Weekly Workout Plan: 2 to 6 Day Templates

The best weekly workout plan is the one that fits your schedule. Not the one your favorite fitness influencer follows. Not the one that sounds most hardcore. The one you can actually do, week after week, without missing sessions.

This page gives you complete workout templates for every schedule from 2 to 6 days per week. Each template includes full exercise tables with sets, reps, rest periods, and linked exercise demos. Pick your number, follow the plan, and stop overthinking it.

If you want to understand how different splits compare before choosing, read the Best Workout Split Guide first. Otherwise, find your days below and get to work.

TL;DR

• 2 days/week: Full body. Two sessions covering everything. Best for beginners or packed schedules.
• 3 days/week: Full body or Push/Pull/Legs. Three efficient sessions with full coverage.
• 4 days/week: Upper/Lower. The sweet spot for most intermediate lifters.
• 5 days/week: Upper/Lower/Push/Pull/Legs hybrid. High volume, twice-per-week frequency.
• 6 days/week: PPL x2. Maximum frequency and volume for advanced lifters.
• Every template includes exercises, sets, reps, and rest periods you can follow immediately.
• Build a personalized version with the Free Workout Planner.

How to Choose Your Training Frequency

More days does not mean more results. Your ideal training frequency depends on three things: how long you have been training, how many days you can realistically commit to, and how well you recover.

Here is the quick decision guide:

Experience matters. Beginners grow on 2-3 days because everything is new stimulus. Intermediate lifters need more volume, which means more days. Advanced lifters need even more to keep progressing.

Schedule matters more than theory. A perfect 5-day plan you only follow 3 days per week is worse than a solid 3-day plan you never miss. Pick the number of days you can actually sustain for 12 or more weeks.

Recovery is the ceiling. If you sleep 5 hours per night and eat like a college student, training 6 days per week will not help. It will bury you. Match your training frequency to your recovery capacity, not your ambition.

2-Day Workout Plan (Full Body)

A 2 day workout plan is the minimum effective dose. You train twice per week, covering every major muscle group in each session. It is not flashy, but it works.

This setup is for beginners who are just building the gym habit, people coming back from a long break, or anyone whose schedule only allows two real training days. You can still build muscle and strength on two days if you train with intention and progress over time.

Week at a Glance

You can shift these to any two non-consecutive days. The rest between sessions is what matters, not which specific days you pick.

Day A - Full Body

Day B - Full Body

How to progress: Use double progression. Start at the bottom of each rep range. Add reps session by session until you hit the top of the range on all sets, then add weight and drop back to the bottom of the range. This simple system keeps you moving forward without overcomplicating things.

3-Day Workout Plan (Full Body or PPL)

Three days per week is the most popular training frequency for a reason. It balances results with real life. You get enough volume and frequency to grow, with four full recovery days built in.

A 3 day workout plan works well as either three full body sessions or a single Push/Pull/Legs rotation. The full body option gives higher frequency per muscle (3x per week). The PPL option gives more volume per muscle per session. Both are effective.

If you are short on time, read the dedicated guide on 3-day plans for busy people for a streamlined version.

Week at a Glance

Day A - Full Body (Squat Focus)

Day B - Full Body (Bench Focus)

Day C - Full Body (Deadlift Focus)

Each day leads with a different primary lift (squat, bench, deadlift) so you practice all three major movement patterns at full intensity throughout the week. Every muscle group gets hit in every session.

4-Day Workout Plan (Upper Lower)

The 4 day workout plan using an upper/lower split is the sweet spot for intermediate lifters. You train each muscle twice per week with enough volume per session to drive real growth, without the recovery demands of a 5 or 6-day program.

The A days focus on strength with heavier weights and lower reps. The B days focus on hypertrophy with moderate weights and higher reps. You get the best of both training styles every week.

Week at a Glance

Upper A (Strength)

Lower A (Strength)

Upper B (Hypertrophy)

Lower B (Hypertrophy)

The A/B structure means you are never repeating the exact same workout twice in a row. You hit the same muscles with different rep ranges, different exercises, and different training stimuli. This is more effective for long-term progress than running four identical sessions.

5-Day Workout Plan (ULPPL or Bro Split)

Five days is the territory of intermediate to advanced lifters who have outgrown a 4-day program and want more weekly volume without moving to 6 days.

The recommended approach is an Upper/Lower/Push/Pull/Legs hybrid (ULPPL). It trains every muscle group twice per week by combining an upper/lower block with a push/pull/legs block. For a deep dive, read the full 5-day workout plan for muscle gain.

Week at a Glance

Day 1 - Upper Body

Day 2 - Lower Body

Day 3 - Push

Day 4 - Pull

Day 5 - Legs

The mid-week rest day is critical. It separates the upper/lower block from the PPL block so fatigue does not pile up across five straight training days.

6-Day Workout Plan (PPL x2)

The 6 day workout plan runs Push/Pull/Legs twice per week. It is the highest-volume, highest-frequency template in this guide. Every muscle group gets trained twice, with enough exercises and sets to maximize growth.

