Have you been itching to start a healthy and more active lifestyle but you have no idea where to begin? This 4-week beginner’s workout routine is specially designed to help you get moving and make it a habit to exercise on a regular basis.
Although 8-12 weeks is the industry standard for an effective training program, this 4-week workout plan for beginners has been proven effective to produce some good results on increasing strength and burning some fat in a short span of time.
However, this workout plan is only a fourth of what you need to get in shape. Consistency, a healthy diet, and your determination are also key factors to make it all work out. A good pair of training shoes and a solid pair of wireless workout headphones too will take you far in your fitness goals.
At the end of this article, you’ll find the sample 4-week beginner’s workout routine, and be sure to add any warm-up and cooldown exercises before and after each training day. Before that, let me walk you through a brief explainer on how this whole workout routine works for you.
4-Week Beginner’s Workout Routine
Week 1: Full Body Split
When starting a workout routine for the first time, it’s important to tackle your body as a whole first. The rationale behind this is to accustom your body to more complex activities, thereby increasing its tolerance to more intense body part focused training later down the line.
In most cases, beginners are recommended to spend 3-4 days per week with full-day rests in between on a total body workout. It’s much better to start off with free-weight exercises to build up your physical and cardio strength.
Our sample exercises consist of basic and intermediate moves, which you can do even without any equipment or help from anything. You’ll perform 2-3 sets per movement per workout day over the course of the week.
Week 2: Upper/Lower Body Split
In your second week of training, start splitting up the focus of your workout and pay attention to the upper and lower half of your body separately.
The upper/lower body split works perfectly for building strength and gaining muscle. Each group is trained separately on its own day to ensure a max result.
Normally, an upper body workout targets muscle groups to an extent, like chest, back, shoulders, biceps, and triceps. Meanwhile, a lower body workout trains muscle groups such as quads, hamstrings, calves, lower back, and abs.
There are a couple of ways to schedule your upper/lower body workout. But the most common and recommended for beginners is to do the classic 4-day upper/lower body split, where you do your upper body in one day followed by the lower body the next day, then a rest day.
Week 3: Push/Pull/Leg Split
In your third week, you’ll break up your training into three separate days — push day, pull day, and leg day. Each workout day focuses on specific muscle groups of your body.
Push day tackles your chest, shoulders, and triceps. Pull day works your back, traps, and biceps. Lastly, leg day focuses on your lower body.
The push/pull/leg split is ideal if you’re pressed for time as you’re only doing it for 3 days on particular muscle groups, and you’re almost always guaranteed to get good results in a short period.
Week 4: High-Volume Full Body Split
And finally, for the fourth week, you’ll go back to the full body split. No new exercises will be introduced so you can focus your attention on intensity in your training. The only difference is the volume of your workout, or simply the number of sets and reps you perform in an exercise.
This means you’ll now take on high-intensity exercises in four days. Each movement should work for each muscle group at least once.
Sample 4-Week Beginner’s Workout Routine
Week 1: Full Body Split
Day 1 – Strength
- Squats (10 reps)
- Push-Ups (10 reps)
- Lunges (5 per leg, 10 total)
- Abdominal Crunches (5 reps)
- Planks (25 seconds)
Do 2-3 sets. Rest in between sets.
Day 2 – Rest
Day 3 – Interval
- Squats (10 reps)
- Push-Ups (10 reps)
- Stairs (30 seconds)
- Lunges (5 per leg, 10 total)
- Abdominal Crunches (5 reps)
- Jumping Jacks (15 reps)
- Planks (25 seconds)
- Lunge Knee Hops (10 per leg, 20 total)
Do 2-3 sets. Rest in between sets.
Day 4 – Rest
Day 5 – Cardio
- Walk/Jog/Run (30 minutes)
- Jumping Jacks (30 seconds)
- Steps (30 seconds)
- High-Knees (30 seconds)
Do 4 sets except Walk/ Jog/Run. Rest in between sets.
