See how to build muscle.

Count your sets per muscle this week.

How do I move up to more days?

Only when you stop making progress. Greg Nuckols, a strength coach who writes at Stronger By Science, advises: if you’re still progressing, don’t change anything.

Nuckols suggests you spread your current sets over more days first. Wait to add more until you see how you recover.

Training for health more than size? A review of 16 studies linked strength work with lower risk of early death, heart and circulation disease, and cancer. The biggest drop came at about 30 to 60 minutes a week.

Those were links, not proof, and the effect of much more was unclear. Two or three sessions can be plenty.

To move up on weight as well as days, use our progressive overload guide. Sore after a new day? Read muscle soreness and progress.

When to speak to a GP

Speak to a GP first if:

• You have not exercised for some time, or you have medical conditions or concerns. The NHS says to speak to your GP first.
• You’ve had a baby. The NHS says you can do more intense activity after your 6 to 8 week postnatal check, if you feel able. Vigorous activity is not advised if you were inactive before pregnancy.
• You get chest pain that comes and goes, or that goes away quickly but you’re still worried. See a GP, the NHS advises.

Call 999 if you get sudden chest pain or discomfort that does not go away. It can feel like squeezing or pressure inside your chest, burning or indigestion.

Also call if pain spreads to your arm, neck, jaw, stomach or back. Or if chest pain comes with feeling sweaty, sick, light headed or short of breath.

These are NHS signs of a possible heart attack.