This is for advanced lifters with at least 2 years of consistent training, solid nutrition, 7-plus hours of sleep, and the time to show up six days per week. If any of those pieces are missing, a 4 or 5-day plan will serve you better.

Week at a Glance

Push 1 (Strength Focus)

Pull 1 (Strength Focus)

Legs 1 (Strength Focus)

Push 2 (Hypertrophy Focus)

Pull 2 (Hypertrophy Focus)

Legs 2 (Hypertrophy Focus)

The first three days use heavier weights and lower reps to build strength. The second three days use moderate weights and higher reps to maximize muscle growth. This periodization within the week keeps you progressing on both fronts without burning out.

Adjusting Templates for Your Goals

Every template above is built for general muscle and strength development. Here is how to adjust the variables based on your specific goal.

For Muscle Gain

Add volume gradually. If you are recovering well and performance is climbing, add 1 set per exercise per week to your main compound lifts. Do not add sets to everything at once.

Stay in the hypertrophy rep range. Most of your working sets should fall between 8-12 reps. You can go as high as 15-20 on isolation exercises like lateral raises and curls.

Rest 60-120 seconds between isolation sets and 2-3 minutes between compound sets. This keeps workout density high while giving your muscles enough recovery to maintain intensity.

Eat in a caloric surplus. No program will build significant muscle if you are not eating enough. Aim for 200-400 calories above maintenance with at least 1.6g of protein per kilogram of bodyweight daily.

For Fat Loss

Keep the weights heavy. The biggest mistake during a cut is dropping weight and chasing high reps. Heavy weights signal your body to preserve muscle. If you reduce intensity, you lose muscle along with fat.

Shorten rest periods slightly. Dropping rest times from 3 minutes to 2 minutes and from 90 seconds to 60 seconds increases your heart rate and calorie burn without fundamentally changing the program.

Add supersets on isolation exercises. Pair opposing muscle groups like curls and pushdowns or lateral raises and face pulls back to back. This saves time and adds a conditioning element.

Use the same template but in a caloric deficit. Fat loss comes from your diet, not your training split. Any template on this page works for fat loss when combined with a 300-500 calorie deficit.

For Strength

Lower the reps on your main lifts. Shift your primary compound exercises (squat, bench, deadlift, overhead press) to 3-5 reps with heavier loads. Keep accessory work in the 6-10 rep range.

Rest longer between heavy sets. Take 3-5 minutes between your top sets on compound lifts. Strength is about the quality of each rep, not how fast you get through the workout.

Prioritize progressive overload on the big lifts. Track your squat, bench, deadlift, and overhead press numbers weekly. Everything else is secondary to those four movements progressing.

Pick fewer exercises per session. Strength training benefits from quality over quantity. Five exercises done with full focus beats eight exercises done in a fatigued state.

FAQ

How many days per week should I work out as a beginner?

Start with 2-3 days per week using the full body templates. You do not need more than that to make fast progress when you are new to lifting. Every movement is a new stimulus, and your body responds quickly. Once you have been training consistently for 6-12 months and your progress starts to slow down, add a fourth day by switching to the upper/lower template.

Can I change the days around?

Yes. The specific days of the week do not matter. What matters is the pattern of training and rest. For a 4-day upper/lower plan, make sure you have at least one rest day between each pair of sessions. For a 6-day PPL plan, keep the three-day rotation intact (Push, Pull, Legs) and take your rest day after completing both cycles.

What if I miss a workout one week?

Do not try to make it up by doubling the next session. Just continue with the next scheduled workout. If you are on a 4-day plan and miss Thursday's upper session, do not squeeze it in on Friday before your lower session. Skip it, train lower on Friday as planned, and hit the upper session the following week. Consistency over months matters far more than any single session.

How long should each workout take?

Plan for 45-60 minutes for the 2 and 3-day templates, 50-70 minutes for the 4-day template, and 60-75 minutes for the 5 and 6-day templates. If your workouts are going over 90 minutes, you are probably resting too long between sets or adding exercises that are not in the plan.

Should I do the same exercises every week or rotate them?

Keep the same exercises for at least 8 weeks. You cannot track progress if the exercises change every session. After 8-12 weeks, swap accessory and isolation exercises to provide new stimulus. Keep your main compound lifts (squat, bench, deadlift, row) in the program permanently and build your progression around those.

Can I combine these templates with cardio?

Yes. Light to moderate cardio (walking, cycling, easy swimming) on rest days is fine and can aid recovery. If you want to do more intense cardio like HIIT or sprints, limit it to 1-2 sessions per week and place them after your lifting session, not before. Never let cardio eat into your recovery for the next lifting day.

Build Your Weekly Plan

You now have complete weekly workout plan templates for 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 training days per week. Every template includes exercise selections, sets, reps, and rest periods. Pick the one that matches your schedule, follow it for at least 8 weeks, and track your progress.

If you want a plan customized to your goals, equipment, and experience level, use the Free Workout Planner. It generates a personalized program with exercises, sets, reps, and progression built in.

For on-the-go tracking with exercise video demos, rest timers, and automatic progression, download the LoadMuscle app. Browse the full exercise library for detailed instructions on every movement in these templates.

Stop planning. Pick your days. Start training this week.