Full body routine for beginners: sets, exercises and progression

You start at the gym (or come back after years away) and don’t know where to begin. You see five-day split routines, people doing odd exercises with bands, and videos titled “the ultimate best plan”. The reality is more boring: if you’ve been training strength for less than 6-12 months, a full body routine of 2-3 days will give you more than any advanced split.

This guide is for you if you’re a beginner (less than a year of consistent training) or if you’re returning after a long break. You’ll see which exercises to choose, how many sets and reps to do, how to gauge effort with RIR and how to progress week by week without getting injured.

Why full body when you’re starting

When you’ve been training for a short time, your nervous system learns quickly. Stimulating each muscle group 2-3 times per week produces better adaptations than doing it just once, according to reviews such as Schoenfeld et al. (2016, Sports Medicine). With a split routine like “Monday chest, Tuesday back” you only hit each muscle once a week.

In addition, a 3-day full body leaves you 4 rest days spread out. You recover better, have fewer disabling aches, and can fit it in with running, padel or whatever else you do.

Basic structure: frequency, duration and key exercises

The proposal:

• Frequency: 3 days per week (Monday / Wednesday / Friday, for example).
• Duration per session: 45-60 minutes, including warm-up.
• Exercises per session: 5-7 movements, almost all compound.

The movement patterns you should cover in each session are six: squat, hip hinge, horizontal push, vertical push, horizontal pull, vertical pull, plus some core work.

Recommended exercises by pattern

• Squat: goblet squat with dumbbell, hack machine squat or back squat with barbell.
• Hip hinge: Romanian deadlift, hip thrust, good mornings.
• Horizontal push: bench press, dumbbell press, push-ups.
• Vertical push: seated military press, standing dumbbell press.
• Horizontal pull: dumbbell row, machine row, inverted row.
• Vertical pull: lat pulldown to chest, assisted pull-ups.
• Core: plank, dead bug, Pallof press.

Sets, reps and RIR: the numbers that matter

For hypertrophy and strength in beginners, the useful range is wide: 6-15 reps work well as long as you get close to sufficient effort.

• Sets per exercise: 2-3 effective sets.
• Reps: 8-12 for most, 6-8 on heavy basics if you’re comfortable with technique.
• RIR (reps in reserve): 2-3. That is, stop when you feel you have 2 or 3 reps left before failure. You almost never need to go to failure when you’re starting (here you have more context on when to go to failure and when not to).
• Rest between sets: 90-180 seconds on basics, 60-90 on accessories.

Weekly volume per muscle group should fall between 10 and 15 effective sets, a reasonable range to start with according to the available evidence; if you want to go deeper, check our article on how many weekly sets count per muscle group.

Example of a typical session (Day A)

Exercise	Sets x Reps	RIR	Rest
Goblet squat	3 x 8-10	2	120 s
Dumbbell bench press	3 x 8-10	2	120 s
Dumbbell row	3 x 10-12	2	90 s
Romanian deadlift	2 x 10	3	120 s
Seated military press	2 x 10-12	2	90 s
Front plank	3 x 30-45 s	—	60 s

For Day B you change variations: Bulgarian split squat, incline press, lat pulldown to chest, hip thrust, lateral raises and dead bug. Day C can resemble A but with slight variations (for example, machine squat and push-ups instead of bench press).

Weekly progression: how to know if you’re advancing

Progression is not “adding 5 kg every week”. It’s more subtle.

• Weeks 1-2: learn technique. Comfortable loads, RIR 3-4. Prioritize form.
• Weeks 3-6: when you can do the high rep range with RIR 2 for two sessions in a row, increase load (2.5-5 kg on basics, 1-2 kg on accessories).
• Weeks 7-10: if the weight doesn’t go up, add 1 set to the exercises where you’ve stalled.
• Every 6-8 weeks: a deload week. Halve your sets or reduce load by 30-40%.

This method is called double progression (you increase reps up to the top of the range, then increase weight) and it’s the most reliable when you’re starting.

Adaptations by context

At home with no equipment

Bodyweight squat, push-ups (against a wall, bench or floor depending on level), lunges, glute bridge, inverted row under a sturdy table, plank. Adjust by increasing reps (15-25) and reducing rest.

Outdoors

Park calisthenics bars: assisted pull-ups with a band, parallel bar dips, Bulgarian split squats with a bench, walking lunges.

At the gym

The plan in the table is directly applicable. Use machines if free weights scare you at first: leg press, lat pulldown, cable row, machine press.

Common mistakes that will hold you back

1. Changing routine every two weeks. You won’t know whether you’re progressing. Stick with the plan for at least 8-12 weeks.
2. Going to failure on everything. You accumulate fatigue and worsen technique. RIR 2-3 is plenty.
3. Resting 30 seconds between heavy sets. This isn’t cardio. You need to recover to move the next set well.
4. Skipping the warm-up. 5-10 minutes of mobility and light approach sets reduce injury risk (here’s the data).
5. Not recording anything. Without a log there is no objective progression. A notebook or an app is enough.

Medical warning: if you have cardiovascular disease, a herniated disc, are pregnant, or have been inactive for more than a year, consult your doctor before starting and consider a couple of sessions with a trainer to review technique.

3 actions to start tomorrow

1. Choose your 3 fixed days of the week and block them in your calendar like a medical appointment.
2. Do a trial session with light loads just to measure your starting point. Note the weight and reps for each exercise.
3. Buy a small notebook or download a free app (Strong, FitNotes) to log each session. Without data there is no progression.

Frequently asked questions

How long will it take to see results?

You’ll notice strength changes in 3-4 weeks. Visible changes in body composition between 8 and 12 weeks if nutrition supports it. It depends on your starting point, rest and consistency.

Can I do full body 4 or 5 days a week?

As a beginner, you don’t need to, and you’ll probably accumulate fatigue. 3 well-done days beat 5 poorly recovered ones. Once you’ve trained for 8-12 months, you can consider moving to upper-lower.

Cardio on the same day or on separate days?

If your priority is strength, do cardio after training or on alternate days. 20-30 minutes at moderate intensity (RPE 5-6) 2-3 times per week is a good starting point.

Do I need supplements?

Not to start. If you cover protein (1.6-2 g per kg of body weight, according to Morton et al., 2018, BJSM review), the rest is secondary. Creatine monohydrate (3-5 g/day) is the supplement with the most evidence if you want to add one, but it’s not essential.

What do I do if something hurts?

Diffuse muscle soreness after training (DOMS) is normal for 24-72 h. Sharp, acute joint pain or pain that worsens with movement is not. Stop, assess your technique and if it persists for more than a week, see a physiotherapist or doctor.

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