Workout 1: Beginner, full-body

These workouts are done either 3 times weekly, or on alternating days (1 day of workout, 1 day of rest, 1 day of workout, and so forth). You can even do these workouts only twice weekly and see some gains, say on a Monday-Thursday split. Don’t do this workout two days in a row.

Rest 1 to 2 minutes between sets (you might want a little longer between squat sets).

Notation: Exercise sets x reps
For example: bench press 3 x 8 is 3 sets of 8 reps per set

routine 1

  1. Squat or leg press 2 x 12-15
  2. Lat pulldown 2 x 12-15
  3. Standing overhead shoulder press 2 x 12-15
  4. One-arm dumbbell row 2 x 12-15
  5. Bench press 2 x 12-15
  6. Calf raise 1 x 15
  7. Ab crunches or Swiss ball crunches 2 x 12-15

routine 2: get in, get out, go home

This one is a short and sweet version of the workout above. Alternate day 1 and day 2. So, let’s say you work out Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. On the first week, you’d do day 1 on Monday and Friday, and day 2 on Wednesday. Then the second week, you’d do day 2 on Monday and Friday, and day 1 on Wednesday.

You may find it saves even more time to alternate sets labeled as A and B. For instance, you could do one set of shoulder press, then one set of lat pulldowns, then a second set of shoulder presss, and finally a second set of lat pulldowns. I’ve labeled some exercises as this OR that — pick whichever one suits you best. You can even alternate from week to week but don’t go overboard with the variety because it becomes hard to track progress.

day 1

  1. Squat or leg press 2 x 15-20
  2. A Standing overhead shoulder press 2 x 12-15
  3. B Lat pulldown 2 x 12-15
  4. Calf raise 1 x 15
  5. Back extension 2 x 12-15

day 2

  1. Sumo deadlift 2 x 15
  2. A One-arm dumbbell row OR Seated cable row 2 x 12-15
  3. B Pushups, 2 sets of as many as you can do OR Incline dumbbell bench press 2 x 12-15
  4. Calf raise 1 x 15
  5. Ab crunch 2 x 12-15