A personalized workout routine is one that fits the days you actually have, trains every major muscle at least twice a week, lands your weekly sets in a range that matches your experience, uses rep ranges that suit your goal, and swaps any exercise you cannot or should not do. That is the whole recipe. Below are the six decisions in order, the numbers behind each, and a worked example at the end.
Step 1: Count your days, honestly
Start with the number of sessions you will keep for twelve weeks, not the number you would like to do. Two reliable days beat four aspirational ones, because the progression that drives results only happens when the sessions happen.
The number of days determines the split (one split per frequency, with sample weeks). The goal of any split is that each major muscle gets worked at least twice a week; a 2016 meta-analysis found training a muscle twice weekly produced more growth than once weekly when total volume was matched.
| Days a week | Split | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | Full body each session | Only way to hit everything twice (or once, well) a week |
| 3 | Full body, alternating two sessions | Every muscle 3× a week with a rest day between; see below |
| 4 | Upper / lower, twice each | Each half of the body twice a week, shorter sessions |
| 5 | Upper / lower + one full-body day | Extra frequency without the recovery cost of six days |
| 6 | Push / pull / legs, run twice | Each muscle twice a week with the most exercise variety |
If you have three days, the 3-day full-body plan is a complete, ready-made version of this table's third row.
Step 2: Set your weekly volume by experience
"Volume" is hard sets per muscle per week, where a hard set is one taken within a few reps of failure. A dose-response meta-analysis found 10 or more weekly sets per muscle produced more growth than fewer than 5, with a graded relationship in between. More is not always better: past roughly 20 sets per muscle, the extra sets mostly add fatigue.
| Experience | Weekly hard sets per major muscle |
|---|---|
| Beginner (under a year) | 8–14 |
| Intermediate (1–3 years) | 10–18 |
| Advanced (3+ years) | 12–20 |
Count a muscle's secondary work at half value: a bench press is a full set for chest and half a set for triceps and front delts. A muscle you want to emphasise goes to the top of its band; everything else can sit in the middle.
Step 3: Pick rep ranges and rests for your goal
Muscle grows across a wide range of loads as long as sets are hard; a 2017 meta-analysis found similar hypertrophy from light and heavy loads, but greater strength gains from heavy ones. So the rep range is chosen for the goal, not for the muscle.
| Goal | Reps per set | Rest between sets |
|---|---|---|
| Strength | 3–5 | ~3 minutes |
| Muscle | 6–12 and 10–15 | 2 min / 90 s |
| General fitness, fat loss | 8–12 | ~2 minutes |
| Muscular endurance | 12–20 | Short, 60–90 s |
Every set should carry a target of 1–3 reps in reserve (RIR): stop when you could do one to three more clean reps. A 2024 meta-regression and an eight-week trial in trained lifters both found sets stopped a few reps short grow muscle about as well as sets to failure, with less recovery cost. If you are a beginner, use a fixed rep target (say, 3 × 8) rather than a range, so the only variable you manage is the weight.
Step 4: Fill each slot with what you have
Build each session from movement slots, then choose the best exercise available for each slot. The slots that matter: a squat, a hinge, a horizontal press, a horizontal pull, a vertical press, a vertical pull, and a few isolation slots (side delts, arms, calves, abs) to top up volume where the compounds leave a muscle short.
| Slot | Full gym | Barbell and rack at home | Dumbbells only | Bodyweight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Squat | Back squat | Back squat | Goblet squat | Split squat |
| Hinge | Deadlift | Deadlift or RDL | Dumbbell RDL | Single-leg hip hinge |
| Horizontal press | Bench press | Bench press | Dumbbell bench or floor press | Push-up |
| Horizontal pull | Cable or barbell row | Barbell row | One-arm dumbbell row | Inverted row |
| Vertical press | Overhead press | Overhead press | Dumbbell shoulder press | Pike push-up |
| Vertical pull | Lat pulldown or chin-up | Chin-up | Chin-up (if you have a bar) | Chin-up or towel row |
Never program a machine you do not have access to, and let bodyweight slots progress by reps rather than load. If dumbbells are all you have, the dumbbell-only home plan is this table's third column turned into a complete programme.