Day 6 – Rest
Day 7 – Rest
Week 2: Upper/Lower Body Split
Day 1 – Upper Body
- Push-Ups (10 reps)
- Tricep Dips (10 reps)
- Inchworm (10 reps)
- Planks (25 seconds)
Do 3 sets. Rest in between sets.
Day 2 – Lower Body
- Squats (10 reps)
- Reverse Lunges with Knee Lifts (10 reps)
- Calf Raises (10 reps)
- Squat jumps (10 reps)
Do 3 sets. Rest in between sets.
Day 3 – Rest
Day 4 – Upper Body
- Push-Ups (10 reps)
- Tricep Dips (10 reps)
- Inchworm (10 reps)
- Planks (25 seconds)
- Side Plank Right (20 seconds)
- Side Plank Left (20 seconds)
Do 3 sets. Rest in between sets.
Day 5 – Lower Body
- Squats (10 reps)
- Reverse Lunges with Knee Lifts (10 reps)
- Calf Raises (10 reps)
- Pistol Squats (10 per leg, 20 total)
- High Knee Toe Taps (20 reps)
- Side Lunges (10 per leg, 20 total)
Do 3 sets. Rest in between sets.
Day 6 – Rest
Day 7 – Rest
Week 3: Push/Pull/Leg Split
Day 1 – Push
- Push-Ups (10 reps)
- Inchworm (10 reps)
- Tricep Dips (10 reps)
- Planks (20 seconds)
- Plank Side Walks (15 seconds per arm, 30 total)
Do 3 sets. Rest in between sets.
Day 2 – Rest
Day 3 – Pull
- Arm Circles (10 reps per direction, 20 total)
- Push-Ups (10 reps)
- Bicep Planks (20 seconds)
- Superman (10 reps)
- Pull-Ups (10 reps)
Do 3 sets. Rest in between sets.
Day 4 – Rest
Day 5 – Leg
- Curtsy Lunges (10 reps)
- Bottom Leg Lift (10 per leg, 20 total)
- Bulgarian Split Squat (10 per leg, 20 total)
- Wall Sit (20 seconds)
Do 3 sets. Rest in between sets.
Day 6 – Rest
Day 7 – Rest
Week 4: High-Volume Full Body Split
Day 1 – Strength
- Squats (15 reps)
- Push-Ups (15 reps)
- Lunges (10 per leg, 20 total)
- Abdominal Crunches (10 reps)
- Planks (30 seconds)
Do 4 sets. Rest in between sets.
Day 2 – Rest
Day 3 – Interval
- Squats (15 reps)
- Push-Ups (15 reps)
- Stairs (40 seconds)
- Lunges (10 per leg, 20 total)
- Abdominal Crunches (10 reps)
- Jumping Jacks (20 reps)
- Planks (25 seconds)
- Lunge Knee Hops (15 per leg, 30 total)
Do 4 sets. Rest in between sets.
Day 4 – Rest
Day 5 – Cardio
- Walk/Jog/Run (45 minutes)
- Jumping Jacks (45 seconds)
- Steps (60 seconds)
- High-Knees (45 seconds)
Do 4 sets except Walk/Jog/Run. Rest in between sets.
Day 6 – Rest
Day 7 – Strength
- Squats (15 reps)
- Push-Ups (15 reps)
- Lunges (10 per leg, 20 total)
- Abdominal Crunches (10 reps)
- Planks (30 seconds)
Do 4 sets. Rest in between sets.
Conclusion
That’s it for the 4-week beginner’s workout routine. There are tons of sample workout plans for beginners out there, but most of them leave you in the dark after finishing your routine; it’s up to you whatever happens next.
Once Week 4 is done, your workout shouldn’t end there. You can continue to use this plan for the next couple of months, but don’t forget to adjust the tolerable frequency, intensity, and volume of the exercises to keep your body challenged in the course of your training.
Most importantly, make sure to incorporate the right diet plan accompanied by the right food supplement as you go on with your workout routine.
Also Read: Why Low Sodium Protein Powders?
Are you up for the challenge? Let us know your thoughts!