Before you begin

A few quick notes will make these guides easier to use.

• Use a desktop or laptop when possible: These guides often link out to calculators and supporting references. A larger screen makes it much easier to move between tabs and compare information.
• Use the linked tools instead of doing manual math: Interactive calculators are linked wherever they can save time. The equations are sometimes shown for reference, but you usually do not need to calculate them yourself.
• Treat the guide as a framework, not a rulebook: Use the guidance as a strong starting point, then adjust based on your body, recovery, and training response instead of following it rigidly.

1. Type of Split

A lot of beginners jump straight into "body part" splits, which are often less than ideal when you're starting out. There's no single split that's perfect for everyone, so it's important to find what works for you. This guide is a great resource for selecting the best workout split based on evidence. Keep in mind that trying to train six days a week on a body part split as a beginner is a good way to get injured.

2. Your Program's Foundation

Your program has to be built on the research-validated principles of Volume, Intensity, and Frequency. You can learn exactly what this means by reading the Hypertrophy Blueprint.

Okay, so that tells you what to do, but how do you measure it? For that, you can use the Hypertrophy Report tool, which will calculate your volume, frequency, and intensity for you.

3. Exercise Selection and Order

Does your routine include both compound and isolation exercises for every muscle? A 2019 study from Schoenfeld et al. confirms that this combination is crucial for ensuring full muscle activation and balanced development.

Limit to 1-3 exercises/muscle (mid-range compound + stretch + contracted, e.g., bench + pec deck + cable flyes). Strict form ensures tension on target muscles—cue mind-muscle connection (e.g., "pull humerus across body" on bench).

Heavy compounds first (e.g., deadlifts for back size); minor form loosening only on final reps if it keeps tension. No cheating that shifts load elsewhere.

See: Muscle Explorer for high quality Exercises.

4. Push vs. Pull Balance

Is your routine balanced? You should aim for a 1

ratio between your push and pull movements. This just means that for every push exercise you do (like a bench press or shoulder press), you should also do a pull exercise (like rows or pull-ups). This ensures your muscles develop evenly.

5. Progression

To build muscle over the long haul, you have to find ways to do a little more over time. Whether that means adding weight, squeezing out more reps, or throwing in extra sets, keeping a weekly log of your progress is the only way to guarantee you are actually moving forward. Real growth happens when you get stronger in those moderate rep ranges. Think of it this way: if you start out benching 50 kg for 10 reps, and by the end of the year you are benching 100 kg for those same 10 reps, your chest is going to be significantly bigger. On the flip side, if you are benching 20 kg for 10 reps today and you are still doing the exact same 20 kg for 10 reps next year, you haven't actually progressed. You might have leaned out a bit and noticed some new definition, but you won't have built any new muscle mass. So, when should you actually add weight or reps? Should it happen every workout, every week, or once a month? The truth is, you don't need to force progress every single week. You should only increase the load or the reps when the current weight starts feeling comfortable and no longer gives your muscles a reason to grow. That comfort is just a sign that your body has adapted. Let's look at a quick example. Imagine you are benching 60 kg for a target range of 6 to 10 reps, leaving about 2 reps in the tank (which is 2 reps shy of failure, or 2 RIR) on each set. As your body adapts over time, that 60 kg is going to feel lighter. Eventually, you will hit 10 reps and realize you actually had 4 reps left in the tank (4 RIR). At this point, the set is no longer challenging enough to trigger growth, since the general rule is to stay within 0 to 3 reps of failure. Because you have already hit the ceiling of your 10-rep target, you can't just keep adding reps. Instead, you need to bump up the weight to bring that intensity back. However, if you were only doing 9 reps at that easier effort, your immediate move would be to add one more rep to hit your target of 10. This approach is called double progression: you focus on adding reps until you hit the top of your target range, and only then do you increase the weight once the current load stops challenging you. As you get more experienced and stronger, these weight jumps might only happen every few weeks or even months. That is completely normal. The main objective is to gradually build strength in those moderate rep ranges, and the muscle growth will follow naturally.

1. Linear Progression (Gradual Increase)

How It Works: Add small, consistent increments to your weight or reps every workout or every week.

Example: If you're bench pressing 100 lbs for 3 sets of 8 reps, aim to increase the weight by 2.5–5 lbs every week, or add 1–2 reps per set.

1. Double Progression (Weight and Reps Combo)

How It Works: Focus on achieving a specific rep range before increasing the weight. Once you can perform the target rep range (e.g., 8-12 reps) with good form, increase the weight and drop back to the lower end of the rep range.

Example: If your goal is to do 8–12 reps for squats, you'll first work on increasing your reps within that range. Once you can do 12 reps comfortably, increase the weight and go back to 8 reps.

Double progression is pretty easy to understand, so that's what you should use to progress in strength.

6. Tracking Your Progress

You have to be tracking your workouts. If you don't log your progress, you won't be able to progress optimally because you might forget what weights you lifted last week and end up repeating the same session.

tldr; if you think someone else will put all this work to make your workout plan better, you'll be wrong is most cases. Reviewing/optimizing workout plan takes considerable effort when done right.

See: Progress Tracking for more info.

Want to avoid all this work?

You can find many proven programs on website like LiftVault, FitnessWiki or BoostCamp.

Run proven programs matched to your experience level. A good workout plan is much more than just a list of "good exercises." Your progress hinges on critical variables like progression, intensity, and volume. If these aren't carefully balanced with frequency, fatigue management, and a smart selection of exercises from different angles, you'll just stall. Unless you're a seasoned coach yourself, you're better off trusting a program built by 1.

For beginners, full body training 3 times a week or an upper lower split 4 times a week is the way to go. Why? Because when you're new to lifting, hitting each muscle group at least twice a week maximizes muscle protein synthesis and gets you better results. This isn't just an opinion it's backed by the Schoenfeld et al. study, "Effects of resistance training frequency on measures of muscle hypertrophy - A systematic review and meta analysis" from Sports Medicine in 2019.

Either setup helps you build a solid base by letting you practice key lifts more often. If you can hit the gym 4 days a week, the upper lower split is a fantastic choice. It lets you train both your upper and lower body twice a week while giving you plenty of time to recover and grow.

If you're working with limited equipment or from home, this free beginner program list is your starting point. It's flexible, with options for minimal gear or even workouts using only your bodyweight.

If you scroll to the bottom of beginner program list you'll find intermediate list, and if you scroll the bottom of that you'll find advanced list.

For those with a full gym membership, start with these Optimal Hypertrophy Programs for Beginners.