Step 5: Remove what hurts, then fill the gap
A routine you cannot do pain-free is not personalized. If a joint complains, decide what to remove at the right level of precision:
- A bare body part ("bad shoulder") means removing everything that loads it for now: pressing, overhead work, probably dips and upright rows.
- A specific complaint ("my shoulder pinches on overhead pressing") only removes that movement and its relatives, every vertical press, while bench press stays.
Then note which slot you left empty and why. A plan with a missing vertical press is fine; a plan where you forgot you removed it and never trained shoulders for six months is not. Pain that persists, worsens with training or comes with weakness or numbness needs a clinician, not a programming tweak.
Step 6: Decide how it progresses and when it eases off
Progression is a rule, not a feeling: hit every prescribed rep, add weight next time (2.5 kg / 5 lb on upper-body barbell lifts, 5 kg / 10 lb on squats and deadlifts, 2 kg / 5 lb on dumbbells); miss reps, repeat the weight; miss twice, drop 10 percent and climb back. The progressive overload guide covers the rules and the plateaus.
Once you are past the beginner stage, run the routine in five-week blocks with a lighter fifth week: one set fewer per exercise and about 10 percent less load. A deload week keeps the schedule and recovers about as well as a week off, and it is far easier to come back from.
A worked example
Someone with three days, intermediate, dumbbells and a chin-up bar at home, goal of muscle, with a knee that dislikes deep lunges:
- Split: full body, alternating A and B.
- Volume target: 10–18 sets per muscle; chest, back and quads land around 12; shoulders and arms topped up with one isolation slot each.
- Reps: 6–12 on compounds at 1–2 RIR, 10–15 on isolation at 2–3 RIR, 2 minutes and 90 seconds rest.
- Slots: goblet squat (knee tolerates it; lunges out), dumbbell RDL, dumbbell bench, one-arm row, dumbbell shoulder press, chin-up, lateral raise, curl.
- Progression: add 2 kg when every rep is hit; five-week blocks, week five lighter.
Three sessions of about 50 minutes, every muscle twice a week, nothing that hurts.
Letting a coach do the arithmetic
This is exactly the method Bay uses when you text it "design me a plan": it asks for your goal, experience, days or fixed weekdays, minutes a session, equipment, muscles to emphasise and anything to protect, then builds the plan from those rules rather than improvising one. It audits the weekly sets per muscle against your band, trims isolation first if a session runs over your time budget (never the main lift), leaves a slot empty rather than program something that loads an injury, and shows you the rationale before you confirm. After that, each morning's session arrives with the exact weight per lift, and the fifth week of a block is lighter without you asking. It is free right now, over iMessage, RCS or SMS. If you are new to all this, start with the beginner's guide to an AI workout coach.
Questions, answered.
Tap a question.
How many days a week should I work out?
The number you will reliably keep. Two to four days covers most goals; the split changes with the number so that every major muscle is trained at least twice a week.
How many sets per muscle group per week do I need?
Beginners do well on 8–14 hard sets per muscle per week, intermediates 10–18, advanced lifters 12–20. Ten or more sets beats fewer than five in the research; beyond about 20, extra sets mostly add fatigue.
Should I train to failure?
Not usually. Sets stopped 1–3 reps short of failure build muscle about as well as sets to failure with less fatigue, so you can train more often and progress more steadily.
How often should I change my workout routine?
When progression stalls for several weeks despite decent sleep and food, usually after several months, not several weeks. Change the weight every session and the routine rarely.
Do I need a deload week?
Once you are past the beginner stage, yes: every fifth week, one set fewer per exercise and about 10 percent less load. Beginners progress fast enough that they rarely need one in the first few months.
Related reading
Bay is a software assistant, not a doctor, dietitian or certified trainer. Nothing here is medical, nutrition or professional advice; check with a professional before changing your diet or training.