buffroBeginner Gym Workout Plan: Your First 4 Weeks
Your first month in the gym decides whether you stay. This plan keeps it simple: three full-body workouts a week, two alternating sessions, five exercises each. Every session trains your whole body, and every exercise links to a form guide with a video demo.
The plan
Train Monday / Wednesday / Friday (or any three non-consecutive days), alternating: week 1 is A-B-A, week 2 is B-A-B.
Workout A
| Exercise | Sets × Reps |
|---|---|
| Barbell Squat | 3 × 5-8 |
| Barbell Bench Press | 3 × 5-8 |
| Barbell Bent-Over Row | 3 × 8-10 |
| Dumbbell Lateral Raise | 2 × 12-15 |
| Hanging Leg Raise | 2 × 8-12 |
Workout B
| Exercise | Sets × Reps |
|---|---|
| Barbell Deadlift | 3 × 5 |
| Barbell Seated Overhead Press | 3 × 6-10 |
| Lever Front Pulldown | 3 × 8-12 |
| Leg Press | 2 × 10-12 |
| Dumbbell Biceps Curl | 2 × 10-15 |
Week by week
- Week 1: Learn the movements with light weights. Choose a weight you could lift 15 times, then stop at 8. Film a set or check the exercise page if anything feels off.
- Week 2: Add weight until the last rep of each set feels genuinely hard but stays clean.
- Weeks 3-4: Add 2.5 kg to upper-body lifts and 5 kg to squats and deadlifts each session while the reps stay in range. This is progressive overload. That is the whole game.
For the barbell lifts, your logged weight includes the bar and both sides of plates. Use the barbell plate calculator to turn your target weight into plates per side, in kg or lb.
The rules that matter
- Rest 2-3 minutes between sets on the barbell lifts, 1.5-2 on the rest. Why rest matters.
- Log every set: weight and reps. Next session, beat something. How to track.
- Eat enough protein. About 1.6-2.2 g per kg of bodyweight is a useful target. The protein calculator gives your number.
- Don't add exercises. Five per session done hard beats ten done halfway.
After the first month
If you're attending consistently and the weights are climbing, stay on this plan. Beginners can ride full-body progress for months. When sessions stall or you want more days, move to a split that fits your schedule like push/pull/legs.